amp wattage

[Jim]

Looking for an amp for Arendal THX Monitors. Found a brand I like that offers a model with 250 watts per channel at 4 ohms and a 500 watt per channel at 4 ohms. The monitors are rated at 400 watts per channel. Should I get the 500 watt for more head room or is that over kill, I also do not want to take a chance damaging the speaker. Should I play it safe and go with the 250 watts ( cheaper also), and is that enough for the monitor to reach its full potential ?

Thanks for your time, Jim

[Brandon]

Hey Jim!

We get this question a lot. Here is a link to a knowledge base article we have about amplifier power.

How much amp power do I need for my Arendal Sound speakers?

Hope this helps you out and have an awesome weekend!

[Corey]

My amps put out 300w@ 4ohms and that is plenty. Use an online calculator to determine how much power you actually need to meet your listening levels.

[Raffaele Spataro]

Jim,

There is never a limit on too much power. There is a problem when you don’t have enough power. The question is are you going to reach reference level or play your speakers very low? I have two Crown XLi amps that output 500Watts @8Ohms and 750Watts @4Ohms now this might seem like a lot of power but I want to achieve maximum dynamics. If you want to best headroom and no distortion then yes go with a high powered amp. If you are listening at low volume then go with the 250Watts @8Ohms. Its really on what your listening needs are to be honest. I used to have the Emotiva XPa3 gen 2’s and they had 225Watts @8Ohms and 350Watts @4Ohms and they were fine but they couldn’t play as loud as the crowns. However they didn’t have as much dynamics to drive my 1723’s THX’s. Happy Listening!

[Jim]

Thanks for the replies, you guys are a wealth of information. The article was great too. I was thinking more power might be better but I was worried about damaging the speakers.

[Raffaele Spataro]

Too little power will damage your speakers, going with higher wattage will give you the headroom plus the dynamics for your speakers.

[Gjøran]

Like its said above here, there is not too much power. Your ears will more likely die before the speakers. Unless you have a weak amp, because that can actually kill them.

For me, I use Emotiva XPA-DR3 for my front setup :)

[hani-alzahrani]

Any decent amp from a well known brand will do. Emotiva, Monolith and Outlaw have affordable options.

[Frank Kvalvik]

Gonna try to keep this one alive since I have a similar question.

Got a reciever that I am happy with and it specifies as follows (for surround)

Rated Output (6Ω) : 165 (1% THD) W
Speaker Impedance : 4-16Ω
Frequency response : 20-20000Hz

So, 165w pr. channel…

Would this be enough to aquire “the complete set” with 1723 Tower THX for L/R and the 1723 Center THX and of course the 1723 Surround THX for the rear.
Most likely the 1723 Subwoofer 1v (perhaps the 2v).

Or do I “have” to get an additional amp for the L/R and do pre-out for those?

Quite new so any help would be appreciated.
THX

[Brandon]

Hey Frank,

This 165 wpc is probably 2 channel driven. When you go the full system you will probably be down around 75 wpc. I would look at getting an external amp to drive at minimum the front L/C/R like ATI, Monolith, Emotiva etc.

This would help take the load of the receiver and allow for my dynamic range headroom for a better overall listening experience.

While everyone is on a budget. Sounds like your AVR may be able to push the 1723s although I wouldn’t expect it to be able to play very loudly.

Thanks!

[Frank Kvalvik]

Hey Brandon.
Thanks for the quick reply. I interpret this as I am somewhat coverd watt-wise :)

The atteaced image is from the AVR specsheet and they do claim in the tl:dr that it should be 175 Watt per channel and a whole lot more on features like atmost, hdr and more.

As you say. I should be able to drive and if I am not happy with the loudness I’ll add an external amp for the LCR on the pre-outputs.

Thanks again.

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