Quote:
Originally Posted by Baron von Kriterium
All well and good except the amp you link is 160W (max) into 4 ohms, but the Klipsch B10s are 8 ohms. Specifications for the TDA7498 are all over the map. For example:
Audiophonics TDA S50
2 x 50W @ 8 ohms w/36V power supply
2 x 100W @ 4 ohms and 1% THD
SMSL SA-98E
2 x 160 watts max @ 4 ohms (12% THD)
2 x 80 watts max@ 6 ohms (10% THD)
2 x 60 watts max @ 8 ohms (10% THD)
I don't want to imply that the chip amps are bad, but be very careful touting them based on their advertised power output. This particular chip seems to be highly regarded and I think it's a decent solution for a home office and they are more than capable.
The B10 sensitivity is 90 dB at 1W/1m. By way of comparison, one of my set-ups in my home office is a Pioneer SX 680 (30W) driving a pair of JBL 4401 studio monitors (88 dB). The 30W receiver is more than sufficient to drive those speakers at the listening levels I enjoy and what the Baroness lets me get away with. So, I don't necessarily agree when you state that 64W starves the B10s but it depends on what the listener's goal is.
In a near field monitoring situation, such as in an office, 85 dB SPL (with 15dB peaks) is loud enough, in my opinion, and a 25W amplifier is sufficient. I typically average about 72 dB.
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The spec sheet says that Whiteout's set up will be able to do 62W x 2 into 8 ohms @ 1 kHz @ 10% THD.
I'm going to be straight up, I have no idea what that means. Your comment about advertising chip amps purely based on wattage is fair. I agree. I don't get the whole sound calculation stuff though. I just know whether or not those power amps are well reviewed and that I also do know that the advertising wattage isn't necessarily the actual performance.
I'll also be frank about my assumptions. Most of the basic/mid level pre-amp/receiver I've used from around a decade ago has been pretty darn disappointing with book case or tower speakers. It wasn't until I nabbed that style of chip power amp with a "2 x 100W output" did I realize that the bookcase speakers I owned didn't suck, but I wasn't setting it up to perform properly. I did perceive that the 2 x 160W wasn't actually 160, but I also ball parked that it potentially should out perform the Z5500 at 64W.
I don't disagree with your assumptions that the book shelf speakers might not be starved. I literally made an eyeball assumption. You actually have an idea what you're talking about. I'm more of a, "The reviews on this are pretty damn good so it seems like it should be an adequate combo/set up. Trust your ears over specs, return if you're not happy with the performance."
Also, the comment was also based on Whiteout's previous comment which mentioned floor standing speakers. I kinda just went down the route of assuming that the chip amp setup with the book case speakers is a better approach IMO than the floor speakers and if Whiteout doesn't seem completely convinced by his current set up.
I will not boast of any technical knowledge relating to audiophile equipment. I only rely on my ears which IMO are quite decent because I played a string instrument and sang growing up. I am assuming I'm not pretending to be able to hear a difference. I also based my comments around the concept that I liked the performance and sound quality improvement using that style of chip power amp vs entry/mid level receivers and pre amps which were common a decade ago. I could be dead wrong and that Z5500 set up is really good.