STL Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 I'm helping a friend shop for some in-wall speakers, and he pointed out the rather low power handling on Klipsch's speakers. Specifically the SCW-2 can only handle 50Wrms, whereas the very similar SB-2 can handle 85Wrms. Is this limitation mainly due to the woofer only (since it would be running in a infinite baffle config)? Would it help if an enclosure was built behind the in-wall speaker? The wall my friend would put them in is in the basement and the other side is just an unfinished utility room so he could easily build enclosures. If this would help, then what size should be build and just how might the help power handling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 I think what you may want to look at is how much power handling do you need on a continuous basis? Most of what you typically listen to is generated by less than 5 watts, I imagine. 50 watts continuously into a Klipsch speaker typically would drive you from the room - remember how sensitive they are? Also, the difference from 50 watts to 85 watts represents an increase of less than 3db. I think you probably needn't be concerned. DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 I doubt you will ever use 50 watts. I once got my SF-2's to 50 watts each (yes, they can handle the power) and it was nothing short of concert level in my living room. like 114 db at listening position. Also, my ears were swollen feeling the next 2 days. 2 watts is enough to get most klipsch speakers to loud levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted January 13, 2003 Author Share Posted January 13, 2003 Thanks for the replies, but neither of you really answered my question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted January 13, 2003 Author Share Posted January 13, 2003 ---------------- Also, the difference from 50 watts to 85 watts represents an increase of less than 3db. I think you probably needn't be concerned. ---------------- So if I tell him not to be concerned about 2-3dB then that somewhat counters the arguement of Klipschs being so efficient. The SCW-2 is 92dB whereas the Infinity ERS210 is 89db -- a difference of 3dB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 ---------------- On 1/13/2003 5:42:30 PM STL wrote: ---------------- Also, the difference from 50 watts to 85 watts represents an increase of less than 3db. I think you probably needn't be concerned. ---------------- So if I tell him not to be concerned about 2-3dB then that somewhat counters the arguement of Klipschs being so efficient. The SCW-2 is 92dB whereas the Infinity ERS210 is 89db -- a difference of 3dB. ---------------- Perhaps. However, it takes 2x the power for the Infinity's to play 92db than it does for the Klipsch. Which means 4x the power to play 95db (versus 2x for the Klipsch), and 8 times the power to play 98db (versus 4x for the Klipsch). So, you could say the Klipsch are 2x more efficient than the Infinity, requiring half the power to output any given volume level. I think that's a significant number. That makes a bigger difference in the tube arena than it does in most solid state amps. The first few watts are key, and tubes generally are better at those first few watts than solid state, which don't hit their stride until well past that. I could have been more clear by stating that a fairly significant boost in power (50 to 85 watts) only yields less than a 3db volume gain in exchange, so the difference in the maximum power rating doesn't translate into that big of a volume difference. Anyhow, pro said it best above, I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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