Howdy folks, I was hoping someone could tell me if the floorstanding mains (Fluance SX-HTB) I'm planning on getting can be driven by my reciever (HK-135). The thing is, the mains have the followng specs in regards to power:

# Power Handling: 50-160 Watts

but my Harmon/Kardon 135 only supplies 40 watts per channel on paper(although it sounds like A LOT more). Will I be able to use these particular floorstanding mains or should I go with a pair which have a lower wattage reqirement? Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

It will work... but you may be limiting the high volume output, if that matters to you ....

people tend to think of wattage, as a fixed number ... but when dealing with AC sources (such as an audio signal), then the wattage flucuates quite dramatically. Your amplifier is rated to produce 40W (Probably an RMS wattage rating). Realistically that amplifier doenst produce a constant 40W ... but something less ....

Lets say your listening to song that starts off slow and soft ..... you could have a peak wattage rating at 20W ... while when it picks up, and during the loudest fraction of second you might hit 50W .... What im saying is that its all dependent upon how your driving your equipment and what your driving it with ....

Volume level also plays a very very big role .... if your listening to it at a very soft level, then the power produced will be minimal, but if you have it cranked, then the power produced will be around the maximum level ...

Moral of the story, is ..... yes it will work ..... you will NOT do any harm to either peice of equipement (assuming the impedance matches (OHMS)) ... and as long as your are responsible with the volume knob .... If you try driving it as hard as your amp can go, then the signal will become clipped, and that produces not only distrotion buy small segments of DC that can damage both the speakers and reciever ....

I agree with scubasteve. Another important factor is the sensitivity (in dB) of the speakers. A lower sensitivity speaker will require more amplifier power to deliver the same loudness as a higher sensitivity speaker with less amplifier power. What is the sensitivity of those Fluance speakers?

I agree with scubasteve and stealth. The wattage rating on speakers is what they can handle, not what they require. As long as the impedance is the same (typically 8 ohm), then they should be fine.

They best way to get an idea of their output would be to go into the store and have the salesman hook them up to an HK of similar power ratings and have a listen. If an HK is not available, then pick an amp of similar quality and power. (Yamaha or Denon maybe)

Thanks everyone for the replies. Although my questions have been answered, here's the company specs from Fluance for the mains.


# System Type: 2 Way - 3 Driver Floorstanding Main Speakers
# Woofer\Midrange: Dual 6.5 inch Poly-coated Drivers with Butyl Rubber Surrounds
# Tweeter: 1 inch Neodymium Balanced Silk Dome Ferrofluid Cooled For Longer Life
# Power Handling: 50 - 160 Watts
# Frequency Response: 49 - 20K Hz
# Sensitivity: 89dB
# Crossover Frequency: 3500 Hz PCB Mounted Circuitry
# Impedance: 8 Ohms
# Enclosure: Bass Reflex Design Internally Braced
# Dimensions: 38.8 X 7.8 X 13.0 inches (H x W x D)
# Weight: 33.45 pounds/speaker