40 Watts/Ch with 100 Watts speakers (Onkyo A-9010 + Marantz Imperial 6)

Pentotark

Pentotark

Active Member
I own an integrated Onkyo A-9010. It is a budget analogue amplifier I paired with Audio Monitor Bronze 2 speakers. It is a 40 Watts per channel, 8 Ohm.

Recently I found a pair of Marantz Imperial 6 speakers (rated 100 Watts) at a thrift store and I was wondering if my amplifier can drive them nicely. Could you guys help me figure this out? To be honest I am a bit confused about how to pair and amp and speakers. For example, reading the specs of my Bronze 2 speakers (they are rated 100 Watts) but the recommended amplifier for them is 30-100 Watts per channel. But online I see lots of videos and articles about a general rule of thumb where an amplifier should be 50% more powerful than the rated wattage of the speakers. I really don't want to blow my speakers nor my amplifier.

Onkyo A-9010 Manual (Technical specs at the end)
Marantz Imperial 6 specs
Monitor Audio Bronze 2 specs

PS. This is my first post here, I am an audio newbie. Also, hello everybody! ^^
 
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hi
welcome to the club
your current amp will work fine as long as you dont drive the amp into clipping [distortion]
distortion,clipping, is what will hurt you speakers.
i dont know how efficient your speakers are,or how loud you like to listen, but it will work.
 
Welcome to AK!

Think of watts amps voltage as water flowing thru a water hose to a sprinkler. The pressure being the voltage, water flow the amps then the sprinkler working the watts. Not enough water the sprinkler just spins slow, to much and will spin out of control until something breaks.
Now to your question, a 40wpc receiver will drive a pair of 100w speakers just fine. The problem with lower wattage units is they are driven clipping sooner then a higher powered one.


Barney
 
orsen said:
hi
welcome to the club
your current amp will work fine as long as you dont drive the amp into clipping [distortion]
distortion,clipping, is what will hurt you speakers.
i dont know how efficient your speakers are,or how loud you like to listen, but it will work.
Click to expand...

Rising the volume doesn't create any distortion on both sets of speakers whatsoever. There is to say that I don't listen to music at exceptional high volumes.

The speakers sensitivity are:
Imperial 6: 93db @.5 meter (found this value on audiokarma)
Bronze 2: 90 db @ 1 meter

I posted links to the specs of both speakers
 
Oerets said:
Welcome to AK!

Think of watts amps voltage as water flowing thru a water hose to a sprinkler. The pressure being the voltage, water flow the amps then the sprinkler working the watts. Not enough water the sprinkler just spins slow, to much and will spin out of control until something breaks.
Now to your question, a 40wpc receiver will drive a pair of 100w speakers just fine. The problem with lower wattage units is they are driven clipping sooner then a higher powered one.
Barney
Click to expand...
This analogy works really well, thank you!

ilusndweller said:
If you can get the volume you like without clipping/distortion you are good. Distortion will be in the bass region/lower frequencies.
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Hmm, I can't hear distortion on the Bronze 2. But on the Imperial 6 there is something a bit off... but it has to do with clarity of the low end, not really sure what it is, I am not an audio savvy. I guess that distortions are pretty obvious to hear, am I right?
 
The important factors for your speakers are the impedance curve (or,in the absence of that information, the nominal impedance) and the sensitivity (dB of sound pressure level [SPL] output from the speakers at a fixed distance, usually 1 meter, given a fixed input, usually 1 watt or 2.83 volts AC into 8 ohms).

Absent that information on the Imperial Six (a pretty good basic two-way loudspeaker of its day, BTW), an honest 40 wpc should be fine for them in a moderate-sized room at reasonable SPL, a;though type of music preferred is also a factor.

Zillions of speakers like the Sixes were paired with 40 wpc amplifiers back when all of this stuff was new!
 
mhardy6647 said:
Absent that information on the Imperial Six (a pretty good basic two-way loudspeaker of its day, BTW), an honest 40 wpc should be fine for them in a moderate-sized room at reasonable SPL, a;though type of music preferred is also a factor.
Zillions of speakers like the Sixes were paired with 40 wpc amplifiers back when all of this stuff was new!
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Thank you very much for your feedback. Yes, I have a small room. wall to wall is 5 meters. very low sealing (it is an attic), so I don't need to drive the speakers loud. It is a bit frustrating to see so many general rules of thumbs online that doesn't really explain case scenario... they made me worry a lot.

ilusndweller said:
I would say the distortion can indeed be subtle, especially if you are just close to where they start to distort (turn it up just a bit for a short period of time to see if it gets worse in the same kinda way, if so the answer is yes). IMHO, the best way for you to know would be if you have heard the Imperial 6 paired with a higher powered amp to see what they are capable of. My gut feeling says those 6s could use more power and your Onkyo 9010 is struggling supplying current/power on the low end at higher volumes.
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Thank you, atm I don't have anything else to try the speakers with, I will just be careful and keep volume reasonable. About distortion, I still don't quite know how that sounds, all I can hear is a muffled sound in the low end.
 
