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[Jason Moore]

HI-Carvin dcm 1204, 200W @8ohms CH, 1.3k xover.
     SR7432x wants 150W @16ohms CH.
LO-Carvin dcm 3000L, 950W @4ohms CH
     SR7432x wants 1200W @4ohms CH

What's your opinion?

Thanks
Jason

[duane massey]

Speakers don't "want" anything.

[Ivan Beaver]

HI-Carvin dcm 1204, 200W @8ohms CH, 1.3k xover.
     SR7432x wants 150W @16ohms CH.
LO-Carvin dcm 3000L, 950W @4ohms CH
     SR7432x wants 1200W @4ohms CH

What's your opinion?

Thanks
Jason

I guess it depends on what you call "underpower".  950 watts is only 1dB lower than the rated 1200 watts.

But then again-if you want to reproduce the peaks of 1200 watt continuous pink noise-you will be looking at needing an amp that is rated at 4800 watts @ 4 ohms.  So now your amp would be 7dB to low.

The real answer is somewhere in between 1 and 7 dB.

Where it lies is up to your opinion.

[Paul G. OBrien]

If the speakers reliably reproduce the SPLs you need without the amps being pushed into clipping then you're not underpowered regardless of any apparent mismatch that may exist on paper.

[Ivan Beaver]

If the speakers reliably reproduce the SPLs you need without the amps being pushed into clipping then you're not underpowered regardless of any apparent mismatch that may exist on paper.

EXACTLY!

I get asked all the time "how large of an amp do I need for-----".

I say "1 watt is all you need to get a decent level.  But you may want it to be a bit louder.  So let's talk about how loud you need it"

You don't always have to drive a loudspeaker to its max.  Sometimes you CAN turn it down.

[Bob Leonard]

Paul / Ivan,
 
The two best replies I've seen on this site in months. OP, just like above, if you can bring your sound to the desired level without clipping or exceeding the speakers capabilities then you're all set.

[Jason Moore]

Thank ivan, paul, and bob (in no particular order) for answering my 2 posts. I've pushed this main/sub combo in the past pretty hard for 3 days with smaller carvin amps. Was happy with the results. Had an opportunity to pick up some er(lighter) amps so wanted to see if it would be worth it. The fellow is willing to rent them to me this year so we'll give it a try.

[Ivan Beaver]

Thank ivan, paul, and bob (in no particular order) for answering my 2 posts. I've pushed this main/sub combo in the past pretty hard for 3 days with smaller carvin amps. Was happy with the results. Had an opportunity to pick up some er(lighter) amps so wanted to see if it would be worth it. The fellow is willing to rent them to me this year so we'll give it a try.

As part of the questions I get asked all the time regarding what size amp to use for a particular cabinet goes like this.

"I already own a XYZ amp-will it be enough".

It may not be my favorite amp-or be "large enough"-but why not go ahead and hook it up and try it?  It is not like you are looking to buy another amp unless you have to-so if what you already own does the job-then be fine with it.

Now if they did not have ANY amps-now I would try to steer them towards an amp that they could get the most out of the cabinet with.  But what they ALREADY OWN-may do the job just fine.

After all-nobody knows what a particular user is expecting out of a loudspeaker-SPL and freq wise.  SO why buy something if you don't have to.

[Bob Leonard]

As part of the questions I get asked all the time regarding what size amp to use for a particular cabinet goes like this.

"I already own a XYZ amp-will it be enough".

It may not be my favorite amp-or be "large enough"-but why not go ahead and hook it up and try it?  It is not like you are looking to buy another amp unless you have to-so if what you already own does the job-then be fine with it.

Now if they did not have ANY amps-now I would try to steer them towards an amp that they could get the most out of the cabinet with.  But what they ALREADY OWN-may do the job just fine.

After all-nobody knows what a particular user is expecting out of a loudspeaker-SPL and freq wise.  SO why buy something if you don't have to.

And that's the whole story. The mfg. recommends 2x the long term rating, but that statement doesn't say "If you intend to push the shit out of our cabinets." You can't hurt a driver by using less power unless you run into heavy clipping continuously.
 
Too much is made out of amp size and cabinets ratings, and in the end the power required to achieve a proper level will always depend on the much more than the amp size. If you can find a good level with a smaller amp, then so be it. Also, there are speakers whose motors and design tend to fall into the over built catagory, and then there are speakers whose design allows for full movement with lower power, usually because the assembly is lighter. There is no such animal as a power hungry driver. JBL being the example, does however have a large number of almost indestructable drivers with larger and heavier motor mass that requires more power to move. Cadillac's need more power to move them than a Ugo.

[Jason Moore]

Thanks bob and everyone else.

The reason i OPed was the fact i'm borrowing these speakers with an option to buy. Like i said before i powered them with much less last year. As this main/sub configuration is getting old i was really just worried about blowing speakers that don't belong to me.

I was told that "you can never overpower a speaker but it's very easy to underpower" (not sure after a few years how reliable this guy really was). The only thing i've ever had the opportunity to "overpower" is my carvin subs. Rated at 1600W @4ohms I drive them with the 2000W Dcm's bridged with no problem except if I can't get enought AC Amps for the DCM's they trip breakers. They sound WAY better to me than when powered with my 1500W DCM's bridged.

However I have had problems with blowing the CD's in my carvin monitors. They were originally fitted with (old motorola) Piezos-IMO they are better than the CD's i replaced them with (pyles, I needed to be cheap at the time ). I have also replaced the xovers with better quality units that match the new CD's better. The mons are only getting about 200W when rated at 400W. I feel this is why i'm blowing CD's.

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