How much power for 602 S3s?

[JasBW]

Would 120WPC be sufficient? I'm aiming to get thier full dynamic range into play.




Thanks.

[Aussie Geoff]

It depends...

JasBW,

The answer is "it depends on what sort of Watts we are talking about" For high quality separate amplification - the answer is "absolutely" - for some mass market Receiver with (frankly) quite limited current drawing capabilities and amplification - their 120W would be nowhere near as good...

That aside the B&W 600s are relatively easy to drive and are commonly driven by Receivers etc - but love (and benefit from) quality amplification (either separates or a top quality Receiver). They are rated at up to 120W (unclipped) per channel - but I have heard them "singing" on both smaller and larger amplifiers. One of the main challenges is the amount of bass you put through them... If you are setting up a HT and using a sub-woofer then a lot of the power drain on the amplifier will go...

Now - what were you going to use?

Geoff

[JasBW]

A Rotel poweramp driven by my Maranetz SR4200 reciever as a temporary preamp.




Would they benefit from 200 WPC, or will 120 WPC be plentiful?

[Mark_C.]

120 wpc is plenty for the 602s, although I'm sure there are many here who would say 200 wpc is the bare minimum for powering anything. Realistically though, the 602s with a sub and powered by a Rotel should sound sweet. I power my Nautilus 805s with a Rotel 1075, which is 5 channels, 120 wpc. Some would claim the 1075 is too weak to bring out the best in the 805s, but that notion is absurd. The only difference I noticed between 200 wpc and 120 wpc on the 805s was the loudness level, and the 1075 is plenty loud for me.

[Aussie Geoff]

JazzBW,

Since you are using a separate Rotel Power amp - (presumably the RB-1070) you will be just fine with the 120W on those speakers. The only reason you would consider more power is if you were thinking of upgrading speakers in the medium term - in which case the larger RB-1080 would give you more headroom. Even so the RB-1070 is very versatile and would find a place in your system for many years.

As you say - the next upgrade will be the pre-amp or pre-processor (if you are into Home Theater)

Enjoy and let us know how you go

Geoff