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Just working from memory, the Imperial 6, didn't sound all that great, but of course this is a subjective statement, based on my preferences. I remember auditioning them when I was setting up a system back in 71or72. My 3 possible choices at the time (based on budget, and local availability) were the Imperial 6, the KLH 6, and the KLH 23, which were all priced at about $130.00 if I remember right. The Imperial 6 was the least impressive of the 3 IMO. They sounded veiled and colored and just didn't sound good, when compared to the KLH models. If I remember right, the Imperial 6 was not a very good seller either, so maybe what you are hearing, is the voicing of that particular speaker. I would say that your Onkyo will drive them nicely in a medium sized room based on the sensitivity rating, so I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on different amplification, trying to make them sound better.
 
ilusndweller said:
Thats (more than likely) distortion you are hearing, especially if it is not present at lower volumes. I should have said start turning it up slowly at a lower volume, paying attention to the (lower) bass. If it starts getting muffled/blending together/not "distinct" sounding as you turn it up(at an increasing rate/much worse sounding as you turn it up more and more) then you are hearing distortion.
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To be honest, I can here the same muffled low end at any volume... it is nothing too unpleasing but it is clearly not as detailed as when I switch to the other speakers I have (bronze 2). What I like about the 6s is that the overall sound is warmer and fills the room better.

bluescat said:
Just working from memory, the Imperial 6, didn't sound all that great, but of course this is a subjective statement, based on my preferences. I remember auditioning them when I was setting up a system back in 71or72. My 3 possible choices at the time (based on budget, and local availability) were the Imperial 6, the KLH 6, and the KLH 23, which were all priced at about $130.00 if I remember right. The Imperial 6 was the least impressive of the 3 IMO. They sounded veiled and colored and just didn't sound good, when compared to the KLH models. If I remember right, the Imperial 6 was not a very good seller either, so maybe what you are hearing, is the voicing of that particular speaker. I would say that your Onkyo will drive them nicely in a medium sized room based on the sensitivity rating, so I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on different amplification, trying to make them sound better.
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Thanks for your opinion!
 
Those (6s) looks pretty neat tho. Could be a reasonable idea to restore them and check caps and plastics? I already noticed the woofer has a really sticky/wet plastic on the plastic before the ring that attaches to the main structure.
 
ohms-law-illustrated.gif

Just for fun!

And welcome to AK.
 
Just a few things you should check with the imperials.
make sure the muffled sound on the low end seems the same on both speakers.
If just one, or more on one side it could be a woofer issue.
Check the surrounds to make sure they are not decomposing.
Check for rubbing of the voice coil by lightly pressing the cone in slightly. You will feel the rubbing at your fingertips.
Sometimes speakers can be damaged by overdriving and causing seperation of the layers on the voice coil, and a muddy sound
 
Tom B said:
Check for rubbing of the voice coil by lightly pressing the cone in slightly. You will feel the rubbing at your fingertips.
Sometimes speakers can be damaged by overdriving and causing seperation of the layers on the voice coil, and a muddy sound
Click to expand...

Do you mean I should feel by rubbing if the coil is loose?
 
Tom B said:
make sure the muffled sound on the low end seems the same on both speakers.
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Seems like they sound the same. Tho, I noticed the tweeter on one speaker sounds generally less loud than the other one
Tom B said:
Check the surrounds to make sure they are not decomposing.
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They are not broken but they look shiny and a little bit sticky and dusty.
Tom B said:
Check for rubbing of the voice coil by lightly pressing the cone in slightly. You will feel the rubbing at your fingertips.
Sometimes speakers can be damaged by overdriving and causing seperation of the layers on the voice coil, and a muddy sound
Click to expand...
If I gently push the cone I dont feel any rubbing, unless I do it off center.
 
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