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Help a newbie understand

So the pandemic had me listening to a lot more music and as a consequence, I sold my 30-year-old but still functioning Snell c2 mk4 speakers and Adcom GFA 555 200 watts per channel amp which together sounded great ( to my uneducated and now failing hearing ) playing my digital library of CDs.I wanted to try something different.
I replaced them with Canton reference 9k monitor speakers ( which can handle 200 plus watts and a Technic su g700 integrated amp. max. 70 watts a channel. These also sound great in many different ways. By the way I bought both on Audiogon.

What I miss in the new system is its ability to play loud( I'm old and going hard of hearing) this has led me to play the amp at levels between -10 and 0 per the amps "wide range scale peak power meters"  and at those levels, the needle occasionally spikes into the region slightly above 0  for fractions of a second to a second or two but not ever reaching +6( the next demarcation on the meter) per the integrated amp's meters.

My fear is frying my speaker's voice coil etc. by clipping when I play at the above level so I have two questions. First, is the headroom sufficient to prevent frying my speakers given the listening level and the volume's slight venture into going over 0 on the meter and second how do I read this "wide range scale peak power meter"?
The peak power meter's main demarcations are as follows-50/0001,-40/001,-30/01,-20/.1,-10/10, 0/100,+6/200.and under those numbers is the symbol db/%. 
So I went online but could find nothing that I could understand relative to how to read this type of meter. For example, if the relationship is dB/% what does  -50 represent and the % 0001?, what about 0/100,+6/200?The top numbers make no sense to me -50? -50 what no watts who's on first.
Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.
scott22
mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,497 posts
 
"The better answer is much more efficient speakers"
Millercarbon5, would it not be easier for the OP to replace the amp with a more powerful one if he is currently over driving it (im not saying he is). Changing speakers seems like a really big deal compared to finding a proper amp seems way easier. I really like your posts to btw.

Matt M
big_greg
6,628 posts
 
Those are monitor speakers, and are only going to play so loud before you blow them up.  I have the Vento Reference 9.2 DC, which I believe are very similar to your speakers.  Mind are in my bedroom and I haven't played them super loud, but managed to blow up one of the woofers.  Canton was good about helping to get it fixed, but I wouldn't recommend pushing them too hard.  As someone else suggested, if you want loud, get bigger, more efficient speakers.
scott22 OP
263 posts
 
Big _greg yes our speakers are the same mine is the newer version of yours. I do not think I am playing them super loud either but I wanted to have some idea of what danger I am putting them in as far as clipping of the amp.  My goal is not to blow then up via clipping of amp. my limited budget of $4,000 had to cover speakers,  power amp, preamp,DAC, and CD source lol.  As I never bought anything on Audiogon I wanted to purchase from a local seller in case there was a problem. There was no problem both sellers were honest and fair and I believe the price most reasonable both products were virtually new. I am pleased with the sound but when I see the needle go past 0/100 not knowing what that means concerned me as I do not want to blow up my speaker. Just want to understand the limits of this system.


stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
..looks like you just did a lateral arabesque.  Those Snells are really good.  Anyway, the best sound for the least dollar spent can be had with good headphones and a headphone amp.  ....or....you can be absolutely amazed as I was with a Sony Walkman music player and the top Grado in ear headphones.  ....and its portable too.
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,769 posts
 
Add the Sound Analyser app to your phone and measure how loud your music is at your listening position. If over 92dB, you are harming your hearing. That said, add a REL S sub and use it to augment your speakers. You’ll have a blast and you won't feel the need to push the main speaker volume where mid and treble energy do the most hearing damage.
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