MetalDaze
Active Member
Good Morning all,
Just toying with an idea and I figured I would throw this at the wall and see if it sticks.
Currently driving Ohm model H on the front channel (8/6 ohm @ 20-100W) and Stacked Ohm C2's in parallel on the rear channels (Each 8/6 @ 20-120W) I believe. All are upgraded from Ohm acoustics with rebuilt or replaced woofers sporting their sub bass activators. Being in parallel this will make their net nominal impedance somewhere between 2.5 & 4 ohms. There are also a pair of Ohm walsh 2 which rarely see duty thanks to my current living situation [apartment]. The set up is being driven by an Emotiva XPA 4 Gen 3 and is controlled by an Integra DRX3.
I can achieve nice SPL's without going too far on the volume knob. Sound is clean even though the speakers are very revealing.
The current amp is rated at :
ALL MODELS: Power Output Per Channel
300 watts RMS per channel; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD < 0.1%; into 8 Ohms
550 watts RMS per channel; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD < 0.2%; into 4 Ohms
800 watts RMS per channel; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD < 0.5%; into 2 Ohms
ALL MODELS: FTC Rated Power; 2 Channels Driven; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD <0.1%
300 watts RMS per channel; THD < 0.1%; into 8 Ohms (120 VAC line).
490 watts RMS per channel; THD < 0.1%; into 4 Ohms (120 VAC line).
XPA Gen3 Power Per Channel: All Channels Driven; THD <0.1% ; into 8 ohms
Two: 300 watts RMS per channel
Four: 260 watts RMS per channel - A rough calculation confirmed @ 4ohms when the load gets heavy and the volume is up the amp should be maxing around 450 W/Ch theoretically.
Now Emotiva is on the verge of releasing a new amp called the DR3M IIRC. It will use the same chasis as my current amp but will be able to support up to 3 channels rated at 500W into 8ohm or 1,000W into 4ohm.
I'm wondering if getting a 2 channel version of this new amp for the rear channels will provide any benefit other than more head room? +3Db = twice as much power and i realize I rarely open the taps that far. But when i do and can the rear channel woofers don't exhibit much excursion. The sound is dynamic and synergy is good (to my ears) but I keep asking myself if more power will really help or not?
PS I did lightly nudge the manager at Ohm about the power ratings of the speakers with my current amp & he felt as long as the power was clean and I use good judgement everything should be fine.
Just toying with an idea and I figured I would throw this at the wall and see if it sticks.
Currently driving Ohm model H on the front channel (8/6 ohm @ 20-100W) and Stacked Ohm C2's in parallel on the rear channels (Each 8/6 @ 20-120W) I believe. All are upgraded from Ohm acoustics with rebuilt or replaced woofers sporting their sub bass activators. Being in parallel this will make their net nominal impedance somewhere between 2.5 & 4 ohms. There are also a pair of Ohm walsh 2 which rarely see duty thanks to my current living situation [apartment]. The set up is being driven by an Emotiva XPA 4 Gen 3 and is controlled by an Integra DRX3.
I can achieve nice SPL's without going too far on the volume knob. Sound is clean even though the speakers are very revealing.
The current amp is rated at :
ALL MODELS: Power Output Per Channel
300 watts RMS per channel; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD < 0.1%; into 8 Ohms
550 watts RMS per channel; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD < 0.2%; into 4 Ohms
800 watts RMS per channel; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD < 0.5%; into 2 Ohms
ALL MODELS: FTC Rated Power; 2 Channels Driven; 20 Hz - 20 kHz; THD <0.1%
300 watts RMS per channel; THD < 0.1%; into 8 Ohms (120 VAC line).
490 watts RMS per channel; THD < 0.1%; into 4 Ohms (120 VAC line).
XPA Gen3 Power Per Channel: All Channels Driven; THD <0.1% ; into 8 ohms
Two: 300 watts RMS per channel
Four: 260 watts RMS per channel - A rough calculation confirmed @ 4ohms when the load gets heavy and the volume is up the amp should be maxing around 450 W/Ch theoretically.
Now Emotiva is on the verge of releasing a new amp called the DR3M IIRC. It will use the same chasis as my current amp but will be able to support up to 3 channels rated at 500W into 8ohm or 1,000W into 4ohm.
I'm wondering if getting a 2 channel version of this new amp for the rear channels will provide any benefit other than more head room? +3Db = twice as much power and i realize I rarely open the taps that far. But when i do and can the rear channel woofers don't exhibit much excursion. The sound is dynamic and synergy is good (to my ears) but I keep asking myself if more power will really help or not?
PS I did lightly nudge the manager at Ohm about the power ratings of the speakers with my current amp & he felt as long as the power was clean and I use good judgement everything should be fine.