Setup advice, most economical amp for AW650 speaker sets

[madfusker]

Looking for some setup advice. 

 

I am currently running AW650s on a Parasound HCA750a that shows a spec of:

Continuous Power Output - Stereo
75 watts RMS x 2, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 8 ohms, both channels driven
125 watts RMS x 2, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 4 ohms, both channels driven
Continuous Power Output - Mono
250 watts RMS, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 8 ohms
Current Capacity
20 amps peak per channel
Slew Rate
> 130 V/μsecond
Frequency Response
5 Hz-100 kHz, +0/-3 dB at 1 watt

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234610829201

 

The AW650 shows a POWER HANDLING of 85 watts (340 watts peak) for 8 ohms.  So it looks like I am 10 watts under powering the AW650s when I run a single pair on the HCA750a specs above?  Is this a problem, or can it damage the horns? I was looking at grabbing a few more 750As and have 1 to 2 pair on each amp, but worried I'm short on power. 

 

And if I go 2 pair on that amp, it would drop it to 4 ohms, and looks like that would be 125 watts per channel, correct?  So would this be in spec for the AW650 that shows:

NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 8 ohms
POWER HANDLING 85 watts (340 watts peak)

 

Lastly, given I would need to ebay more HCA750a or better amps, is there cheaper way to power the AW650s that's still clean sounding on the amp for the 85W needed?  I am essentially setting them up as zones and they will be fed by a chromecast audio plugged into the RCAs.

 

Thanks.

 

Edited December 25, 2022 by madfusker
Subject

[MeloManiac]

5 minutes ago, madfusker said:

Looking for some setup advice. 

 

I am currently running AW650s on a Parasound HCA750a that shows a spec of:

Continuous Power Output - Stereo
75 watts RMS x 2, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 8 ohms, both channels driven
125 watts RMS x 2, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 4 ohms, both channels driven
Continuous Power Output - Mono
250 watts RMS, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 8 ohms
Current Capacity
20 amps peak per channel
Slew Rate
> 130 V/μsecond
Frequency Response
5 Hz-100 kHz, +0/-3 dB at 1 watt

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234610829201

 

The AW650 shows a POWER HANDLING of 85 watts (340 watts peak) for 8 ohms.  So it looks like I am 10 watts under powering the AW650s when I run a single pair on the HCA750a specs above?  Is this a problem, or can it damage the horns? I was looking at grabbing a few more 750As and have 1 to 2 pair on each amp, but worried I'm short on power. 

 

And if I go 2 pair on that amp, it would drop it to 4 ohms, and looks like that would be 125 watts per channel, correct?  So would this be in spec for the AW650 that shows:

NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 8 ohms
POWER HANDLING 85 watts (340 watts peak)

 

Lastly, given I would need to ebay more HCA750a or better amps, is there cheaper way to power the AW650s that's still clean sounding on the amp for the 85W needed?  I am essentially setting them up as zones and they will be fed by a chromecast audio plugged into the RCAs.

 

Thanks.

 

 

You can drive your speakers with 1 watt per channel, if you like! I've used the Tubecube 7 which has 3.5 wpc to drive my Heresy speakers without issues. 

It is not the amount of watt that is important, but the quality of the watts. 

Remember this though: if what you hear sounds OK, then it will not damage your speakers. If it sounds not ok, then it may damage your speaker if you let it play like that for a long time. 

[Peter P.]

32 minutes ago, MeloManiac said:

 

You can drive your speakers with 1 watt per channel, if you like!...

Remember this though: if what you hear sounds OK, then it will not damage your speakers. If it sounds not ok, then it may damage your speaker if you let it play like that for a long time. 

THIS. If you hear distortion, you're likely driving the amp into clipping, sending DC to the speakers and that is true whether you hear bad sounds from just the woofers or the tweeters. Very bad for the speakers. You currently have plenty of power for your application and clipping should not be an issue unless you drive the volume beyond the capabilities of your amp. You'll know it when you hear it.

[madfusker]

Understand all that for sure, and I thought it was that basic/common sense as well, but:

 

I picked up some AW650s from a guy for next to nothing however they both needed new horns.  Klipsch is out of stock of course 😕, but support told me that people under power those speakers quite often and it will take out the horns. They get quite a few orders for them.   I don't know if that's a LOT under powered, or just what?  So just trying to match as close as possible.

 

[billybob]

The Parasound can run a pair, no problem. In fact, they should sound good at any reasonable volume. And no, you will not hurt anything.

Just saw one listed inexpensive on ebay.

Just a little extra from a fine maker:

 

 

http://www.audioreview.com/product/amplification/amplifiers/parasound/hca-750a.html

[billybob]

If you have the amp and speakers up and running, after abit of time, you can decide on what works for 2nd zone.

 

 

[babadono]

Under power the speakers and it blows out the horns? Let's be clear what this means. People use too small an amplifier and drive it way past clipping in a desire to make it louder. This causes the high frequency horn to get too much power which is what takes out the horn driver.

[HiFi Heaven]

Over-driven amplifier clipping turns musical sine waves into distorted square waves which have high harmonic content.

The spectral balance shifts upward with the clipped harmonics passing easily thru the crossover cap to the delicate tweeter.

The diaphragm can't follow square waves so the excess power dissipates as heat in the voice coil, "charcoaling" the tiny wire.

 

 

[the real Duke Spinner]

9 hours ago, MeloManiac said:

 

You can drive your speakers with 1 watt per channel, if you like! I've used the Tubecube 7 which has 3.5 wpc to drive my Heresy speakers without issues. 

It is not the amount of watt that is important, but the quality of the watts. 

Remember this though: if what you hear sounds OK, then it will not damage your speakers. If it sounds not ok, then it may damage your speaker if you let it play like that for a long time. 

Where did the Bass come from ??  🙄

[madfusker]

Thanks for the confirmation and all the tips!  The 1000A looks like a pretty sweet setup as well, but it seems that a 750A will drive 2 pair just fine in my tests.

[billybob]

4 minutes ago, madfusker said:

Thanks for the confirmation and all the tips!  The 1000A looks like a pretty sweet setup as well, but it seems that a 750A will drive 2 pair just fine in my tests.

Absolutely...