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weepingwillow
12
Oct 22, 2016
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Will these go well with the Micca MB42X?
The Micca's specs say "impedance: 4-8 ohms - Sensitivity: 85dB 1W/1M - power handling: 75 watts (each)"
Will these not be enough to power them well? I will be using then on my desk.
Daed
574
Nov 7, 2016
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weepingwillowThis will be perfectly fine for desktop use. I have it powering my Dayton B652s ("Power handling: 40 watts RMS/75 watts max • Impedance: 6 ohms • Frequency response: 70-20,000 Hz • Sensitivity: 87 dB 1W/1m") and it gets stupid loud. Of course, I'm almost 40, and my idea of stupid loud is colored by the fact that I have a wife and neighbors, so YMMV. I can't remember how high the volume counter goes, but I know it goes well past 30. I typically keep it around 10, up to 15 if I'm alone in the house, and I listened at 20 once when I got super into my music.
Keep in mind, the power rating of your speakers is what they can handle, not what they require. Two or three watts is plenty for laid-back, gentle listening. It's kinda like a car -- it may be able to put out 200hp, but it only needs about 10 to cruise around town, maybe 40 to run at highway speeds. Most desktop/bookshelf speakers never need to see more than 10W. Now, I have a late '80s pair of 15"-woofered Infinity towers... they'll need more than 10W sometimes, under normal use, but nowhere near the >100W they're rated for. Likewise, an 18 wheeler needs more than 10hp, even if it's not carrying a full load.
Sensitivity is the key here -- my Daytons are rated 2dB more sensitive than your Miccas, so you might need to turn the Q5 up to 12 for normal listening instead of 10. The amp has PLENTY of headroom left. As long as you're not trying to power a frat party or a small club gig, you're golden.
Keep in mind, the power rating of your speakers is what they can handle, not what they require. Two or three watts is plenty for laid-back, gentle listening. It's kinda like a car -- it may be able to put out 200hp, but it only needs about 10 to cruise around town, maybe 40 to run at highway speeds. Most desktop/bookshelf speakers never need to see more than 10W. Now, I have a late '80s pair of 15"-woofered Infinity towers... they'll need more than 10W sometimes, under normal use, but nowhere near the >100W they're rated for. Likewise, an 18 wheeler needs more than 10hp, even if it's not carrying a full load.
Sensitivity is the key here -- my Daytons are rated 2dB more sensitive than your Miccas, so you might need to turn the Q5 up to 12 for normal listening instead of 10. The amp has PLENTY of headroom left. As long as you're not trying to power a frat party or a small club gig, you're golden.
weepingwillow
12
Nov 7, 2016
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DaedFor some reason I can not submit my lengthy reply, there is something wrong with Massdrops reply system :o
Daed
574
Nov 7, 2016
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weepingwillowI'm just sorry I didn't see it two weeks ago, when you posted it!
Decibel (dB) is the unit of measurement we use for sound, and some other things that most people don't mess with. It's a logarithmic scale, so a 1dB increase in volume is not directly related to a 1 unit increase in input power. It's kind of exponential, sort of like the earthquake scale. Our hearing doesn't work linearly, so the sound scale doesn't either. It takes 2x the power input to result in a 3dB increase in perceived volume. So a 2dB difference in sensitivity is actually pretty significant when you're counting watts, but at the levels we're talking about, you don't need to worry. If you were trying to power from solar panels or batteries or something, you'd want MUCH more efficient speakers.
That 85dB per watt at 1m is a real world number that you can get real world information from. It means just what it says -- if you push a 1 watt sine wave into the speaker and measure its output, you will see 85dB at a point 1 meter from the speaker. 85dB is pretty loud. You can google "decibel chart" to get an idea of what different levels sound like, but 85 dB is a good level you might watch TV at. It's not rocking out, but it's louder than a normal conversation. That's what your speakers produce with only 1W of power, when heard from 1m away. But honestly, 75W is serious overkill for desktop use. I can't think of any situation where you'd say, "Geez, I wish I didn't have this 150Wpc amp!" (except maybe while hiking), but I also can't think of any situation where I would want to push 75W into a pair of speakers that are only a couple feet from my ears. 75W would probably damage your hearing. Now, if you were planning on putting those Miccas into service in a surround sound system, and fill a fairly large room with some serious sound, THEN you'll want that more powerful amp.
Yes, it's great if your amp can destroy your speakers. That means you NEVER have to worry about amp clipping. Ideally, you would never turn your amp up over 50%. That's a rule of thumb that's older than I am, and I'm not sure if it still holds water on modern amps. I know I can turn my car stereo all the way up (and often need to, thanks Subaru >.>) without any hint of strain. When you push an amp to or near 100%, you usually get waveform clipping, which is VERY bad for speakers. I HAVE destroyed speakers in the past that way, and if you find yourself pushing the amp up to 75% or so of its capacity more than a few times, I would definitely consider a beefier amp. If I hooked the aforementioned tower speakers up to this little Q5 and tried to fill my living room with home-theater movie night levels of sound, I have a feeling I would get nervous. With an amp that can push 2x the speaker's rating, that's never a concern, so in an ideal world, I would follow that advice. But when you have to worry about space and money and other real world considerations, well, for desktop use at least, don't sweat it.
