FE 168ESigma ... How much power is too much ????

[G.Kennedy]

OK ... I built my BIB's with FE 168ESigmas and am still waiting on my Bottlehead gear to arrive. I was running the BIB's with a 30 watt all in one, but recently acquired two Marantz MA-500 monoblocks.

MA-500's are rated at 125w. So I know I have the power to blow the 168ESigmas as they are rated at 80w.

I stopped in at a local speaker shop and was telling the guy about my set up and his jaw hit the floor when I said I have 125w on a Fostex.

He felt I could blow the coil in a heartbeat ... like ..... instantly.

He recommended adding a 1/2 amp fuse in line on the speaker wire. He also recommended not letting any teenagers who favor rap music near the volume knob.

At reasonable listening levels ... am I going to blow these drivers ... or would it take a slip of the volume knob to make them go bad????

He kind of freaked me out.

Thoughts.

[Cal Weldon]

Some manufacturers recommend an amp that is rated higher than the driver. It gives you headroom for the peaks.

If you run a 50 watt speaker on a 100 watt amp, the coil will tend to slap the back plate and give you warning of impending damage.

If you run a 50 watt speaker on a 10 watt amp and try and squeeze some extra juice from it, you are more likely to damage the driver from that struggling, underpowered and clipping amp than you are from the 100 watter.

In the long run it's up to you. My preference is to use high powered amps and show some restraint.

[freddi]

thanks to efficiency, music not being stuck in one place and probably the suspension, you're doing better than my sim which shows 166 (don't have 168 Sigma T-S handly) reaching 0.6mm xmax at ~ 2/10 watt around 50Hz

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/762...bexclimcz9.jpg

I ran CH250 on OB with 200W amp with no problem - of course it couldn't really handle much power nor produce any bass but was safe as long as accidents don't occur.

[planet10]

you just have to be careful. How dous it sound?

dave

[G.Kennedy]

Originally posted by Cal Weldon
........you are more likely to damage the driver from that struggling, underpowered and clipping amp than you are from the 100 watter.........

This has always been my take ... clipping is the worst offender.

Originally posted by planet10
you just have to be careful. How does it sound?

dave

I can't imagine it sounding any better than it currently does ... seriously. Of course that is within the limits of my other equipment. Mostly DJ level audio gear.

The speakers just sing. When I turn it up a bit ... they just go louder with no sign of failing.


I guess I just need to watch out for over driving them .... just don't really know where that point is ... and I don't want to find out.

The only thing that sounds bad .... Zepplin. Just sounds harsh ... Everything else... Awesome sounding.

[hm]

Hello,

"He also recommended not letting any teenagers who favor rap music near the volume knob."
That´s important!!

the driver has a Xmax of 1,6 mm, a lot for Fostex.

normally you get around 1 mm stroke by ~ 1 Watt,
that´s enough, distrotion is rising, have a look and feel it
with your finger at the suspension.

A normal amp has ~ 1 Watt impuls when the knob
shows "10 a clock"

the mechanic end is much earlier, before a driver smashed by watt, never try "12 a clock".

You are the only one how screws the knob!!

[G.Kennedy]

What about putting a 1/2 amp fuse in line on the speaker wire???

Good for accidents?? Detrimental to sound ???

1/2 fuse is awfully thin wire, is i going to create lots of resistance to the amp????

[hm]

Hi,
"connection terminals are never better than the wire."
also fuses.

I like nothing between driver and amp.

[Scottmoose]

That's two of us. Connections are always problematic, so the fewer the better. They only way you're going to blow those drivers is if you go insane on the volume knob, by which point a) you'll probably be deaf, and b) long before you reach it, you'll hear the suspension limiting the travel.