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? 

joelepo

Doing some quick math here, your Mac and K'horns or LaScalas should hit peaks of over 130 decibels in your room. Should be plenty of dynamic range available on demand.

About 30 years ago a dealer (who shall remain nameless) in Philadelphia told me that basically, "Too much clean power has never hurt a speaker."  He told me a lot of other things that I suspect would get pushed back on here.

JBL warns about loud levels. See JBL studio monitor technical manual here last page caution section SPL!

Mike

I had same question not long ago. I wrote to Buchardt customer service if I can use for example 800W amplifier (Peachtree Class D) with my speakers (4 Ohms, recommended power 40-200W) and that was the answer:

You can use an amplifier with as many watt's as you wish, as long as you don't turn the volume up higher than the speakers can handle, it is not a problem at all :)
More wattage helps the speakers to perform better when pushing the volume up, so you cannot really get "too many" watts.