Just getting started. speaker size, wattage, room size

[ScottFan355]

I disagree with this approach. IMO/E, you should buy/choose the speakers first. Then, buy the necessary power to drive them in your room to the levels you want. Choosing an amplifier first means you may have restricted yourself to a smaller pool of potential speakers.

For instance: A 50WPC tube integrated amplifier is not adequate for Magnepan's or most esl's. That same amplifier would be more than adequate for Klipsch or many other speakers.

Well if you’d read the whole thread you’d see I said much the same. But if the OP is buying/auditioning from the same place then it’s a non-issue because Upscale or wherever else can help him match amp and speakers.

 

[rudolfo]

The formula here is just open craigslist and see what makes you feel like you're winning the lottery.
After a year you'll be the next Sanford and Sons..

 

[AudioGMan]

Get the biggest speakers you are willing to give up the space for. Generally a bigger speaker is going to be more efficient than a smaller speaker so it doesn’t have to work as hard in order to obtain the same sound pressure level. That equates to lower distortion levels too and usually better bass.

 

[Coytee]

The problem I'm struggling with is buying an amplifier of low power output and spending some money and find out that it does not power the speakers I end up with.

Admission: I've not read more into the thread to see if anything has changed but I'd say that your process stated here is the wrong way to do it.

You should in my opinion, FIRST buy the speakers that you want and THEN you deal with figuring out how to power them. Let me reword it in a bit of a weird analogy..... you are out shopping for shoes. You decide that you are going to buy "THIS" pair of crazy orange shoe strings. Now, you have to go find the shoes to match them.

What happens if instead of shoes with shoe strings, you decide you really like how loafers fit/work or shoes with velcro straps? Your order of logic was backwards. Buy the shoes first, then worry about the strings or straps.

When I went through this process as an 18 year old, I fell in love with Khorns and LaScalas. Since I was going to college, I knew I couldn't drag Khorns around (much less afford them) so I bought a pair of LaScalas. That was something like 42/43 years ago and I still have them.

Get your speakers first, then fret over how to power them, to beat a dead horse, would you buy a new set of tires "first" before you even knew what vehicle they were going to be put on? No, you wouldn't. Buy the car first, then tires. Get it right the first time.

The more sensitive the speakers, the smaller amp you can get away with. Some say that some manufacturers fudge their sensitivity numbers. I'm in no place to vouch yay or nay on that..... that said, there are STILL some manufacturers that are known to be more (or less) sensitive than others, even if the stated numbers are wrong.