Does anyone know if the smsl ad 18 is powerful enough to run jamo s803 for a large size living room.
I run my S803’s using a AudioSource Amp110 which is 75 wpc. The SMSL is up to 80 so you will be good
Awesome do you have any tips for break in, or anything else I should know
I didn’t notice any break in change. I did get mine used but they looked like someone ordered the wrong color and returned them. I would say just hook them up and enjoy!
I would disagree personally. People keep saying the smsl ad18 is 80 watts per channel so they assume it’s golden for full size speakers like the ones you are talking about. It’s 80 watts per channel at 4ohm…
At 8 ohms (those speakers are 8 ohms) the smsl ad18 is probably 45-50 watts at best. Just a guess, but I’m pretty sure I’m in the ballpark.
You’ll be underdriving them pretty significantly. Personally I wouldn’t even consider it. It might be fine if your listening preferences are always low volume…
I’m a fan of smsl, and the ad18 is a great product. It’s got incredible value for all that it offers, but it’s not the droid you’re looking for.
TLDR: Get a proper amp
Say the usable output is 40W. The Jamo S803 has a sensitivity of 87 dB. The AD18 should be able to drive the Jamo S803 to 101 dB.
It may be that the AD18 doesn’t have enough voltage or amperage to make the most demanding bass song, but that would be a slightly different argument that could stand to be tested. Most speakers are efficient enough to be driven to reasonable listening volumes and enjoyed even by things like the AD18.