Sony Amplifier and floor standing speakers

[jjdean]

Hi,
So im new to the scene, and don't fully get the whole amplifier power rating thing, i was wondering if someone could explain it to me?

im looking to get a pair of the following speakers SS-F6000 (SSF6000) : Home Theatre and hi fi : Sony

it says they have a maximum input of 180watts, so would i need an amplifier with less than that, or more than that?

just a little confused as other sites are saying its a good idea to have an amp double the power of the speakers...

i was thinking about this amp, which gives out 2 x 70w power
TA-FE370 (TAFE370) : Home Theatre and hi fi : Sony
however im not sure if its powerful enough going with with what i've read

im planning to plug the amp into my laptop just using the standard twin phono to 3.5mm stereo jack.

im also on a pretty tight budjet looking to spend around £200-£250

any help would be apreciated

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

do not buy that sony amp, the sound is flat,unexciting and has little power.
i would say buy a old black d serial number audiolab 8000a for £180-£220 on ebay, imo you will find it extremely hard to find a better amp for under £500.
no remote control though

 

[jjdean]

hmm i was thinking that, being sony your usually just paying for a name..

i was reading another thread about a room at uni, and someone mentioned something about a £130 system Richer Sounds - The UK's Hi-Fi, Home Cinema & Flat Panel Tv Specialists! not sure if thats any good though.

im kinda looking for what everyone else is i guess, the best system i can buy for the cheapest amount of money, only £200 ish in my case..

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

with a budget of £200 i would definately buy second hand.
on ebay you could get £600 worth of hifi for circa £200.
a brand new £200 system will be poor imo.

 

[jjdean]

yeah i knew i wouldn't be able to get a brilliant system for the money i have...

so an Audiolab 8000A, would that still be ok power-wise with the sony speakers i linked above?

i don't mind being second hand on the amp but got kinda set on those speakers

 

[leedswillprevai]

That is absolutely not true a 200.00 amp might sound poor in comparison to one of 500.00 or above, but poor in it's own right? well some are but some definitely are not. Sony made a number of good budget amps and yes they are very loud so driving the speakers would not be a problem. I also know they did make a very good floorstander to but will need to check what that was called and then I will get back to you.

I do assure you most amps are not double the power of a speaker btw

Take my setup for example NAD C352 (80 watts per channel)
MA BR2 speakers (100 watts per channel)

 

[jjdean]

yeah so for a maximum input of overall 180 watts i simply need an amp that can do similar that, but not more?

so for example, the sony amp i first mentioned with 70 w per channel output wouldn't damage the speakers by being "less than" 180 w?

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

i owned a older version of that amp (same model number) and it was rubbish, one of the worst amps i have ever heard.
all they will have changed is the casings i guarantee it will sound exactly the same as the old model.
imo sony only made truly good integrated amps in the 70s.

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

if it is good sound quality you want do not buy them £100 amps they are ALL crap.
get a second hand £400 amp for £100 !

 

[leedswillprevai]

That's your opinion but many people would disagree with you, the NAD C320 BEE is a terrific amp and never retailed anywhere near 500.00, the NAD C352 is a terrific amp etc

However to the OP the amp will drive the speakers fine just not sure about those particular speakers. Why did you pick them out?

 

[jjdean]

why not sure about the speakers? what that they're good?

and not sure, read good reviews, seen them in the store they have a good look and are pretty much the perfect size for my room, so yeah got kinda set on them

and £100-ish
but yeah, i just wondered if the sony amp would do the job as a kinda starter kit

 

[leedswillprevai]

It certainly will but make sure you use some speaker cable other than the freebie stuff, how big is the room you will be using?

 

[jjdean]

its pretty small about 2.5m x 3.5m i think
and yeah i was gonna upgrade the cabling first thing, richer sounds is round the corner so will pay them a visit

 

[leedswillprevai]

those floor standers will be too overbearing for the size of the room i would guess.

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

That is absolutely not true a 200.00 amp might sound poor in comparison to one of 500.00 or above, but poor in it's own right? well some are but some definitely are not. Sony made a number of good budget amps and yes they are very loud so driving the speakers would not be a problem. I also know they did make a very good floorstander to but will need to check what that was called and then I will get back to you.

I do assure you most amps are not double the power of a speaker btw

Take my setup for example NAD C352 (80 watts per channel)
MA BR2 speakers (100 watts per channel)

i did not say a £200 amp will sound poor, i said a new £200 amp and speaker SYSTEM will sound poor, which it will.
buy second hand and get a amp and speaker SYSTEM that will pee all over a new £200 package.

 

[leedswillprevai]

That would simply depend on the amp and speakers, for example the Tannoy F4 is a cracking floorstander and is very cheap

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

i would not recommend anyone to buy an amplifier and speakers brand new for £200.
imo there are good £100 cd players but amplifers none.

 

[leedswillprevai]

usually i would agree but the sony amp is pretty good depends on source and speakers of course

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

i run mine with a £100 technics slpg490 cd player which is a good player as good as a arcam alpha 7se i had at the same time.
the speakers were b&w 601 s1 which i thought were crap, as a system it was horrible and that was a £400 system.
a old £200 all in one philiphs hifi i had was much much better.

 

[leedswillprevai]

The B&W speakers I agree they are crap if you had heard them with more lively upfront speakers you might have thought more of them.

 

[WHITE.AKITA]

i did, i had a room full of speaker,amps cd players and cables that i was constantly swapping over like a mad man !
i also tried them with a pair of mission speakers i beleive were 702se which were better but still not producing a decent sound.
the best sound i ever had was from a audiolab 8000a amp,slpg490cd player, the 702 mission speakers but also has a pair of cheap TOSHIBA ! speakers sat on top of the mission also run by the 2 channels on the audiolab amp !
honestly the sound was amazing and was better than any system i heard in a few hifi shops round my area including a £6000 naim system.
audiolab are truly great systems, what hifi used them as their reference system for years.
i had more expensive amps/speakers and cd players but none came close to the clarity of the system mentioned.
so i am not saying only buy expensive, its just that through my own experiance £100 amps sound awfull.

 

[John Martin]

yeah so for a maximum input of overall 180 watts i simply need an amp that can do similar that, but not more?

so for example, the sony amp i first mentioned with 70 w per channel output wouldn't damage the speakers by being "less than" 180 w?

Let's inject a little bit of sense here.

1. It is possible to damage speakers by overdriving them. However, unless you are really cloth-eared, you would notice the distortion and hopefully turn it down before any real damage occurred.

2. What usually damages loudspeaker drive units is heavily distorted amplifier output, which usually results from overdriving an UNDERPOWERED amplifier.

So, the message is : by all means have a more powerful amp than your speaker specs would suggest, just use your ears for signs of problems. I seriously doubt that you would damage your 180watt loudspeakers by driving them from a 70wpc amplifier.

Also, 70 wpc is perfectly adequate for most people, unless you have a very large room and like ear damaging levels. In the past, I have successfully driven Spendor BC1s from a Naim Nait (the original) rated at 12wpc to painful levels in a 20ft by 15ft room, and long before that used to run hospital junior mess parties from a 20wpc Trio (now Kenwood) amp, also into the BC1s, in a much larger room, to levels where people complained about the noise (bloody ungrateful patients ...

So ... don't worry, just use your ears.