Can you overpower a speaker

Even though 1 watt of distortion can do more damage than 200 watts of clean power, many voice coils do have their limits.

Once concern I have is that many amps will sound better in the unbridged mode. Check with the manufacturers about the distortion levels bridged vs unbridged.

When you bridge an amp you halve its impedance rating so an amp that is stable into 1 ohm will be stable into 2 ohms bridged is the way I have always heard it described. The purpose of high power is to handle the peaks in music, a speaker rated for 50 watts might handle several hundred for a very short time. When you will get into trouble is feeding a lot of power into the speaker for an extended time.Why not go with something like the McCormick 500 which is a bridged design to begin with? It should have all the power you will ever need and if not you could add another and biamp? I have a CJ 350 and declined my friends request to try it on his Sasha, which get down below 2 ohms. The McCormick is also made by CJ and in talking to them recently they told me that the McCormick is their choice for raw power.

I appreciate your answers, Stan It makes all the sense, the only reason Im sticking with the MF200 is my dad bought it for me for christmas many years ago (We dont really do presents) and it has plenty of power and just full on shear musicallity. I doubt it can be bridged and id probably lose a bit but I want to get extremely power hungry speakers, ideally one day mezzo utopias or something awesome

The above posters are correct that you can overpower a speaker - if you hear the voice coils bottom out, which creates a smacking sound like someone hitting a metal plate with a hammer, then you've dialed in too much power and have to reduce the volume ASAP.

In my opinion, however, you should absolutely avoid powerful amplifiers for other reasons. They achieve high power by using a lot of output transistors or output tubes, which requires the use of global negative feedback to control the circuit, feedback destroying dimensionality and imparting a lifeless quality to recordings - the ear is very sensitive to the ill effects of global feedback. In addition, all of those output devices complicate the circuit, taking away subtlety and transparency. Especially with a sensitive speaker like the Legacy, it makes no sense, none, to run a high-powered amp.

Don't worry about your inabilty to run VTL MB450's - this amp is the best example of the importance of output transformers to the performance of a tube amp - the MB vintage of VTL amps used notoriously cheap output transformers and cannot drive low impedance speakers. The Wotan or Brunhilde is like having a Corvette ZR-1 with the transmission of a '65 Beetle. They were so lousy that VTL offered better transformers as a retrofit and an option. VTL didn't enter the big leagues with regard to amps until the Siegfried.

Thanks Raquel I completely agree with your statement. I happen to be using a conrad johnson MF200 amp which employs a zero feedback design.

I have definetly bottomed out my subwoofers in my home and car a couple times and have learned to stear clear of going there, Although with an underpowered amplifier wouldnt the same thing thing happen or would it just clip alot?

Bummer about the VTL's I recently heard the seigfrieds and they were awesome and I was hoping I could go older and get close to that but I guess not.