Advice so far from the the Jriver site (cross post):
Quote:

Do you have an SPL meter?  Those axiom speakers (according to their website) have an 88dB 1 watt/ 1 meter sensitivity outdoors, and they claim to be able to accommodate 175 watts.  That means if you ran 0dBFS pink noise into the speakers at max rated power, an SPL meter at 1 meter in front of them should register about 110dB.  Similarly, if you ran JRiver's pink noise calibration (which is -20dBFS), you'd know you found the max power setting when the meter read 90dB at one meter.

But max rated power is not a good goal (and I wouldn't recommend running them that loud even for a test).  Most speakers will experience power compression and/or heat related issues if continuously operated anywhere near their max rated power, and sometimes the max ratings are a little exaggerated, meaning that one can do damage running them up to the max.  

I'm pretty risk averse, so if it were I, I would cap the power where the SPL meter shows 100dB at 1 meter with a 0dBFS pink noise signal or 80dB with a -20dBFS pink noise signal (like the one in JRiver).  That setting would be very unlikely to test the thermal limits of the speakers if their ratings are correct.  But that's a very conservative setting; you might be comfortable running them up louder, but if you set your max above 105dB I'd encourage you to keep an eye on them.

Just remember the golden rule: a 3dB increase is double the power and a 10 dB increase is ten times the power.

Last edited by jmone; 02/04/14 01:53 AM.
HT:M80,VP150,QS8,EP500 Outside:4xM3 Office:AudioBytes, Rumpus: M60,VP150,M22 Portable:2 x Airs