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I use PSB Stratus Gold-i speakers and am wondering if recent listenting experiences indicate I have reached the max. volume level or if I'm encountering a limit due to the power used (i.e. clipping).
I recall earlier reviews of the Gold (not the -i's) indicating the speakers benefit from plenty of power (e.g. 200w/channel and beyond) despite not being terribly inefficient. For a while I was using 150 watt monoblocks and now use a 125 watt/channel Blue Circle BC22 MK II; all power ratings mentioned into 8 ohm.
I was initially concerned about the BC22-II's power but was pleasantly surprised to find it drove the speakers to high levels without stress. In fact the lack of stree has encouraged me to, from time to time, *really* turn it up; think revisiting some good ole The Who tunes, that sort of thing.
However I've discoveded that when really pushing it I encounter a sort of "slapping" distortion. It's clearly *not* just the snap/slap of the leading edge of bass or kick drum (althought almost could be mistaken for such), it's not even very annoying appearing to me to be more a effect produced by the mid driver vs. tweeter. It occurs at levels that measure of around 95-97db (peaks) on a radio Shack meter held approx. 8-10 feet from the speaker; I don't know if that's considered a high measurement but by ear we're talking super loud (yet unstressed).
So what is it? Doesn't seem to fit the "clipping" scenario because there's little or no stress, again besides that "slapping" it's just impressively loud. I'm wondering if perhaps it could be the mid drive reaching it's excursion limit; and if this were the case would pushing it like this be potentially damaging? Or could it actually be amplifer clipping (desite the lack of nastiness)?
Any ideas?
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
Follow Ups:
On Prophead, someone noted that per Stereophile's test measurements, your present amp drops down to ~16 wpc at 2 ohms. This is not far off from the low impedance point of your PSB speakers. The speakers may be too much of a load for your present amp to drive properly, sad to say.
I was listening to some smallish Infinities being demoed at Circuit City once and naturally they have the bass control goosed and when the volume was turned way up a loud SNAP sound occurred. "Oops" said the salesman and backed down the volume. It's got to be the woofer reaching the limits of its excursion. Clipping would produce a distorted sound rather than the sound you describe. I wouldn't permit this to happen any further if I valued my speakers.
Reviewers often exaggerate the dynamic capabilities of speakers.
...bass driver in my Vandersteen 2c's - the sound was distorted when there was bass present. I used these with my TV.
If anything, it was caused by using an amp with not enough power - 60w/ch - and turning them up too loud when watching videos.
Room slap echo? Port noise? Is it coming from both speakers?
Pretty certain it's from a mid dirver, mostly notably from the left speaker. Believe I've heard it from the other speaker as well, can't recall for certain however.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
Maybe you can check that. If it is only one channel, maybe a driver issue??Also, it looks like your PSB's are nominal 4ohms. Is your amp stable into a 4ohm load?
I would say you are hearing the woofer giving up the ghost. Doesn't sound like you are clipping the amp, but overdriving your speakers.
Oz
This is not a clipping problem you're hearing and clipping [driving the speakers to that level] is more likely to effect the hf rather then the bass/mid. Either your mid or bass drivers are reaching their maximum excursion and the slapping you're hearing is the cone fully extending. At the listening levels you have mentioned this should not be too hard to avoid by simply turning the volume knob anti-clockwise!
Cheers,
It could be a driver reaching its excursion limit in which case you don't want to push it.
95-97 dB is very loud. Symphony orchestra peaks are around 100-105 dB on stage, not in the audience area, and that's in a much larger room than your listening room. 95-97 dB in a normal listening room is very loud. As an indication of the level, the hearing protection levels for occupational noise here in Australia are based on a limit of 85 dBA continuously for 8 hours without the use of hearing protection. That time limit would reduce to 30 minutes at 97 dBA. Continued listening at such levels over time can result in hearing damage which does kind of interfere with your enjoyment of this hobby.
Since you list your musical tastes starting with classical/jazz, you can enjoy your music quite well with peak levels well below the 95-97 dBA mark. You don't have a maximum level problem that will interfere with your enjoyment.
Note: listening levels are usually measured with the C weighting scale. Hearing protection levels are measured with the A weighting scale which is why I've mentioned them above. The A weighting scale is a closer match to the ear's sensitivity which is why it is used for safety purposes. Normally you would expect to get a higher reading with the C scale than the A scale if you were measuring the same sound because the A scale rolls the frequency extremes off while the C scale is closer to a flat measurement. The amount of the difference between readings with the 2 scales will depend on the frequency content of the sound being measured.
David Aiken
Yes you are correct this isn't a problem as such since I hardly ever push the volume to such levels, even playing symphonies at levels I consider very loud I have not encountered the issue.
My question was more out of curiosity rather than anything else. I've never in the past had a system that could be turned way up without the onset of distorted/glaring sound that set the limits. Here the occurrence of the slapping in that absense of sonic stress peaked my curiosity; and yes I do lower the level when it occurs.
Thanks for the info on weighting scales.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
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