Speaker System Power Help

[bobthegreat]

Hi everyone, I'm pretty ignorant as far as speakers are concerned. I did a bit of research before diving in and buying my current system for my apartment. I live on a college campus so my main concern was getting some speakers and a sub-woofer that were loud enough for parties but still kept the sound quality at a decent level.

I bought the, ELAC B6's, Bic Acoustech PL-200, and my amp is the SMSL SA50.

I noticed that the PL-200 overpowers the B6's by quite a bit if the bass level is anywhere near 50%. It also seems like the difference between ~65% volume and ~90% volume isn't really noticeable for the B6's. I'm concerned that the B6's aren't receiving enough power. The PL-200 is self powered, so I'm not sure if the SA50 is even relevant, but do I need a better amp?

Currently the amp runs into the sub which connects to the speakers. Would it be better to invest in a receiver and have everything separate? Sorry for the ignorance and thanks for the help.

 

[JoeESP9]

You need more power. That SMSL is simply inadequate. 100WPC is what I'd be looking for. While sounding very good, IMO chip amps such as the SMSL do not have enough power.

 

[bobthegreat]

Thanks for the input! Would you have any recommendations off the top of your head for under $200?

 

[toxcrusadr]

What do you mean by "bass level at 50%". Are you boosting the bass with the tone control? That will suck up power like nobody's business. Even if your speakers can handle it, the amp may run out of gas.

As to the perceived volume difference between 60% and 90% on the volume control, it takes massive amounts of wattage to increase perceived volume since sound works on a log scale. 3 db is generally thought of as the minimum difference that can be perceived and to boost power by 3 db takes 2x the wattage. 10 db is 10x the wattage. Think about that.

 

[bobthegreat]

I was referring to the volume knob on the back of the PL-200. And I didn't realize sound worked on a logarithmic scale, thanks for the help.

 

[saea501]

As to the perceived volume difference between 60% and 90% on the volume control, it takes massive amounts of wattage to increase perceived volume since sound works on a log scale. 3 db is generally thought of as the minimum difference that can be perceived and to boost power by 3 db takes 2x the wattage. 10 db is 10x the wattage. Think about that.

Just a little clarification, if I may. To increase volume 3 db it requires twice the current power. That is to say.....if you're listening at a given level and the amplifier is producing 3 watts and we want to increase the volume level by 3 db then the amplifier would then be required to produce 6 watts. From that point another 3 db increase would require an output from the amplifier of 12 watts, 3 more, 24 watts......and so on. So, we've increased the volume level 9 db and required the amplifier to increase it's output by a factor of 8. So you can see toxcrusadr is pretty close with an estimate of 10. Keep in mind too that this does not take into consideration dynamics. Dynamic range creates huge demands for power even though you never touch the volume control. This is where an amplifier's ability to produce power becomes most critical.

Do you need a better amplifier? Absolutely. I mean you no offense but what you are currently using is not an amplifier.

 

[stish]

I was referring to the volume knob on the back of the PL-200. And I didn't realize sound worked on a logarithmic scale, thanks for the help.

Back off on that volume control until you get the desired blend with the B6's. It's not uncommon for very little volume on the sub to be adequate.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Oh sorry I didn't realize we were talking about a powered sub. Volume and wattage lecture probably unnecessary. It makes better sense now. Stish is right. Where the sub volume control sits in comparison to amp volume when everything is balanced-sounding is fairly irrelevant, unless you just can't get enough overall volume, in which case you're back to needing more amp power for the regular speakers.

 

[the skipper]

A lot of people aren't really clear on what a sub is supposed to do. It's there to extend the lower range of your current speakers, not augment their lower range.

Towards that end. too many people set the sub's crossover too high so it overlaps with your mains. This will add to your other speakers low end and can possibly overpower it. To cure this, I would suggest you lower the crossover point on the sub until they blend well.

Once that's been accomplished, you can always adjust the volume of the sub so it doesn't overpower your mains.

This process may take a few days to get the proper balance, even for experienced people. I fiddled on and off for over a week with my setup. Don't rush it.

But yeah. I don't think that amp is all you think it is. I can't find the "real" specs (with distortion levels) tor that amp anywhere which leads me to think that that 50 watt figure is somewhat overstated. Plus, you get what you pay for.