Is there a safe way to determine speaker power handling capacity?

[Bill Stevenson]

My new speakers (Sony SS-AR2) are rated for 100 watts of power, but I know they need and can handle much more. Sony has demonstrated SS-AR2s in very large rooms, driven by very large amplifiers, without apparent strain. I am in quest of a new amp and preamp to use with these speakers. How do I figure out how much power they can safely handle? I am open to either tube or transistor, and wonder if there would be any difference in power handling capacity based on transducers in the output stage? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Bill

 

[GaryProtein]

The amount of "music power" watts a speaker can handle is much greater than the continuous RMS power they can handle.

Heat in their passive crossovers and maximal excursion of the cones/ribbons/diaphragms will determine maximum safe power.

In order to properly test maximum power handling at various frequencies, destructive testing is generally needed, which puts the test in the realm of the manufacturer.

 

[rbbert]

You can always PM BlueFox here and ask him about his experience

 

[Bill Stevenson]

I am new here, who is Blue Fox and where do I find him? I believe that Gary gave me the text book answer to the question, but like so many things in our hobby, the limitation with this knowedge is that there seems no practical way to apply it.

 

[rbbert]

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/member.php?4826-BlueFox