Dennis Had Inspire Amps...what speakers are you using?

[Rosco65]

Originally Posted by Bombadil

The Seas A26 is spec'ed at 88db, that's not bad. I believe the average bookshelf speaker sold today is 88db. A little on the low side for a 10 wpc amp in a larger room or for concert levels or loud orchestra works. But it would be okay in smaller rooms or for someone listening at moderate levels.

Consider that the old Dynaco A25 was measured at 82db, and several of the vintage AR speakers were in the same range at 82-83db. As well as the classic BBC 3/5a type speakers. Many people used 15-20 wpc tube amps to drive them. 20 watts into an 82db speaker is equivalent to 5 watts into an 88db speaker.

I have a 30wpc tube amp driving 84.5db speakers in my bedroom. That's a bit more headroom than what you have but to the best of my knowledge I've never clipped that amp.

I owned a pair of Dynaco A25XL’s, which were alleged to be 3dB more sensitive than the A25’s. I could run them with a 6wpc Tripath amp to high levels in my room. The A25 series had a 10” woofer that ran with no crossover elements at all. I think this well-behave driver running unimpeded made it very easy to drive.