Pairing Amps with Speakers

[SAS]

Ok.

I honestly think the best thing you can do is. Go to a decent place and just listen. It may take a day or two but worth it.

Remember it dosent mater to anyone in the world apart from you.

Ps. I would strongly recomend not buyiing an Amp till you have paired it up with somthing that pleases your mind.

[JerryDelColliano]

Matching can be huge.

Certain speakers NEED more power. Others do better with amps with certain characteristics.

A top dealer will help you find what you need. Just be sure that if he lugs over a bunch of Krells, Levinsons and Halcros that you don't just go buy them used on Audiogon.com and screw him over. Its that kind of stuff that makes dealers ONLY want to sell "custom" and NOT keep listening rooms which are so important for audiophiles.

[wes]

Make sure you audition Electrocompaniet if you can find them

[Gregg]

Here's another method for determining how much power you may need to drive your speakers:

http://amplioaudio.blogspot.com/2007...do-i-need.html

[javry]

This almost sounds like one of those catch 22 questions. For me, it all depends on preference. For instance, you may be partial to a certain amp or style of speakers like tube amps, hybrids, or for speakers you may prefer planars over cones. I'd start there.

[The Kipnis Studios]

Originally Posted by JerryDelColliano

Matching can be huge.

Certain speakers NEED more power. Others do better with amps with certain characteristics.

A top dealer will help you find what you need. Just be sure that if he lugs over a bunch of Krells, Levinsons and Halcros that you don't just go buy them used on Audiogon.com and screw him over. Its that kind of stuff that makes dealers ONLY want to sell "custom" and NOT keep listening rooms which are so important for audiophiles.

In any serious audio system (stereo or surround), component matching - particularly amps to speakers - is responsible for 45% of the sound you hear. The other 45% is contributed by the room / furniture acoustic, leaving just 10% from primary media sources (CD, DVD, SACD, LP, MP-3, etc).

The very nature of most speakers is to exhibit a complex range of electrical variations with respect to impedance, capacitance, and inductance. As such, no amplifier built thus far can completely control these complex relationships 100% of the time, and for each and every speaker identically.

Invariably, certain combinations of speakers and amplifiers work and sound better together - that is, the combination produces a more musical and more inviting & realistic illusion. Still, some people have rooms that are completely wrong for sound reproduction because the architecture contributes counterproductive acoustic components. Other than acoustic treatments, the solution is to find a speaker that mates to the room and creates a convincing sounding illusion. And this necessitates also mating an amplifier (or amplifiers) to the speaker / room combination.

This is one primary reason why (for better or worse) BOSE can produce a consistent speaker (and amplifier) system that mates well with the largest portion of the buying population's expectation - who, sadly, are happy if it plays loudly and cleanly while being essential invisible.