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Now I read that these speakers are excellent but can be hard to drive at 4 ohms. I’ve been looking at power amps up to about £250 (very, very much max) ....
Let's talk about how 4 ohm speakers work. Lower impedance means more Current Flow for a given setting of the Volume Control
(voltage). More Current means more heat, and more chances that the Amp will go into thermal shutdown.
The other factor affecting Current is
Volume. The louder the speakers, the higher the applied Voltage and the higher the resulting Current, which in turn mean more heat, which in turn means a greater chance of the Amp shutting down.
So, for an amp to work, you have to stay within its range of Heat Tolerance, and within the Current capability of the Power Supply.
There are lot of consumer grade Amp that are 4 ohm rated, so this is not really a problem. But seeking a good Power Amp for only £250 is
(sort of).
About the best you can do in a New Amp is the
Crown XLS-1502 Drivecore. Massive Power in a Class-D Studio Amp. Though a bit above budget.
Crown XLS 1502 Drivecore Power Amp offers fantastic performance, technology, and affordability. This high-performance line consists of four models each providing enormous power and flexibility whilst weighing in at only 10 lbs or less. Engineered to meet any demanding audio requirements...
www.studiospares.com
Admittedly above your budget, but it is an amp with 300w/ch to 8 ohms and is rated functional down to 2 ohms.
Oddly, the 300w/ch Amp is less money than the 200w/ch model.
Crown XLS 1002 Drivecore Power Amp, offers fantastic performance, technology, and affordability. This high-performance line consists of four models each providing enormous power and flexibility whilst weighing in at only 10 lbs or less. Engineered to meet any demanding audio requirements...
www.studiospares.com
Many Positive Reviews on YouTube for the Crown XLS Amps. Some pretty serious Stereophiles use the Crown as their primary amps.
The Crown also have DSP Crossover control. They have
Low-Pass, High-Pass, and Band-Pass filters. Th
e Low-Pass could be used to drive a passive Subwoofer. The
High-Pass could be used to filter low frequencies from the Front Speakers, and the low bass then diverted to the Subwoofer. So, very versatile amps.
The Amps also have a
Bridged Mode, where the Left and Right Channels can be combined into one large Mono Channel. In Bridge Mode Mono, the XLS-1502 puts out a very solid 1050 watts to 8 ohms. 1550 Watts to 4 ohms.
There are lower cost Class-D Studio Amps available from Behringer. These come in two versions, the "D" with DSP Control, and the non-D which are just straight forward power amps. Reviews are good, but I'm not sure these are in a class with Crown. -
This is the
Berhringer NX1000D - DSP version (160w/ch to 8ohms) - £225 -
Behringer NX Range of Ultra-Lightweight Class D Power Amplifiers with DSP Control and Smart Sense Loudspeaker Impedance Compensation
www.studiospares.com
This is the non-D version -
Behringer NX1000 (160w/ch to 8 ohms) - £174 -
Behringer NX Range of Ultra-Lightweight Class D Power Amplifiers with DSP Control and Smart Sense Loudspeaker Impedance Compensation
www.studiospares.com
Studio Spares is not real clear about the power, but I looked it up on a USA seller, and the standard Power Rating is a more modest 160w/ch relative to the substantially and potentially overpowered Crown.
Here is the USA site, click "Specs" to see the standard 8 ohm rated Power.
2-channel Power Amplifier, 300W Peak/ch at 4 ohms, with Stereo Crossover, SmartSense Loudspeaker Impedance Compensation, Zero-attack Limiters, Thermal Overload Protection, Twist-lock Speaker Connectors, and LED Meters
www.sweetwater.com
Crown is a company with a stellar reputation spanning many decades. Behringer are a newer though well established internationally, and while maintaining quality, represent high value in Audio Equipment.
For your budget in a New Amp, this is about the best you can do.
Steve/bluewizard