Powered Mixer/Amp Needed

[v904]

I just got a old speaker from a mate (RCF ART 322i, google it cos I cant paste links yet sposedly...) and I'm looking at the cheapest way to hook it up. Problem is, Iv never used powered gear before, so I dnt have any idea of what I'm gonna need. I thought just a cheap powered amp, but the specs for the speaker says 400w; is that the minimum power requirement from the amp? Cos I was looking at a Biema W110ii power amp for $250-ish but its only 170w...

My current setup is decks/mixer hooked up to a soundcard (FA-101) feeding to KRK Rokit 8s. I probably wnt be looking to get any more speakers for a while, and if I do, i wont be getting more than a passive pair, so whatever I get doesnt need to feed more than 2 speakers. Cheers for any help

[pomrocks]

the 400w would be the max power the speaker can take, so you'd want an amp rated under this.

i'm guessing the amp is 2 x 170w @ 8ohms?

[v904]

^^ yeh, i think @4ohms tho...

So if thats the _max_ power, the 170 should work fine? If not, theres a 350w model for ~$300; is it a better option, what would i gain (apart from max volume i'm guessing)

[Spectrum]

As far as I can tell, those speakers are 400w RMS and 8 Ohms.

So, you ideally want an amp rated similarly, if not a touch more.

If that amp is 170w RMS @ 4 Ohms, then it's probably around 90w RMS @ 8 Ohm, which is way underpowered for the speakers you're running, and it'll be possibly half that again if they're claiming 'peak' watts, rather than 'RMS' watts.

Go a bigger amp. The advantage is clean(er) power, less chance of clipping (distortion) which will kill your speakers (particularly the high frequency horns). The difference in volume is marginal, as doubling the power is only around 3dB increase in perceived volume.

[v904]

Cheers for the help!

Just purchased a Biema w330ii for $310, should fill the needs nicely