How loud can I 'safely' play my Dynaudio Focus 140


Hello folks,

A random question from a total newbie. Did a quick search here but, still had some lingering questions so here goes.

Just recently traded in a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s for a pair of Focus 140s and was wondering how loud I can crank these guys up without stressing them out. I don't have a fancy powerful amp but, I tend to listen to music at a fairly loud level and was curious as to if that listening style hurts the speakers at all. To clarify, when I mean loud, it isn't to the point where the sound gets distorted and I can't hear myself think so I'm assuming everything is cool but, I wanted to see what others think.

What are the rules of thumb when it comes to taking care of speakers? Are there any tell tale signs to look out for in order to avoid frying a tweeter or blowing a woofer out aside from obvious sonic distortions?

On a random side note, if anybody has any suggestions on a great amp to match the Focus 140s with please let me know!

Just started working on putting together a stereo system and so far loving every minute of it!

Thanks!!
ucsb21

Showing 2 responses by shadorne

Are there any tell tale signs to look out for in order to avoid frying a tweeter or blowing a woofer out aside from obvious sonic distortions?

You can also see if the woofers are bottoming out against the surround on some models.

Loudness sounds just like distortion - so it is sometimes difficult to tell unless you are familiar with it - most people think their stereo is extremely loud because ultimately at some point it is so badly distorting that it simply sounds perceptively extremely loud - 99% of the time it is not actually anywhere near as loud as you would typically hear music played in a nightclub or concert (where pro gear pumps out clean undistorted sound at massive SPL's).

A very small speaker like this is not going to play loud (concert level) cleanly no matter what you do - unless you sit only 0.5 meter from them.

The Dynaudios have a bass/mid that has an unusually large 75 MM diameter voice coil (for a 5.5 inch cone)!! This is rare in home speakers - it is very large compared to what you normally get in consumer hi-fi - I would call this a "pro-driver". Most people with 8 inch cones and some with huge subwoofers will be using voice coils no bigger than 2 inch and some will be using voice coils of a mere inch in diameter - yes - you heard me correctly - a woofer with a voice coil no bigger than a tweeter!!!

What does this mean?

Chances are your little Dynaudios will outperform most bigger floorstanders in terms of clean loud sound and clear undistorted transients - this is an expensive driver! A large voice coil will be both extremely powerful (big motor) and it will dissipate heat much more effectively than a tiny 1 inch voice coil (due to much larger surface area). This means transients are not squashed by thermal compression. (Thermal compression is of huge importance as you go louder - 97% to 99% of what you throw at a woofer is converted to heat - so you have a little toaster in there - small thin wires getting really hot - this plays havoc with reponse as coil resitsance rises and will affect the effectiveness of a passive crosover to boot )

You can probably get about 100 db SPL continuous cleanly at 1 meter with transients around 110. This is impressive for a small speaker. You'll need 200 Watts - something like a Bryston 4B-SST or a Krell or something that fits your tastes. This speaker is not an easy load.
Cdd,

Yes that it pretty impressive for a small two way. It us a testament to the driver build quality from Dynaudio that it can play so loud.

I am not sure 100-105 db SPL all day long is a good idea, however, for the peaks that occur in good dynamic recordings it would likely be more exhilarating/realistic/lively with a speaker that is less stressed/compressed or dull sounding.

You are right that pro speakers are spec'd for loudness. At modest volumes there are all kinds of choices that play well with low distortion. The choices only become limited at quite high volumes (overkill for many audiophiles no doubt).