can i add this two monoblock power amp to my bookshelf speaker?

[tommyhawks]

av receiver: onkyo nr696

speaker: definitive technology d9

Nominal Impedance:Compatible with 4 ohm outputs

Recommended Amplifier Power Per Channel :   20 watts → 150 watts

 

monoblock power amp: audiolab 8300MB

Rated Power Output    250W RMS (8Ω)
350W RMS (4Ω)
Peak Power Output    450W RMS (4Ω)

 

The power amp's 4 ohm power output does not match the speaker. Is the power amp going to kill the speaker?

 

Will it sound better if i add the power amp?

Thank you.

 

 

[SupaKomputa]

if your amp support 8ohm speaker, you can just try it out with a lower volume first.

your speaker will sound better only if the av receiver doesn't produce enough power for it.

[johnt]

You need line level pre-outs to use a dedicated amplifier. It's not an entry level feature... I've only seen it on $1,000+ receivers. You can probably find a used model if you really want to connect an amplifier.

 

Your receiver only has pre-outs for a subwoofer, which is common, but it does not have pre-outs for the other channels. You might be able to use the line out for zone 2, but the level might be too high for an amplifier.

 

 

<opinion>

 

Any reasonable dedicated amplifier is going to sound better than a receiver. The small amps in receivers tend to be very anemic when it comes to bass output, so an amplifier is immediately going to sound fuller in your case. The dedicated amps also sound better the louder you go compared to a receiver.

 

Be aware of what you're getting yourself into. Audiolab doesn't publicize this, but this is a class D amplifier. These amps usually have a high noise floor and a prominent hissing noise at idle. My general recommendation is to look for a class A/B amp if you are really worried about sound quality. Also, those mono blocks are like over $1,000 USD each and those speakers are $750 USD for the pair. You're going to be 2x to 3x the cost of the speakers in amplifiers. Is it going to be worth it? My thinking is probably not... seems unbalanced. Dedicated amplifiers have a very niche market. I wouldn't hesitate to look for a used device.

 

</opinion>

[H713]

Generally it's better to oversize an amplifier than it is to undersize an amplifier. It's much easier to damage a speaker with distorted power from a small amp than it is with clean power from a big amp.

 

I estimate the speakers I use in my office to be about the equivalent of an "80 W" rating (they're my own design). I'm running a Crest 3301 right now (about 450 W into 4 ohms) and for a while I was running an MC1250, which will do almost 1300 W into 4 ohms. Nothing wrong with that, and there are some big amplifiers that sound fantastic (that MC2 and Crest being examples of this).

 

The main issue crops up when you take an undersized amplifier, that isn't rated for 4 ohm loads, then push it really hard into a 4 ohm load. That is asking the amplifier to source more current than it was designed to, which can push the output devices outside their SOA. It's even worse with a heavily reactive load, since that's the worse possible case scenario for output device SOA.

 

 

 

I'd probably ditch the receiver, then drive power amps directly from a DAC or audio interface.