Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Wattage on speakers - I need a specification

When it says the max wattage for the M60ti is 250watts - is that the peak or is that continuous - Im comparing between axioms and the sfII's from Klipsh, and on their page it states what is the continuous operating wattage and what is peak - I just dont want to break anything !

freesey,
See if you can link to this post (technical questions , 26 Mar 02) and see if that helps answer your question.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=tech&Number=2270&page=3&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=

Alan has made several good posts this year about the power handling capability of Axiom speakers. (You are much more likely to damage a speaker with an underpowered amp than an overpowered one.)

But I'm not too sure what your main concern is. Can you be more specific with your question? Are you wanting to know the recommended power of a receiver/amp? Are you planning to use your speakers outdoors (with a really big amp)?

Since the 60s are very efficient, you can sustain pretty loud reproduction levels in a "normal" LR environment with a 100w amp.

Maybe Alan will jump in and help you out too.

Randyman

hmmm I want to know what is the max wattage I can kep pumping thru it continuously without hurting it - I have been known to overpower some speakers before Blew the woofer right out of the basket heheheh - what I mean by the peak is how much wattage can it handle for a moment without distorting - say if Im watching a movie and the volume spikes because of gunfire or something - sorry kinda vague - tell me again if I dont make any sense

Freesey,

There is no universally followed standard for measuring "maximum wattage" or speaker power handling. Given the constantly varying signal levels of almost all music, loudspeaker power handling figures usually are a very rough estimate of the speaker's ability to handle a brief burst of CLEAN (not clipped) power without damaging the voice-coil or the voice-coil former. If overdriven by a transient bass signal, the latter may suddenly hit the magnet assembly, distorting or bending the former.

Peaks in music are measured in milliseconds (a few thousandths of a second), so the power-handling figure is at best an approximation of a speaker's dynamic capability without damage.

Keep in mind that none of these figures say anything about the level of distortion that may occur as you push speakers towards their limits. As the voice coil excursion increases, and begins to go past the magnetic gap, the speaker's accuracy suffers (it becomes "non-linear") and distortion may rise quickly.

Domestic hi-fi speakers are not meant to fill unusually large spaces--auditoriums, halls and the like--or to be used outdoors for sound reinforcement purposes. Nor are they meant to sustain the typical demands of day-to-day high sound pressure levels that studio monitors are intended to absorb. So be careful.

freesey

I think what you want to know is what is the strongest amp you should buy.. Well, the M60's are ridiculously efficient, anything between 70 and 250 watts would do just fine. A good 250 watt amp would make those speakers too loud if you put the volume very high.

I would assume the real peak you would want going in there is a full 250 watts, but that would RARELY happen, unless you're really pumping a whole lot of volume.

"loudspeaker power handling figures usually are a very rough estimate of the speaker's ability to handle a brief burst of CLEAN (not clipped) power without damaging the voice-coil or the voice-coil former." Thats exactly what I meant - Thanks; very helpful

Thanks for the reply

The key is in amp clipping. Very small amplifiers driven into clipping can damage very high-powered speakers. It is like sending little dead shorts to the voice coils, which cause them to heat up and melt down. If the power is clean the M60s will take ridiculous sized amplifiers with no problem. In our power testing we use Bryston 7Bs, which are putting out close to 700 watts. The test involves both modified pink noise continuous for 100 hours at 250 watts followed by another 100 hours of heavy rock and roll. This is way above the standard rating methods of 5 to 8 hours of modified pink noise at the rated power.

Thank you - I find that really impressive actually - The movie theatre I work at uses Bryston amps in the DTS theatres Thanks again for the info