Question about gains

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

Out of curiousity, if the gains are set right on my 100 x 4 at 4 ohms amp, should my 75 rms separates be ok? My separates are Boston Acoustics 6.5 midranges with tweeters on the front and back with most of the sound obviously going to my front stage.

Thanks

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[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Extra power is never a bad thing...you should be able to tell when you're reaching your speakers' limits. If not, then use a dmm.

 

[Stalin-ohaulic]

I set gain on mids amps by ear. I don't think the ratings tell the whole story with them. It has a lot to do with how you set your filters and what the purpose of that speaker is.

 

[subzero 5,000+ posts]

not always easy to set gains by ear. lots of things to consider. BASS MID TREBLE controls, Loudness avtivated? If you set the gain according to all those things set at balance, then when you adjust any, you might reach clipping and distortion sooner. Problem I keep havin. too many song at different recording levals and stations with less or more amplifacation, Some time I have to max out everything just to here it clearly compared to another song or source... I hate dealing with gain setting...

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

My separates are 80 watts RMS a piece so I am not as worried. I will just watch my gains.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

A good company (such as BA) should be providing an actual continuous power handling rating as thier RMS spec.

So technically you should be able to play a 0db sine wave at whatever voltage equates to 75-80w w/o damaging the speakers. Whether or not that would actually hold true is not certain, but that's the idea.

Now consider music requires 1/4-1/2 the power of a 0db sine wave. Logically there is no reason to expect a properly tuned 100w rms amp to be a problem for a decent 75-80w speaker, even if the amp does clip a LITTLE bit.