700 Series (704) max. SPL?

[Taito]

Hi, I have heard that the 700 series can go 'quite' loud, but how loud is quite? I am looking a buying a pair of 704's and was wondering if anyone knows what its max output is.

I'll be driving them with an RB-1080 (Rotel), so power should not be a problem. I don't want to push them to their limit at the showroom, but I also don't want to bring them home and nudge the volume control to see how loud they can go only to be disappointed.

While I don't typically listen at high level, I'd like to know that what I end up with can do the odd crank-it-up session with style.

Thanks, Ben

[junior77blue]

I would think room acoustics/size would play into this a HUGE amount....but if your looking for SUPER loud, better off getting some klipschs.

[Jason R]

704 sensitivity = 90DB 1w 1m

so if memory serves me correctly you will need

2 watts for 93db at 1m
4 W 96DB 1m
8W 99DB 1m
16W 103DB 1m
32W 106db 1m
64DB 109db 1m
128W 112db 1m
256W 115db 1m

so at 1m theoretically around 113/4 DB, not sure if it is 3db for each doubling of watts, but there are so many variables that it comes down to how long is a piece of string.

But getting anywhere near a 1080's max output on those speakers for an extended period of time would cause serious hearing damage which is no good.

[Taito]

Thanks guys, just to clarify, I'm not into extended listening at high levels, but I like to have a lot of headroom in my system - if I do turn it up for a song, I like my system to be able to handle the dynamics as well as (as far a possible) at lower levels.

What I'm really trying to check here is: on the occasions that I do turn it up will this speaker suffer from nonlinear distortions such as mechanical compression (drivers reaching their limits) or not? I also don't want to be putting my speakers under a large amount of stress (relative to what they were designed to handle).

If it helps, the room is approximately 7.5x5x2.5m (not sure of exact dimensions).

What I consider to be two of the most important aspects of speaker performance are imaging and dynamic ability, but when it comes to the crunch, I would rather have a pair of speakers that sounds better (to my ears) at lower levels, than one which does not sound as good, but has the ability to go louder overall.

Cheers, Ben