[Rod_S]

Hello;

I wanted to get peoples opinions about adding a 7B-SST² to power my center. I plan on adding a pair for my B&W 802 Diamonds down the road, possibly around the end of the year and the thought of adding a 3rd for my center is cool but I'm worried there will be to much power on tap. My center is the B&W HTM2 Diamond and according to the specs it has a power handling range of 50 watts to 300 watts into 8ohms which is the reason for my concern as the 600+ watts of the 7 is a lot above the rated max. I went with 28B-SST² amps for my B&W 800 Diamonds as their 1250ish watt specs weren't too much above the 800's 1000 watt max and the 7B-SST² amp's 600+ watts will also not be to much above the 802 Diamonds rated 500 watt max.

My center is currently being powered by one of the channels in my 6B-SST C Series and the 802's are being powered by the other two channels. Would it be better/safer once I get my 7's for the 802's to just switch over to my 4B-SST C series and perhaps bi-amp the center with it rather than risk going with a 7?

Thanks,

Rod

[electricbear]

I wouldn't worry about having too much power. I used to sell the McIntosh 1.2KW monoblocks with 802Ds with no problems. If you start to hear your speaker distort just back off the volume a little. I am always more concerned about not having enough rather than too much power.

[drummermitchell]

I also would be concerned with NOT ENOUGH power.
I run 7B-SST'2 s on my S-30s(Revels) and not a problem,and I'm confident if I ran 28's for the surrounds all would be good.
Trouble is I would,but the Sons o bitches are friggin Heavy and I's a bit over 40.
Least with to much power you can control it.
I use to run the 28's with the Vac dial at 9:15,now I'm at 10:30 and no breakup,distortions ect and It's quite comfy outside on the deck as it's coming from my room up thru the stairwell to where I sit outside the door.
Been meaning to install some horn loaded  monitors for outside listening thru the 28's.
JBL C-29 AV's:

[Rod_S]

I wouldn't worry about having too much power. I used to sell the McIntosh 1.2KW monoblocks with 802Ds with no problems. If you start to hear your speaker distort just back off the volume a little. I am always more concerned about not having enough rather than too much power.

Wow, 1.2's on 802's, that's more than double the 802's rated output. I'm always concerned with some sort of spike or runaway volume command maxing out the volume on the SSP thus damage to the speakers before I could get the volume back down or muted. My 4B-SST is rated at just shy of 340 watts per channel so it's already above the 300 watt max spec for the speaker so it certainly doesn't fit into the not enough power category

[vegasdave]

It's better to have it and not need it rather than not have it and need it.

[redbook]

It's better to have it and not need it rather than not have it and need it.

    Yes , very good point

[Rod_S]

Certainly something to keep in mind I guess

[drummermitchell]

Just like a VW and say a Chevelle SS,they both do a 100k,but what a difference in feel,power,the whole 9 yards.

[HsvHeelFan]

My 6 ohm Kef's are rated for 10-150 Watts.  I'm driving them with a 4B-ST that benched at 288 Watts per channel or so at 8 ohms.   So, the Kef's are theoretically being driven with a potential 430 Watts.

I've never had a problem with the Kef's, when powered by the Bryston.  When I had the mid 80's Japanese brand integrated, it fragged my KEF's twice and it was rated at 75 Watts per channel at 8 ohms.

More power is good.  Especially when it keeps you off of the power rails.

HsvHeelFan

[Rod_S]

Interesting, thanks

[James Tanner]

Hi Folks

What destroys drivers is the amplifier 'clipping' the music waveform.

This clipping can put 3-4 times the power rating of the amplifier into the diver instantaneously and this in turn heats the voice coil and eventually burns out the driver. If you have ever taken a driver apart and noticed the black burn marks around the voice coil that is the tell tale sign of overdriving the speaker.

If instead your amplifier never clips (because you have lots of power) the speaker voice coils never get abused and will perform well over a much longer timeframe.

Think of it like 'red lining' the engine in your car - a small motor run into the red zone (clipping/RPM) will destroy itself much sooner than a large engine continually loafing along

james

[drummermitchell]

Speaking of loafing around,here's a pict of the 7B-SST'2 doing surround duty.
Just a partial pict of the woofer of a S-30:





Not to much power here.

[Rod_S]

What is the power handling range of the S-30's, at least on paper? Just curious, what are your 7's spec'd at wattage wise, how much above 600 watts are they?