86-87 dB sensitivity speakers

[HC515]

Will a 35W amp be enough to play these? I bought a Cambridge AXA35 thinking I was going buy high sensitivity speakers but now I'm leaning towards speakers in 86-87 range. Wonders if the Cambridge is going to struggle with those speakers. The speakers I want are the Elac Debut Reference which will probably be 6 ohms. 

[Ralf11]

maybe - depends on wanted SPL & room, listening position

 

Elac is highly regarded and not just for A Jones' design chops, but for their support also - have you asked them?

[HC515]

I asked Elac and speaker specs have not been released yet. Speaker is due for release in November but I'm guessing specs will be similar to previous models in the Debut bookshelf line which had sensitivity ratings around 86-87.

[charlesphoto]

I just went from 90db floor standers to 86db stand mounts. My Naim amp is 35 watts, and plays nicely with them, though low level listening suffers some. Ironically, with less watts that's where you might notice it most. In other words, once I get it up to a good loud listening volume it's fine, but kind of understated, and not as impactful at lower volumes as my floor standers were with the same amp.

 

But Cambridge watts aren't Naim watts, and so it may struggle comparatively (for example, my ears will clip before my little 35 watt amp does). And like I said, it's not just about how loud you can play it, but how well it sorts the music - mine can fall apart a bit on really busy pieces sometimes - and how it controls the bass. 

 

But I would try it first of course, though if 6 ohms might be a stretch. Great price on those Elacs.