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Klipsch La Scalas with 750watts - In theory any problems?

Thetiminator

Thetiminator

Painfully virile
Hi everyone

My dad has a pair of La Scalas, I think they are c.101db.

A friend of his has offered him a pair of Musical Fidelity 750w monos for a silly low price. In theory is there a problem using such high powered amps with high efficiency speakers? Or is a good amp just a good amp and watch the volume control?
Cheers
 
It really isn’t what I’d choose. La Scalas don’t like highly damped solid state amps IME, they are a early 60s design and are far happier with a typical ten Watt valve amp. You’ll never get close to using a single Watt in any normal scenario, so a waste of energy if nothing else. By saying that some of the US Klipsch users run them with big McIntosh amps etc, but I can’t see the MF being a good pairing.
 
Thetiminator,

La Scalas are closer to 105 db/watt/metre sensitivity. With 750 watts per channel of Musical Fidelity monos, your dad should be able to alter the orbit of the Earth by a few hundred km before the La Scalas go pfffffft. Unless the specs have changed, they can handle 100 watts continuously and 500 watts peak, so 750 watts (roughly one horse power) would be way too much juice for the voice coils.

A few watts from some rich tubey thing would be a better choice. Think of the planet.

Joe
 
Thanks guys. He really doesn’t like valves though. He’s using Exposure amps at the mo that IIRC are c.80w/channel and they sound pretty good, if a touch rough round the edges...
 
I suppose what I’m asking is that is there such a thing as under driving an amp? In that the SQ will be affected if only using a fraction of its power..
 
Somewhat amused to see this thread sitting directly next to the ‘How loud before the neighbours complain?’ thread.
 
I would think you`d need to check the noise level of a 750 watt amplifier, given that it`ll be running at least 20dB below full output, volume knob could be a bit sensitive too.
 
Would it be bad form to: buy the amps for the silly low price, sell them for a moderate price, buy a used Amptastic chip amp for ~£85, spend the leftover funds on a vacation?
 
Thetiminator said:
I suppose what I’m asking is that is there such a thing as under driving an amp? In that the SQ will be affected if only using a fraction of its power..
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I have used high power amps and found that some of them need a decent load before they come into their own. Into very efficient speakers they never get going and sound underwhelming, compared to smaller amps that can sound great into high efficiency loads.
 
booja30 said:
Would it be bad form to: buy the amps for the silly low price, sell them for a moderate price, buy a used Amptastic chip amp for ~£85, spend the leftover funds on a vacation?
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If you had fun on the way and gave them a fair trial, not at all.
 
No problems or issues whatsoever other than whether S/N of the amp is good enough for hiss and hum to be inaudible with such high efficiency speakers. A bit of a waste of such good amps though!
 
stevec67 said:
I have used high power amps and found that some of them need a decent load before they come into their own. Into very efficient speakers they never get going and sound underwhelming, compared to smaller amps that can sound great into high efficiency loads.
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Sorry but there is zero basis for this. An "old wives tale" at best...
 
Thetiminator said:
Thanks guys. He really doesn’t like valves though. He’s using Exposure amps at the mo that IIRC are c.80w/channel and they sound pretty good, if a touch rough round the edges...
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First thought would be that a First Watt amp or a Sugden A21a2 will sound great with those.
 
booja30 said:
Would it be bad form to: buy the amps for the silly low price, sell them for a moderate price, buy a used Amptastic chip amp for ~£85, spend the leftover funds on a vacation?
Click to expand...
Nah, one just needs a pretty bar girl to rub one's ears whilst deciding how many pieces of gold pressed latinum to offer.
 
stevec67 said:
Well, I thought I heard it with a Krell into Tannoys when a smaller amp sounded better. So maybe I imagined it, or maybe a Krell isn't all that after all.
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I'm sure your sample group of 1 proves it beyond any doubt:rolleyes: There is no possibility that different topology and differing amounts of NFB have any effect whatsoever. It HAS to be due to the different output power capability....
 
Fond memories of when I wired up a rather nice Audio Synthesis power amp (175W) to my homebuilt TQWT omnidirectional cabinets with Lowther PM6Cs in. The power on thump made one of the voice coils ping right out of one of the drive units. I may have cried. But my local amp repair guy used to run a pair of Living Voice Air Scouts (105dB) with ridiculous coffee-table-sized SS monoblocks (might have been Krell, easily 400W). He did burn out a drive unit listening to Shania Twain from the opposite end of his rather long house, however.
 
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