Arcam SA30 & Mission QX-2; which resistance?

lief

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I’m shopping. I’m looking specifically at the Arcam SA30 to power my existing Mission QX-2 speakers. The speakers are nominally 4 ohms but 8 ohms compatible. The amp outputs 120W at 8 ohms; 220 at 4. The maximum wattage of the speakers is 120W.

Which resistance will be in effect when connecting them to the SA30, 8 ohms or 4?

Does it matter?
 
Hi. Not really. Will happily drive them.
However, it's way too much amp for your speakers though, imho. You'll get far better quality sound spending £1k-£1.5k on speakers and £500-£1k on amp than splurging your budget on an amp.
 
Thanks!

Also, after a little chat with an audio engineer friend, who says that you rarely need more than 100W at home, I'm thinking I might "just" get the SA20, which does a straightforward 90W at 4–16 ohms.

As for the "which resistance" bit; I've contacted Mission and Arcam and will post their replies for the sake of anyone interested.
 
If you like the Kef sound, get yourself some r3's, build the rest around that and i assume you'll be happy for a long time.
 
I’m shopping. I’m looking specifically at the Arcam SA30 to power my existing Mission QX-2 speakers. The speakers are nominally 4 ohms but 8 ohms compatible. The amp outputs 120W at 8 ohms; 220 at 4. The maximum wattage of the speakers is 120W.

Which resistance will be in effect when connecting them to the SA30, 8 ohms or 4?

Does it matter?

It matters not the tiniest bit. Forget all about such numbers. They are nothing more than a hugely rough guide.

You need a graph of a speakers response to accurately make sense of its impedance curve. A single number has no real value, especially with non unusual speakers.

The Missions are an easy load for any amp in its price range, and totally below the Arcams league.

Great speakers, without doubt. But the cash spent on an SA30 would be much better spent on better speakers.
 
If you like the Kef sound, get yourself some r3's, build the rest around that and i assume you'll be happy for a long time.

A much better idea. The R3s or R300s are genuine three way speakers and will whoppingly outperform the Missions.
 
If you want a top class Arcam then this is a better buy than the SA20.

Everything you’ll need for speakers up to around £3000, including the ever magnificent Dirac Live.


Still overkill for the missions, but it’s overkill in the right direction.
 
Thanks.

As an aside: Arcam told me to ask a dealer instead of going direct to them.
 
Thanks.

As an aside: Arcam told me to ask a dealer instead of going direct to them.

American corporate owned now. No happy, cheerful chats anymore.

Also, the dealer has a chance to sell you things unnecessary.
 
As advised above the SA30 is overkill for the Mission QX2. If you like Mission, the SA30 or Sa20 will be more than capable for the Mission ZX1 series.
 

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