How long untill I can really Flog them Hard

I heard a pair of 802 MATRIX speakers years ago playing Bruckner #9 (at an audio store), and the guy had them CRANKED!! to where the background noise (it was a remastered analog recording) was VERY noticeable. anyway, he stated to my worried face that you "couldn't blow these speakers". the Mark-2 version of these speakers had a protection circuit built in as well which was later eliminated to improve the transparency of the speaker. now, of course you "can" (blow the speakers) but as long as you have a good front end and you have some point of reference as to what the entire system is capable of doing, there is little cause for concern.
B&W speakers started out as studio monitors and had to duplicate the same SPL's as the source material. they had a reputation for being brutally honest, but not "delicate". BUT some people seem to be able to do things during a party that can be heard and felt a half a mile away. If you're one of those maniacs (We Salute You!) then get a no-fault warranty.

The speaker was blown when the missus unplugged all the RCA's and then replugged from the source direct to the pwr amp on one channel. I may have over stated how much a "flog them" as for too old, I'm 25 yrs old.
I don't crank them to a commercial listening level in a massive environment. My room is approx 2.4m high 7m long & 5m wide with hard surfaced furniture.
I like to get them to that level where the speakers sound full, bass is kind of empty until they get around 200-250 RMS behind them. about 75% bass driver excursion. "my amps are on the light side" 400RMS
when i blew them it hammered them so hard the tweeter went open circuit and the adhesive on the bass driver core had let go so the driver sunk 10mm back into the cabinet compared to the speaker that didn't clip.
I appreciate all of your input by the way, it is very handy to have access to a base of enthusiasts with a wealth of experience. in my town in Australia B&W only sells 10 pairs of 802's & 800's a year so expert know how is hard to come by.
Once again thanks. Just to confirm burn in time approx 100 hours?
P.S amps are on the list to buy. Pacifying the missus is like fighting a minotaur when it comes to rationalizing 30K wirth of electrocompaniet amps. BTW thoughts on Electro brand and pairing to B&W?
Thanks - Scott

if you need to crank it up to get fullness of bass...i would suggest you consider a superb sub. Set it to stop playing above 45hz for starters...i find that with the sub on my system, i can play at volume 1 of 100 on the preamp...i would never go past 65 by the way...and still be superbly satisfied because drum kicks still manage to hit me quietly in the chest...way cool when done right. (My speakers are Wilson X1/Grand Slamms.)

and you wont risk blowing speakers or overdriving the amp. I would run the sub in parallel...try Velodyne DD18 for example...would work well potentially in room your size.

my 2 cents...

i find the bass quite adequate. especially compared to my Bose 901s i had previously. i find its the mid and treble that needs the wattage to liven up.

Ah okay, i was just chiming in on your comment:

"...I like to get them to that level where the speakers sound full, bass is kind of empty until they get around 200-250 RMS behind them. about 75% bass driver excursion..."

On mid/treble, if you need to crank to 'liven' it up...i tend to think of source first then perhaps pre or cables. The reason is because generally treble/mid does not pull a lot of juice from the amp...so if you are cranking it to really feel it...it might be that your ear does not feel it is getting a balanced delivery of the spectrum at lower levels...? A guess?