Speaker compatibility

[Ken Hyland]

Hi All, This is a very novice question to throw into what is sometimes a dauntingly techie forum, but can anyone advise me if the B2 would be compatible with Dali Spektor speakers which seem to get great reviews. The Spektor 2's are rated 6 ohm and 25-100w.  Could the Brennan drive these in a largish living room? Many thanks for any advice.

Ken

[Davywhizz]

The Brennan website advises you should be ok down to 4 ohms, if you keep the volume below the max, though the B2 is rated for 8 ohms. The issue is that lower impedance speakers make an amplifier work harder, so there's a risk of overheating. However, your 6 ohms option makes this much less likely than 4. I'd be very happy giving your Dali Spektors a try. I  believe the B2 has a thermal cut-out, so if it was to overheat no harm should result.

In terms of wattage, the B2 needs speakers that can handle at least 15 watts RMS continuously so, again, you should be fine with the Dalis. 

Whether the volume will be enough for your room only you can say!

[JAC]

Hi khyla

The Spektor 2's have a quoted sensitivity of 84.5 dB, which means that when fed with 1 Watt they will produce a sound pressure level (SPL) of 84.5 dB at 1 metre distance.  Speakers vary in sensitivity, with low numbers meaning they are less sensitive and therefore need to be fed with more power for the same listening level.  As a rough guide, smaller "bookshelf" speakers tend to be less sensitive than larger types.  A figure of 84.5 dB is towards the less sensitive end of the scale.   If say they were 3 dB more sensitive (87.5 dB) they would sound as loud with only 0.5 watt driving them.

The impedance is OK for the B2, and when fed from the B2's fairly modestly rated internal amplifier (15 + 15 Watts), they should work fine and will produce a total of 99 dB SPL maximum.  This may or may not not be quite the sort of sound level you are looking for.  It all depends on how loud you (and your neighbours) like their music !

[Ken Hyland]

Many thanks, Davy and JAC. Good of you to take the time and patience to explain these things clearly. I think this is what I want to hear. It seems that the B2 will drive these Spektors without overheating and they are probably sensitive enough for my needs as I want to hear the bass and highs rather than drive the speakers at high volume.  I'll go shopping. Many thanks again.

Ken

[Eccles]

Just in case you still have any doubts, I'm using Spektor 2 with my B2 for nearly a year now. The first 6 months they were plugged in direct and sounded brilliant. With this set up it wouldn't go a loud as I'd like, so I bought a Tangent Ampster 2 amp as it's quite small and now the sound seems a bit 'fuller' and it goes very loud!

[Ken Hyland]

Thanks, Eccles.  Good to have an opinion from someone using this combination. I'm pleased you are having a positive experience and this sounds a good way forward - start with direct speaker connection and add an amp if needed. 

Best, Ken