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I know this isn't an audiophile question but I bought a pair of KLH 9915 speakers which are rated for amplifiers 10-300 watts. My main system consists of a Kenwood Basic M2A Amp with 220 wpc and a S/N ratio of 120 DB and .004% thd. My Preamp is a Basic C1 and has .005% thd and 108 S/N Ratio. I was playing a live Eric Clapton CD called 24 Nights and on Wonderful Tonight at a Volume setting at 10 Oclock I blew one of the midranges. Now according to my meters on my amp I was pushing around 120 watts steady with peaks hitting the top of the scale which is 300. Are their any good quality speakers out theere that can handle the 220 watts rms my amp can push and not blow up. I have been unable to find any with that kinda power rating. Thanks for any help.Moe
Follow Ups:
If your midrange blew, it wasn't because your amp was clipping. A clipping amp fries tweeters.Rather, it was because your average power level was too high. Using rock music (which is highly compressed, with a 6 to 8 dB peak-to-average ratio), with a 200 watt amplfier you can generate average levels that will fry nearly any consumer speaker that uses a midrange. The only exception might be one of the "classic" acoustic suspension speakers from the late 1960s or early 1970s -- the KLH Model 6, the AR 2ax (not the AR 5), the AR 3 (not the 3a) and the Larger Advent speaker. These speakers all had large woofers (10 - 12") that reproduced everything up to 1 or 1.5 Khz and could therefore soak up a lot of power. The two ARs I mentioned were nominally 3-way, but, in reality consisted of a tweeter and a super tweeter. The woofer reproduced the midrange. A true 3-way speaker has a midrange that usually takes over from the woofer in the 300 to 400 Hz band, squarely in the midrange. (Middle C on the piano is 440 Hz.) The downside is that all these speakers are horribly inefficient; so you may be pumping in the watts, but you won't get the sound that you're apparently seeking.
If you want to generate (literally) ear-splitting SPL's, then you should be looking at more efficient speakers, not more amplifier power, Stephen B says. Why don't you look for an old pair of Klipsch horn speakers, either the K-Horns or the Cornwalls? They are rated to generate SPLs in excess of 110 dB -- and will do so with less power input than your amplifier produces. Also look for some of the big Altec Voice of Theater speakers, used. They are almost as efficient as the Klipsch horns and will play really LOUD. I don't know if they would fit your budget, however. They are also physically big.
At the risk of sounding churlish, you also might want to consider that exposure to sustained SPLs of 100 dB or more produces permanent hearing damage -- at the minimum tinnitus (ringing of the ears) and at the maximum deafness. As one who has occasional tinnitus in one ear, I can tell you it's no fun. It's also incurable.
So, enjoy the music, but think of your ears, too.
What you need is a speaker that can produce the dBs you want without blowing up.All you'll get when you buy speakers by looking at their power handling capacity are speakers that can handle lots of heat, which mainly translates into dynamic compression.
The problem with very inefficient speakers is their inability to turn watts into acoustic energy. Instead they produce low acoustic output and lots of heat. Guess where your musical peaks and therefore your dynamics go?
Look for a more efficient speaker that uses its input to produce acoustical output. That way you can listen to loud, uncompressed music with a few watts without having your speaker voice coils melt. Even your amp will thank you.
24 nights, awesome album!
There are a lot of options, but I can't help but wonder if maybe you've got a defective driver? 10 o'clock doesn't seem to be that much..... was the power clean or distorting? Even a low amount of distorted power will blow a speaker. How old were the speakers, still under warranty, or about to bite the bullet anyway?
If you're looking for new speakers, there are litterally hundreds of options, the best bet is to listen at local dealers for something you like in your price range. You might also want to take your amp/pre down to the shop to do the demo with. Don't pay too much attention to the numbers, as even a 10 watt per channel amp will blow a 200 watt speaker, if those 10 watts are distorted and clipped.
Good luck!
I also would like to spend less than 1k a pair.
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