XLS-1002 is it safe with "low" input speaker (Hifi/HCS)

BabaTheDwarf

Hello,

I have two pair of speakers, one bookshelf rated 100watt (Monitor Audio Bronze BX2, pre-amp is the Essence STX Sound Card/DAC from Asus), the others are columns rated 120watt(JAMO S809, currently powered by a Yamaha HTR-3069 but I have plan to upgrade to low power (budget) atmos receiver with pre-amp for front stereo).

My plan is to use/test it on the Monitor Audio and possibly use it to give my stereo Front Speaker the clean power they deserve the day I upgrade the Home Cinema.

But I was wondering, is it safe to use a 2*215watt power amp for this. Is it enough to find the sweet spot for high volume (I would assume around half power or less on the Crown given size of my living room) and never touch it again ?
Or it is not sensible and I should rethink my plan to go to a lower power rated amplifier matching my current speakers ? (I tried with SAML SA-50 but output quality was far from the paradise comments advertised and I just returned it...)

Thank you in advance to give some attention to my newbie question,
Baba

scytech

It is safer to use an amplifier with the correct speaker rating. However, you can use a high power amp with lower rated speaker and use the amp's full power for 'headroom'. The BX2 is a great speaker for the XLS.

Note: What destroys a speaker is the clipping level of an amp. As long as the amp is capable of sending a non-clipping signal, then the speaker is usually good! A 50W amp can destroy a 100W speaker if driven enough into clipping while the same speaker will respond effortlessly with 200W of amp headroom. Of course headroom is for 'transitory' events!

Alain