Recommend amp

[David Warren]

Some of the speakers I’m looking at have a recommended wattage of 50-200 watts as an example. To get the best out of the speaker do I need 200 watts? Or is that the speaker fully performed at 50 but is much louder at 200?

 

[Kapkirk]

Speaker makers put these ratings on their speakers to inform you- 50w normally means nominal power, and the higher number of 200 refers to peak music power, ie, when you are playing that music loud because even a 50 watt rms amp can momentarily hit peakes of 105-200 watt for a short time and the speaker should be able to handle it without blowing. So yes you could use a 50 watt/ 70w/80w or more but no more than 200w and it'll work just fine.
They don't have to match exactly but its good practise to have an amp with slightly less power than your speakers can handle to allow for peak power headroom.

 

[rccarguy3]

It's fine using a amp that's more powerful than the speakers, and is in fact advisable... You won't be using all the power anyway, so that means at full SPL from the speakers the amp is way within its limit

 

[gibbsy]

If you use 200 watts to drive your speakers your neighbours aren't going to like it and neither are your ears. You can basically forget those figures. The most important are the ohm loadings and the sensitivity. The higher the sensitivity reading, say above 88dB the easier they are for the amp to drive. Klipsch speakers have a very high sensitivity reading and make them one of the easiest for any amp to power.

 

[rccarguy3]

I read independent tests of klipsch and they weren't as efficient as they claimed to be.

At most you use 100w at the most, for typical room and typical speakers.

 

[dante01]

Some of the speakers I’m looking at have a recommended wattage of 50-200 watts as an example. To get the best out of the speaker do I need 200 watts? Or is that the speaker fully performed at 50 but is much louder at 200?

I doubt that the recommended power needed to drive your speakers will be more that 20 or 30 watts. The 200 watts will be the max power gandling your speakers are rated with. This is simply the wattage you should try not to constantly exceed.

What are the speakers? The manufacturer will give a power handling rating for them that states the minimum and the maximum wattage they can handle.

Wattage isn't a measure of loudness and is simply how much power the speakers require to drive them or how much power an amp can potentially output to drive them with. The more sensitive the speakers then the less power they require to attain a certain sound pressure level at 1m distance from said speakers.





This beginners guide to matching the amplification to the speakers may be helpful to the OP:

A Beginners Guide To Matching Speakers and Amplifiers

An essentials guide, giving you all the information you need to match speakers with amplifiers without the complicated maths or advanced terminology.

www.qacoustics.co.uk

as well as this:

How to Match Speakers and Amps | The Master Switch

Confused about matching speakers and amps? We can help, with our full guide, breaking down the easiest way of mastering this audio topic.

www.themasterswitch.com

and this:

How to Match Amps and Speakers | Home Cinema Guide

Are you scared of blowing your speakers? What amplifier should you buy so you don't have problems? Learn what to consider when matching amps and speakers.

www.the-home-cinema-guide.com