Decibel (dB) is the unit of measurement we use for sound, and some other things that most people don't mess with. It's a logarithmic scale, so a 1dB increase in volume is not directly related to a 1 unit increase in input power. It's kind of exponential, sort of like the earthquake scale. Our hearing doesn't work linearly, so the sound scale doesn't either. It takes 2x the power input to result in a 3dB increase in perceived volume. So a 2dB difference in sensitivity is actually pretty significant when you're counting watts, but at the levels we're talking about, you don't need to worry. If you were trying to power from solar panels or batteries or something, you'd want MUCH more efficient speakers.
That 85dB per watt at 1m is a real world number that you can get real world information from. It means just what it says -- if you push a 1 watt sine wave into the speaker and measure its output, you will see 85dB at a point 1 meter from the speaker. 85dB is pretty loud. You can google "decibel chart" to get an idea of what different levels sound like, but 85 dB is a good level you might watch TV at. It's not rocking out, but it's louder than a normal conversation. That's what your speakers produce with only 1W of power, when heard from 1m away. But honestly, 75W is serious overkill for desktop use. I can't think of any situation where you'd say, "Geez, I wish I didn't have this 150Wpc amp!" (except maybe while hiking), but I also can't think of any situation where I would want to push 75W into a pair of speakers that are only a couple feet from my ears. 75W would probably damage your hearing. Now, if you were planning on putting those Miccas into service in a surround sound system, and fill a fairly large room with some serious sound, THEN you'll want that more powerful amp.
Yes, it's great if your amp can destroy your speakers. That means you NEVER have to worry about amp clipping. Ideally, you would never turn your amp up over 50%. That's a rule of thumb that's older than I am, and I'm not sure if it still holds water on modern amps. I know I can turn my car stereo all the way up (and often need to, thanks Subaru >.>) without any hint of strain. When you push an amp to or near 100%, you usually get waveform clipping, which is VERY bad for speakers. I HAVE destroyed speakers in the past that way, and if you find yourself pushing the amp up to 75% or so of its capacity more than a few times, I would definitely consider a beefier amp. If I hooked the aforementioned tower speakers up to this little Q5 and tried to fill my living room with home-theater movie night levels of sound, I have a feeling I would get nervous. With an amp that can push 2x the speaker's rating, that's never a concern, so in an ideal world, I would follow that advice. But when you have to worry about space and money and other real world considerations, well, for desktop use at least, don't sweat it.
Daed
574
Nov 7, 2016
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weepingwillowOh yeah, Daytons... I've heard the same thing about their declining quality, but I don't think most people need to worry about it. If you're a fledgling audiophile, you'll want to look for something nicer, but my wife and my mom, for example, would never find anything wrong with them. I'm given to understand that your Miccas are better, especially with a crossover (the X in the MB42X). I think that might be why Dayton produced the B652 Airs... they put a much better tweeter in it (and almost doubled the price!). I definitely noticed that my old B652s (I bought them in June 2011, according to my email archives) were pretty bad when you got way off-axis. I had them set up in my bedroom, off to the side of my bed. When I sat on the edge of the bed, in between the speakers, and facing them properly, it was great. When I was laying down, off-axis by about 85 degrees, they were total crap. Honestly though, that's my fault for forgetting that speaker set up is a thing.
I bought a couple pairs, and upgraded the caps in one set. It made a perceptible, but not massive, difference. If I were building another knockaround system (for the garage or a kid's room), I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again, but these days, you have other options in the <$75 range. I'm working on a gaming room now, and I'm looking at the Miccas you have and the Pioneer BS-22s to build the surround system. Maybe ELACs if I get crazy!
I bought a couple pairs, and upgraded the caps in one set. It made a perceptible, but not massive, difference. If I were building another knockaround system (for the garage or a kid's room), I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again, but these days, you have other options in the <$75 range. I'm working on a gaming room now, and I'm looking at the Miccas you have and the Pioneer BS-22s to build the surround system. Maybe ELACs if I get crazy!
weepingwillow
12
Nov 7, 2016
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weepingwillowOnce, again thanks for all the information. I definitely consider myself to be a fledgling in the audiophile world. I'll let you know how they are! (once they finally arrive via DHL..) I even built two speaker stands for them already, I am quite excited.
Its really cool to have members like yourself in the Massdrop community!
Its really cool to have members like yourself in the Massdrop community!
Daed
574
Nov 7, 2016
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weepingwillowNice! That's some good looking wood! That's not your first adventure with a saw, is it? Nice sharp corners. I'm going the lazy way, and making some out of cutting boards and drawer pulls for feet. Still trying to find the right sized drawer pulls :)
weepingwillow
12
Nov 7, 2016
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DaedYeah this was my second wood working project, it took me forever to get it the way I want. After building this and surfing the web, I realized plastic cutting boards are actually far better material for stands.... Good luck!
budley
59
Dec 20, 2016
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weepingwillowWow! That is gorgeous. You should make custom stands. I like it!
weepingwillow
12
Dec 23, 2016
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budleyThanks! I spent many hours on them, so the compliment means a lot! I later added some aluminum dampeners that aren't attached, just sitting between the legs and base to decouple the speakers
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