Looking for a right amplifier for A15 speakers.

520131420 · Post by **520131420** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 5:15 am

Hi everyone!

I hope you all are having good plans with family and a nice holiday season.

Im in need of an amp for my SMALL HOME (2 bedroom house) karaoke system. Please help

Here is my current setup:
a DVD karaoke machine --> a vocopro mixer --> an unknown EQ --> (A WANTED AMP HERE) --> 2 Yamaha A15 speakers + going-to-buy-subwoofer.

Im looking for the AMP in the setup above. I only need it to fully power up my speakers without ruining things, nothing else fancy because of budget issues.

The living room is about 25ft W x 30ft L x 20ft H, so I only need an amp powerful enough to play those A15 speaks + 1 future subwoofer. I'm looking at those yamaha (a brand I prefer) RX-V*** 5.1/6.1/7.1 stereo receiver being sold as used for about ~$120 on ebay. Should those work out? Do they work just fine or I need something bigger? If so, should I get a used Yamaha Powered Mixer Dual 300W EMX312SC being sold for $230?

I appreciate all comments and suggestions.

But I prefer Yamaha stuff.
Thank you guys for reading.
Happy holidays and wish you the warmest winter. Ding ding dong

John.

P/S: Here is specs of A15 speaker
Enclosure: 2-way bass reflex speaker unit
Frequency range (-10db): 65Hz-20kHz
Nominal coverage: 90H x 40V
Nominal impedance: 8Ω
Power rating: 400W program; 800W peak
Sensitivity (1w, 1m): 98dB SPL
Component: 15" LF speaker cone, 1"VC Horn-TW
Input Connectors: Phone jack 1, SPEAKON: 1
Dimension: 18-1/2"W x 26-3/16"H x 14-13/16"D
Weight: 46.9Ib. (21.3kg)

Post by **wiseguy** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:19 am

You already have a mixer and now your talking about powered mixers (Yamaha EMX312SC). What you need is a raw amp to go between the mixer and speakers. The rule of thumb is that the amp should have a total power output double that of the combined program power handling of the speakers. This extra power is known as "headroom".

In your case you should be looking for an amplifier with a power rating of about 1,600 watts at 8 Ohms.

520131420 · Post by **520131420** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 3:02 pm

@Wiseguy: Thanks alot, but I also heard from others that you dont need to follow the "rule of thumb" when your area is small. Like really, a 1600 watt at 8 ohms amp is a waste in my opinion because I will never reach to the point of using all the power. Please correct me if I'm wrong. 2ndly, the reason I mentioned the Yamaha EMX312SC because sometimes I plug in my guitar, during karaoke-ing, into the karaoke mixer and I hated the echo effect on the guitar's sound... that's why I wanted an amp that has some inputs, but this is not a need anway.

Also, can you recommend a 1600W at 8Ohms nice and duriable for low budget. I would appreciate alot

Post by **wiseguy** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 4:07 pm

Why did you buy such high power handling speakers for a small area? The rule of thumb is there to allow you to get the full potential from your speakers but you of course are free to use an underpowered amp. There is no point in having both the VocoPro mixer AND a powered mixer. In my opinion you would be better off replacing the VocoPro mixer with the Yamaha powered mixer and your amp problem is solved. The Yamaha is also a much better mixer than the VocoPro.

DanG2006 · Post by **DanG2006** » Tue Nov 25, 2014 12:43 pm

I agree with wiseguy. The Yamaha mixer might even have compression which will protect your speakers in the long run.

520131420 · Post by **520131420** » Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:52 pm

Hi guys.
Thanks a lot for your information

For your question, I got the speakers gifted by a good friend who didnt need them anymore.

Anyway, do you guys think the Powered mixer Yamaha emx312sc would get me somewhat full potential of my speakers? The mixer says dual 300W + 300W as output.

@Wiseguy: Can you recommend me a good amp with 1,600W?

Thanks.

Post by **wiseguy** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 12:30 pm

No, the Yamaha EMX312SE will not come near to getting the full potential from your speakers. Each of your speakers are designed to handle 400 watts continuous and up to 800 watt peaks. The EMX312SE delivers only 300 watts per speaker maximum. So you see, it will not even power them to their continuous rating. With that being said, the EMX312SE will do a good job powering the speakers if you don't push it. Like in a small area as you described.

The better powered mixer for those speakers would be the Behringer PMP1680S as it delivers 800 watts per speaker (two speaker system).

A raw power amp rating can be deceiving because they are listed at different Ohm ratings. Just because it says it delivers 1600 watts does not mean it does this at 8 Ohms. You are looking for one that provides 800 watts per channel at 8 Ohms like this one for example.