I would pay very little attention to a speaker’s recommended power handling. It’s one of the least useful bits of information to take into account. It’s far easier to damage a speaker with a low powered amplifier than a quality high powered one. Most speakers thrive on high quality high current amplifiers.
Just keep in mind these basic principles;
An 8 ohm rated speaker is typically less demanding than a 4 ohm rated speaker, but their sensitivity has to be taken into account too:
So a speaker with say 88 or higher db sensitivity should generate higher sound pressure levels for the same amplifier input power than say an 84db sensitivity speaker.
So in the case of the DALI Menuet SE’s for example, (as is often the case with smaller speakers), they’re rated at 4 ohms and have an 86db sensitivity rating. So they’re going to need more grunt to get them going than a larger flooorstander with say 90db sensitivity into 8 ohms.
But there’s specs and specs, and this is an element of online reviews that can be genuinely helpful. (The less lazy ones anyway).
Check this one out for example:
Link to YouTube review of DALI Menuet SE by British Audiophile…
Not only does Taran help you see what these specs mean in the real world, he actually suggests amplifiers that seemed to complement or work against the DALI’s, so does some of the ground work for you.
Specs can only take you so far.
For example, my DALI Rubicon 2’s are 4 ohm rated speakers with sensitivity rating of 87db. In practice though, they do need quality amplification to get them going (and this is important): it’s not about just creating a certain sound pressure level from the speakers, it’s about being able to grip and control the speakers, usually the bass, so they’re timing isn’t softened too much.
They are certainly harder to drive than my Ruark Epilogue II’s which are also rated at 87db but are 8ohm.
The DALI Rubicon 2’s sound superb on the end of my 140wpc Anthem, but then they should. Timing is spot on, they just come alive and are full of energy.
The Rubicons sounded quite flat on a cheap Denon DRA800H amp though. The Denon could play loud, but the fun, liveliness and joy just dissipated from the speakers.
I tried them on my Quad Vena II amp though, and it was a surprisingly good match. Each complemented the other.
The DALI Rubicons are fast, have a full bodied and life-like midrange and a joyful bouncy bass that has real character and dynamics. My only near-criticism is that the treble can be a little too detailed on poor recordings.
But the Quad retains all the liveliness and sound timing of the DALI’s but gives a more fleshed out full bodied natural tone to the treble. So they just work together really well.
And I think I would only know that from experience because their 4ohm rating would indicate they would potentially need a more gutsy amp than the 45wpc Quad to get them going.
Ironically the Quad drove them with much more gusto and drive than the Denon which had a higher watts per channel rating.
So they’re power and quality power, and watts per channel are only half the story.
So reading up and educating yourself is certainly a good thing, as it will give you more insight and help you shortlist prior to any demo, but specs can only take you so far and at times can be a little misleading.
Some manufacturers are very conservative in their ratings and others over egg their ratings and play with the figures to make the headline figures look better than they really are.
Likening amplifier’s specs to cars for a moment. If watts per channel is BHP (or PS), then current is like torque. You can have two cars with identical BHP figures, but in the real world, it’s their torque that gives a better indication of real world performance.
Trouble is although car makers quite torque figures, few amplifier manufacturers quote current delivery, or damping factor.
So this is where a certain amount of experience and a good dealer comes in.