Speaker vs Amplifier matching

[Tahg]

I'm looking to get a new amplifier to replace the one I currently I have, but I don't know much about the all the different ratings. I've read that too much/too little wattage can damage the amplifier or speakers.

My speakers have a rating of 100 (no units) and 8ohm

My current amplifier is 100 watts. It has a number of screws for attaching speakers but I believe the pair of speakers is connected to the common and 4ohm screws. (it also has ground, and 70V and 8/16ohm connections IIRC) It was professionally set up around 14 years ago, so I don't remember to much about it.

I want to replace this with a stereo amplifier. What would be an acceptable wattage/ohm/voltage to replace the old one?

EDIT: Ok, I found the booklet for the amplifier and it appears that for the terminal connections being used the speaker line is 4 watts unbalanced

EDIT: Further reading reveals the amplifier is a Bogen CT100C and the speakers are (2) Paso C324THP sound columns

Power Rating: 100W RMS
Freq Response: 100 - 20khz
Power Taps:
25V 100-50-25-12.5-6-3W
70V 100-50-25W
Sound Pressure: 25db
Dirvers: 4 5" Drivers/Tweeter

 

[astrallite]

I would look up Crown amplifiers. They sell pro amps that are very rugged and high performance.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=crown+amplifier&x=0&y=0&ih=2_6_1_1_0_0_0_0_0_1.28_61&fsc=1

 

[Tahg]

Well, I don't think I need anything as powerful as what I saw on Amazon. I did find a calculator on Crown's site, and it seems like I only need about 10 watts/channel.

 

[astrallite]

Depends what kind of music you listen to. For example, classical music has up to 60dB peaks. 60dB = 64 times the power required. So if your listening level averages to 1W, you need ~70W/channel amplifier to avoid clipping.

If your amplifier clips repeatedly it can damage your speakers, as the voltage surge does not allow the voice coils to cool properly.