Sansui to drive 15 Ohm Rogers speakers

[Goldjazz]

Hi all I'm new to the game, hoping for some advice on selecting the right Sansui amp for my speakers.

Ive got a pair of 15 ohm Rogers stuidio monitors that have a 25W power rating. I'm currently driving these with a little Au-222, while it plays I assume this is underpowered for the job and I'm probaby not getting the best out of this setup.

So basically I've been looking through the specs for amps that are rated 4-16ohms and that deliver over 35W at 8 ohms. So models like Au-666, Au-999

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[bourvil]

Hello! As I found the Sansui 222 can deliver 18 Watt to 8 ohm speakers so I assume that the power to 15 ohm speakers will be about the half. But it is designed to work up to 16 ohms so there should be no problem. The higher impedance speakers are the lower is the power delivered by the same amplifier.

If you do not encounter some clipping or other malformations of music production on desired volume level you can play with this setup without any issues. But of course if you want more power or thinking about to get more powerful speakers there should me no other way than to get some powerful amplifier too.

BTW many electron tube amplifiers (especially in class A) have efficient power about 5-10 Watts which is more than sufficient for listening inside in living room for example.

 

[LBPete]

The AU-555a is a gem of a little amp. It should do nicely

- Pete

 

[Goldjazz]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes Im a bit worried about clipping with this setup. I can get ok volume with the amp at about half volume and my source (laptop) at about half. But it's easy to accidently have the volume up and I assume that's when it could happen. I'd rather play it safe and have enough power available. Cant be harming these nice speakers man.

I have been bitten by the bug and find myself trawling for speakers all the time. So I figure 4-16 ohms with plenty of power with allow me to drive a wide range. Also would be good to have two speaker outputs to flick between two speakers to compare them, and play two sets at once.

Yeah so come to think of it I want a versatile amp that will allow me to try out a wide range of vintage speakers. I see that not many of the Sansui Amps are rated 4-16 ohms. Looking at an Au-666 at the moment, any more recommendations or advice gladly welcomed, thanks!

 

[bourvil]

OK if it plays good I would use the actual amp if you do not plan to add more speakers. If you plan to use two pairs then it would be a good idea to have some 60 - 80 wpc amp with terminals for 4 speakers (and the power depends on the speakers you plan to get).
The power rating of your monitors is quite low and if you will have more powerful amp you could burn these monitors (in boundary situation not in regular playing through the amp). Basically the power rating of speakers and amplifier should be equal or with reserve in power handling in speakers. Using 80 wpc amp on these monitors is not good idea unless you are very careful with volume.

 

[Goldjazz]

Ok thanks bourvil sounds good, thanks for the advice.