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saaltonen
146
Apr 12, 2017
Can anyone confirm output power specs for passive speakers? Everywhere I have seen, they list the 80wpc at 4 ohms. Is this at 0.04% THD, as the specs would lead one to believe? Seemed like that was for the headphone amplifier.
I have a Q5 Pro and the output power is 40wpc at 4 ohms with 0.04% THD. Just want to get a feel for how much more power this has.
Weast
2
Apr 19, 2017
saaltonenI can't officially confirm but I was previously using a 40wpc 2-channel amp to power my ELAC B5's which a recommended to receive 30-120W and once I started using the AD18 they immediately sounded 10x better with the extra power.
saaltonen
146
Apr 19, 2017
WeastGood to hear, I would also be powering Elac B5's with this most of the time. I have powered them with the SMSL Q5 Pro and it works but I think they need more juice. I also have a Dayton DTA-150 A/B amplifier which provides 75wpc at 4 ohms with 0.01% THD, and that blew the Q5 Pro out of the water. Problem is, the left channel cuts out when at very low volume and by the time they even out it is too loud for a near-field desktop application. It is also much larger, but I can overlook size to an extent if it performs.
Weast
2
Apr 19, 2017
saaltonenYeah I remember reading an interview with Andrew Jones (The genius who designed ELAC's Debut Series Speakers) and he said truly the B5's and B6's don't show their true amazing sound until they get true 120W but since I use the B5's as my desktop speakers I haven't been able to find any 2-channel amps with true 120wpc that could fit on my desk. One day I would like to use these with a receiver with a higher wpc output but I don't have a need for or space for that. That's why I bought this amp when I saw it on here since I hadn't seen anything even close to 80wpc at this price point. I'd highly recommend this amp for a desktop application. It's nice to be able to also plug in my headphones into it. I think it makes my Etymotic Research HF3's sound better as well but maybe I'm just imagining it.
Weast
2
Apr 19, 2017
saaltonenAlso, The AD18 takes up very little space on my desk and fits below my monitor just fine. It's small size is definitely a plus.
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saaltonen
146
Apr 19, 2017
WeastGreat, thanks for the feedback. I wish the Q5 Pro had a headphone amplifier, I added an FX Audio DAC-X6 to be able to use headphones. Decent for the money if anyone has a similar situation, and doesn't want to buy another amplifier for your speakers. To be honest, I found that the 60-65wpc at 6ohms into the B5's was a little overpowering for my room most of the time. I did appreciate the sound over the Q5 Pro though, just wish they would sort out the potentiometer issues, or whatever it is that I have with the Dayton.
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GeckoDeLimon
32
May 11, 2017
saaltonenIt doesn't have more power. You can't get 160W of output from a 50W power supply brick. There's cheater numbers at work here. If I had to guess, The AD18 will put out about 15WPC into 8 ohms, and 20-22W into 4 ohms.
Other 80Wx2 amps have power supplies as large as 5A@32V, and even that's on the edge of credulity.
EDIT: Some searching of the internet shows that this amp comes with a 24v@6.67A power supply. That's ~156W total. So while 80WPC isn't going to happen, it'll be way better than my initial doom-and-gloom.
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