How much watt my amp is pushing ?

[skullmurdoc]

Hello,

I got a Rotel Rsp-1066 and Rmb-1075 and I was wondering how can I check how much watt am pushing at a giving time.

For exemple if I listen to music at 55 on the 1066 how much watt is my 1075 pushing?

Thanks for any info

Frédérick Richard

[Andrew Pratt]

Unfortunatly there's no easy way to tell...but I'd bet its under 5 watts unless your speakers are very inefficent

[skullmurdoc]

Unfortunatly there's no easy way to tell...but I'd bet its under 5 watts unless your speakers are very inefficent

Well, where can I find information on how to tell my amp is pushing ?
Or perhaps you can tell me?

By the way my speaker are quite efficient its a pair of Energy C-9 and on their web site it says 94dB.

Thanks Mr. Pratt

Frederick Richard

[Andrew Pratt]

Speaking strickly on the numbers we know that your main speakers will produce a 94 dB tone with only 1 watt. If you double the power (ie 2 watts) you'll add 3dB to the volume. So you end up with something along these lines

1 watt = 94 dB
2 watts = 97 dB
4 watts = 100 dB
8 watts = 103 dB
16 watts = 106 dB (105 dB is reference level for movies)

So most of the time your amps will only be pumping out less then 10 watts but during an explosion or loud bass tone having the headroom can really help to control the drivers movements.

Incidentally by the chart above it highlights the importance of speaker efficency. Everyone loves to talk about how many watts their power amps are but its seldom anyone asks about the speakers effiency yet had you told me your speakers were rated at 91dB you'd need twice the power compared to the 94 dB speakers! That said high effiency ratings aren't what determines how a speaker will sound and some of the better speakers are very inefficent (maggies, Martin Logans etc) but its always a factor in determining what your systems requirements really are.