W4S ST-1000, How Loud Should It Play?

I note here that the speakers are 4 ohms, not 6, and have a rated sensitivity of 85db/2.83V/1m. That is only 82db/1W/1m, which is quite low.

Also, the manual indicates that the long-term power handling capability of the speakers is 170W. I wouldn't run them at close to the maximum volume control setting for very long, if at all.

According to my calculations, with a 170 watt input and at a 10 foot listening distance the two speakers would produce a sound pressure level of about 97.6db, neglecting room effects. Loud, but not probably not ear-bleeding, depending on the music.

Regards,
-- Al

Interesting points, Magfan. I note, though, that the FTC power rating shown at the link you provided for the Icepower module is based on the assumption of no external heat-sinking. I'd imagine the rating would be significantly higher if the module were in a well-designed amplifier housing. And anyway, if he were exceeding whatever the amplifier's limit is I would think he would be hearing obvious clipping distortion.

In this case, along the lines of my earlier comment I think the OP may simply be expecting too much of the speaker, in terms of maximum volume. I suspect that the root cause of the problem is simply that it is a small speaker having low sensitivity. And adding more power and/or more gain would just add to the risk that it will be damaged, especially given that it is a 2-way speaker having a first order crossover.

I should add that the calculation I presented earlier for maximum continuously attainable volume is overly optimistic, because it doesn't take into account a phenomenon called "dynamic compression," which (among other things) causes sensitivity to decrease when voicecoils reach high temperatures, as a result of having to handle excessively high power levels.

Regards,
-- Al

Steve, thanks for the update. Some basic questions: What is your source component? If it is a computer-based source, are you sure that there isn't a software volume control in the path? And have you tried a variety of material at the 65 setting, to be sure that the issue isn't simply due to the particular recordings having been mastered with peaks that are significantly below maximum, and/or to the particular recordings having a high ratio of peak volume to average volume?

Regards,
-- Al