Can a power amp have too much power, risking damage to a speaker?
I have a McIntosh 402, rated 400 watts continuous per channel. If I use it to drive a pair of Klipshorns or LaScala [specified to handle 100 watts continuous] or similar high-efficiency speakers, do I risk damage to such speakers?
Amplifiers can damage loudspeakers with too much sustained high power. If you treat your loudspeaker's voice coils as if they were a fuse, they will eventually fail. Use some common sense.
I’ve always had power amps that far exceeded the power handling capacity of my speakers. Never damaged a speakers. Particularly with solid state amps most speakers benefit from having large excess capacity, yielding more solidity.
As my systems got better the volume of maximum enjoyment went down, until now 65db to 75db is typical… cracking 80 if I am enjoying it really loud..
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