The room/speaker balance is another topic of course, but as a rule avoid putting big speakers in small rooms unless you (and your neighbours) like it boombastic. I have Hsu Research speakers for the front left, right, and center, Axiom dipole surrounds, and a JBL 12-inch subwoofer. But, if you insist on fast A/B switching, then I'd consider doing it all with a 6 channel sound card (for three sets of speakers). - to understand usage via Google Analytics Put a really revealing speaker with a cheap amp, and you will hear the shortcomings of the amp, and not get the best out of the speaker. Pay attention to Continuous Power and the wattage your amplifier is putting out, and stack that up against the recommended amplification levels on your speaker. Most modern amplifiers can drive an 87dB/4 Ohm loudspeaker without difficulty, but if you want high volume levels without distortion, you will need a more powerful amp than you do with an 8 Ohm speaker. - remembering account, browser, and regional preferences About the author: Cliff, like many of us, has always loved home theater equipment. It’s possible to damage a speaker by playing it at high levels for too long even if the amp can cope, but you’ll be able to hear that all is not well before things go pear shaped. - basic site functions Some of the technologies we use are necessary for critical functions like security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and to make the site work correctly for browsing and transactions. >> Connecting your speakers to an amplifier which is far too weak to power them. If you have a great amplifier then it makes sense to have speakers of the same quality. You need to think carefully about how you’re going to use your speakers, where you’re going to position them and for what purpose they’re going to serve. They have, however, been paired with a slew of receivers. Inconveniently, sensitivity is not the only important specification; the other one is impedance. This is why it pays to listen to the combination of amp and speaker in a room of similar size to your own before buying. The Concept 40’s, however, have a recommended power range from 25 to 150w, giving them plenty of headroom for Dynamic Power shifts that you might encounter. Well, it’s directly linked to how loud your speakers can get. - personalized search, content, and recommendations For instance, an amp maker might always use a certain type of speaker in his or her evaluation work, and thus end up with an amp that works best with that type of speaker. This completely destroys the speaker, which is less than ideal. Resistance will often be represented by the Ω symbol, like 10Ω. hiresaudiocentral.com/how-to-calibrate-and-level-match-your-speakers All of this sounds needlessly complicated, but trust us when we say it isn’t, really. Often, this leads people to make the mistake of believing that more wattage means greater volume output, but that’s not always the case. If you’ve followed our instructions above, they should work together perfectly, but it’s also true that different amplifiers and speakers will reproduce the same source music in different ways, some of which may not appeal to your own aural sensibilities. You can expect to see a 6dB falloff every time you double the distance between your speakers. They have, however, been paired with a slew of receivers. So, for your devoted audiophiles, let that serve as a warning! For example, a HiFi system in a lounge is going to have different requirements than a home cinema set up. In order to give you the best experience, we use cookies and similar technologies for performance, analytics, personalization, advertising, and to help our site function. However, other manufacturers may provide you with Minimum Recommended Power, Maximum Continuous Power, and Maximum Short-Term Peak Power ratings for your speakers. Because people have been making amps and speakers for decades, some particularly happy pairings have been identified and are regularly recommended by dealers and press alike. Take a look at the listed sensitivity on your speakers and perform the basic maths above, and you’ll get an indication of whether they’re destined for each other. If your amplifier doesn’t deliver enough power to reach your speakers minimum recommendation, you’ll keep cranking the volume knob to get up to a suitable volume level (one which likely doesn’t exist). Impedance Matching. It’s not as hard as it used to be, but you need to check whether your speaker impedance and power handling is compatible with the imprudence range of your amp and output power it can deliver safely. We’d always recommend giving yourself plenty of headroom when it comes to pairing speakers and amplifiers. The three terms we’ll be tackling in this article are impedance, power and sensitivity. Here on the internet, you’ll find dozens of extremely technical and maths-heavy explanations. The REL could be made to work with both speakers TBH to match the FR. That doesn’t mean higher sensitivity is better, it simply means that a higher sensitivity speaker will reach higher volumes, and potentially save you from investing in a more powerful amplifier. Speakers are designed to handle fluctuations in power levels, so this extra bit of juice won’t cause any issues. These compact and award-winning speakers have a nominal 6ohm impedance, a sensitivity of 86dB and a recommended power between 15 and 75 watts. So all things being equal, more power is a good thing. What usually happens in these cases is that because your speakers can’t dissipate the heat energy coming from the amps output, it burns up the voice coil in the speaker, along with its suspension. But after I heard what you said, I got confused. This remains true despite the fact that amplifiers are almost as crucial to the tone and overall presentation of your audio as your speakers are.