Just how power hungry are 800Ds/802Ds?

[donaldw]

This is my first post. After years in remission, dipping my toe in by upgrading to HD has reactivated my upgraditis! I'm looking to replace my old Def Techs with (probably) 802Ds or (possibly) 800Ds, for improved music capability (the BP2000s are great for movies). This will require upgrading my old Denon 120 wpc power amps as well.

Reading this forum, I've seen a lot of warnings about the appetite of 802s, and 800s as well, for current. I have my eye on the Krell KAV-2250 to power these things, and I hope to listen to that combo soon. My question is whether 250 wpc is sufficient (even given the Krell high current capacities), since everyone talks about running a kilowatt through these puppies. Thoughts?

[JKalman]

donaldw,

I'm not having any problem driving the 802Ds with a 140 WPC Bryston 9B SST. The 802D has a sensitivity of 89dB. I won't run out of power unless I go above 107dB at my listening position, which isn't going to happen since I don't listen to music anywhere near that loud.

This link has a nice calculator for figuring out your needs: SPL Calculator

[RNKC]

I had a Proceed Amp 5 hooked up to my N802s. I believe that was 125W per channel; whatever it was, it was actually adequate at reasonable volume levels and I certainly felt it had the potential to drive them to deafening levels (though I never tried).

Nonetheless, I felt the need for more. So I upgraded to a Mark Levinson 432 which drives 400W per channel. The best I can say here is that it's the difference between a 4 cylinder engine and a big V8. The 4 cylinder will take you to decidedly illegal speeds, but it needs to work to get there. The V8 can take you even further and it doesn't have to work as hard. This is exactly the difference the Levinson had on my N802s - they are simply happier being driven in a more effortless manner.

You don't need oodles of power to run these babies. But you will notice a difference if you do.