Wattage figures like that are very rough guidelines that can do more harm than good in the wrong hands.
As far as preventing damage to speakers is concerned, you are much better off running a speaker with a very powerful amplifier that produces clean, undistorted power than with a smaller amp that can easily be pushed too hard and distort, i.e., a 500 watt/channel amp is far less likely to damage your Beethovens than a 100 watt/channel amp that is overdriven into distortion.
In this regard, the real danger to audiophile speakers comes from using them with home theater receivers and other <$500 mass-market amps -- the power supplies in those things are garbage and they distort easily, producing heat in the speaker cones that can burn out voice coils.
As far as preventing damage to speakers is concerned, you are much better off running a speaker with a very powerful amplifier that produces clean, undistorted power than with a smaller amp that can easily be pushed too hard and distort, i.e., a 500 watt/channel amp is far less likely to damage your Beethovens than a 100 watt/channel amp that is overdriven into distortion.
In this regard, the real danger to audiophile speakers comes from using them with home theater receivers and other <$500 mass-market amps -- the power supplies in those things are garbage and they distort easily, producing heat in the speaker cones that can burn out voice coils.