Driveable speakers??

[Alex.podaru]

Hi,

I am new to the bottlehead community! I've just built my first kit (s.e.x. 3.0) and it sounds positively awesome with my Beyerdynamic T90 and DT1770. I also have a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica ii (3-way tower, 4ohms) and was wondering it the sex kit could drive them. Also, would soemone be so kind as to indicating  what kind of measurements/metrics does one use to make that assessment?

Thank you!

A

 

[fullheadofnothing]

Since you have the amp and the speakers, just try it.

Your ears are the "metric."

 

[corndog71]

You may not be able to crank it very loud but it should drive it.  I've driven several  speakers from 86dB to 95dBwith my sex amp but 2.5 watts only goes so far.  To get the most out of it you would need speakers with 100dB sensitivity.  Mine is pretty much dedicated to headphone listening now.  There are plenty of tube amp designs out there if you want more power.

 

[Nathan]

FWIW, I am presently using my SEX 2.1 to drive a pair of Mirage bookshelf speakers in my bedroom, typically listening to internet radio. I get more than enough volume for that purpose, but the key is the purpose.

A friend had olympica II's, and was using a 30 WPC amp, which I did not think was adequate to drive the speakers well in a large listening room to live levels.

For background listening, the SEX should be OK, but I don't think anyone goes to the trouble of getting Olympica II's just for background listening.

 

[Natural Sound]

Hi,

I am new to the bottlehead community! I've just built my first kit (s.e.x. 3.0) and it sounds positively awesome with my Beyerdynamic T90 and DT1770. I also have a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica ii (3-way tower, 4ohms) and was wondering it the sex kit could drive them. Also, would soemone be so kind as to indicating  what kind of measurements/metrics does one use to make that assessment?

Thank you!

A

Those speakers have a sensitivity rating of 88 dB SPL (2.83 V/1m) and would probably want a bit more power than the S.E.X. can provide. That being said, I would hook them up and try it as Josh suggested.

If you have a smart phone you can download and install an app that will measure SPL. These days I listen to music at approximately 82dB. I'm in my mid 50's and I want to preserve my hearing as long as I can. I do have some hearing damage from long exposure to noisy machinery and a history of attending loud rock concerts.

There is a great writeup on the subject by Paul Joppa in the thread linked below.
http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=5648.msg54431#msg54431

 

[jrebman]

hi,

Even though the sensitivity is 88 dB, the efficiency of most Sonus Faber speakers is terrible -- the impedance curve is like a roller coaster and can dip quite low. if you have a powerful SS amp with a high damping factor, this isn't to terrible of a problem, but a low power SE tube amp with a low damping factor will have a very hard time with these speakers.

But, as others said, give it a try, there's nothing to lose.

Good luck,

jim