40w amp with 104dB speakers?

I've got a very sensitive pair of horns (stop sniggering at the back) - Klipsch La Scalas, which are 104dB. I've got my eye on a new valve amp, which is 40w.

This may be a stupid question, but here goes anyway.....is this a bad match? If I turn the volume control up from dead silence by about a millimetre, is it going to be deafeningly loud?

BTW, current amp is a 12 watter.

 

I use a 75w amplifier with 99db speakers.

Despite the high efficiency, my speakers needed more power on sudden transients.

40w doesnt sound like overkill to me, but you'd need to try it of course. Just wondered why you want a more powerful amp? - most people would prefer a SET amp with something that efficient..

 

Funnily enough, you'll probably not notice a difference in level unless you are running out of power (rather unlikely). The bigger amp just gives you more headroom - about 10dB more potentially.

104dB sensitivity will be merciless in revealing what the new amp sounds like though - praicularly hiss level!

 

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Re the question of going for 40w, I'm not actually looking for more power, just looking for a new amp and I've seen one I can afford that happens to be 40w.

SETs - well, I need something that will do Motorhead as well Mozart, so SET isn't the way to go. Although I'd love to try a Border Patrol SET, which apparently can do both. Haven't got the money, though.

("Then why the hell have you got 104dB speakers?" Er....because I need to play music at a reasonable level, but don't want to lose the detail - and I understood horns were the way to acheive this. It certainly seems to have worked).

Re hiss, I should be OK there. Hiss isn't a problem at the moment, probably because I've got a Border Patrol power supply hanging of the amp, and I'd transfer the power supply to any new amp I bought.

 

Well in that case..go for it. Border Patrol gear does something pretty special IME.

Hey! I resemble that remark.

F.
(100w into 96dB...)

 

I have 15w on 94dB atm and that is Waaaay too much, I've had to cut the amp sensitivity down. Despite what people say more power does not automatically mean more dynamics and in the same way less power does not mean less dynamic. IME its as much if not more to do with the circuit configuration and the type of tube. I've heard SE amps putting out 1.5W ish into 88/89dB speakers and it sounded more dynamic than most of the 40W PP amps I've heard. It didn't go remotely loud but it still gave the illusion of dynamics due to its transient response speed and hook it up to something efficient and you get everything. Run them into a transmitter tube before the speakers and thats a whole new world of transient response.

EDIT: SET does motorhead. Listen to some other tubes in SE. I've never heard Rage Against the Machine sound better than it does through SET. And with that sort of efficiency your pretty spoiled for choice really, you could hook virtually anything on and it'd be fine

 

Hi,

Make sure you try on your actual speakers, as always.

You are mistaking gain for power.

The relative position of the volume control is related to gain only. If the Amp has sensible gain it will be allright.

If not, adding in-line attenuators will "fix" the gainstructore of the system, if build into the interconnect cable as opposed to to the Rothwell thingeys with minimal sonic impact.

Ciao T