Power needed
12–190 W
per channel, into 4 ohms
To hit 95 dB peaks at 3 m from a pair of MartinLogan Masterpiece Impression ESL 11A, you need at least 12 W a channel. Anything from about 24 W to 190 W a channel is comfortable; past that, more watts stop buying you anything.
Show the working
- 95 dB target at the seat
- +4.8 dB for 3.0 m of distance
- -3 dB for a stereo pair
- -86.0 dB effective sensitivity
- 3.0 dB taken off to convert the 4 ohm 2.83V rating to dB per watt
- 2 dB allowed for optimistic published sensitivity
- Published sensitivity 91 dB, used as 86.0 dB per watt.
Audio Research S-200 with the MartinLogan Masterpiece Impression ESL 11A
Excellent match
15 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (200 W to 400 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
A power amplifier: you will need a preamplifier, or a streamer with a volume control, as well.
Full Audio Research S-200 specs
·
Clear this amp
192 integrated amplifiers suit the MartinLogan Masterpiece Impression ESL 11A
Also show the 58 we do not recommend
1
Excellent match
13 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (110 W to 220 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
2
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (100 W to 150 W).
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
3
Excellent match
13 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 2 ohms - stable into anything this speaker will throw at it.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (125 W to 250 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
4
Excellent match
13 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 2 ohms - stable into anything this speaker will throw at it.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (125 W to 250 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
5
Excellent match
13 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (125 W to 250 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
6
Excellent match
12 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (100 W to 200 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
7
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (100 W to 150 W).
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
8
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (100 W to 160 W).
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
9
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (100 W to 150 W).
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
10
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (100 W to 150 W).
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
11
Excellent match
8 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Has a 4 ohm tap, which is exactly what this 4 ohm speaker wants. Taps: 4 / 8 ohm.
A valve amplifier makes the same power on each tap, so what matters is sensitivity - and at 86.0 dB this speaker is efficient enough that 70 W is comfortable.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
12
Excellent match
14 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (150 W to 300 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
13
Good match
12 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (125 W to 185 W).
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
14
Good match
13 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (150 W to 250 W).
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
15
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (100 W to 160 W).
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
16
Excellent match
8 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Has a 4 ohm tap, which is exactly what this 4 ohm speaker wants. Taps: 4 / 8 ohm.
A valve amplifier makes the same power on each tap, so what matters is sensitivity - and at 86.0 dB this speaker is efficient enough that 70 W is comfortable.
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
17
Good match
14 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (185 W to 275 W).
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
18
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 2 ohms - stable into anything this speaker will throw at it.
No 4 ohm power rating on file. On a 4 ohm speaker that is the figure that matters, so this one is unproven on the load.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
19
Excellent match
15 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (200 W to 400 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
20
Excellent match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (80 W to 160 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
Showing the best 20 of 192. Narrow it with the price range below, or a different budget split.
47 power amplifiers that would also drive them
Listed separately because they are not a complete system: a power amplifier has no volume control and no inputs to speak of, so you need a preamplifier or a streaming preamp as well. Worth it if you already own one, or if you want to buy the two halves separately.
1
Excellent match
12 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 2 ohms - stable into anything this speaker will throw at it.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (100 W to 190 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
2
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power rises usefully into 4 ohms (100 W to 150 W).
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
3
Excellent match
15 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 2 ohms - stable into anything this speaker will throw at it.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (175 W to 345 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
4
Excellent match
14 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 2 ohms - stable into anything this speaker will throw at it.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (150 W to 300 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
5
Excellent match
9 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Has a 4 ohm tap, which is exactly what this 4 ohm speaker wants. Taps: 4 / 8 ohm.
A valve amplifier makes the same power on each tap, so what matters is sensitivity - and at 86.0 dB this speaker is efficient enough that 100 W is comfortable.
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
6
Excellent match
8 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Has a 4 ohm tap, which is exactly what this 4 ohm speaker wants. Taps: 4 / 8 / 16 ohm.
A valve amplifier makes the same power on each tap, so what matters is sensitivity - and at 86.0 dB this speaker is efficient enough that 70 W is comfortable.
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
7
Excellent match
15 dB of headroom, far more than needed. No harm in it.
Rated down to 4 ohms, comfortable with a 4 ohm speaker.
Power nearly doubles into 4 ohms (200 W to 400 W) - a stiff supply that copes with hard loads.
Balanced against the price of the speakers.
8
Good match
11 dB of headroom over what this speaker needs - peaks stay clean.
Rated down to 2 ohms - stable into anything this speaker will throw at it.
No 4 ohm power rating on file. On a 4 ohm speaker that is the figure that matters, so this one is unproven on the load.
Sensible value pick against these speakers.
Were these amplifier recommendations useful?
It helps us tune the matching, and we read every comment.
Thanks. Anything you would add?
Optional, and it goes straight to the person who maintains this page.
Thanks - noted.
Sensitivity and impedance figures are the manufacturer's own. We read sensitivity as dB at 2.83 V/1 m and take 2 dB off it, because published figures run high. Treat the result as a well-founded starting point, not a measurement. Full MartinLogan Masterpiece Impression ESL 11A specs.
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