Speaker power vs Amp Power

£200.00 for both amp and speakers?

If a speaker is lets says rated 15 watts to 100 watts a 50 watts amp is probably ok. Generally, more amp than is needed. What you want is an amp that has good peak power(also called dynamic headroom). Most of the time the amp isn't putting out a lot of power but certain peaks can hit 200 watts or a lot more depending. It depends on what you are listening to, what volume and etc.

For £200.00 unless you buy used, it is going to be very hard to find an amp and floorstanders for that budget...

Happy listening, the Prisoner...

The power rating for speakers is the maximum power they can handle before damage to them is likely to occur. The power rating for amplifiers is the maximum power that it can deliver. However, you need to be careful when matching speaker/amplifier power ratings since different manufacturers rate their power differently. This is due to the fact that power can be expressed in terms of RMS, Peak or Peak-to-Peak. It is important because each is calculated differently, the following are conversion formulas:

RMS = Peak X 0.707 or Peak-to-Peak X 0.3535

Peak = RMS X 1.414 or Peak-to-Peak X 0.5

Peak-to-Peak = RMS X 2.828 or Peak X 2.0

Make sure that when matching up your ratings that they are on equal terms, if the speakers are rated in RMS and the Amplifier is rated in Peak, then convert the speaker RMS rating to Peak or the amplifiers Peak rating to RMS, then you can see how they fit on an equivalent scale.

Another thing to keep in mind is whether the power rating is specified as "MAX" or "Continuous". "MAX" means that it can only provide/allow that level for a short period of time, while "Continuous" means just that, the the amp can deliver of the speaker can consume that much power continuously.

The speakers will only draw as much power as the source (amplifier) provides, and the amplifier delivers lower power at lower volume levels and maximum power when it is cranked all the way up.

If your speakers are rated for 250W per channel/speaker, then make sure the amplifier you select only provides a maximum of 250W per channel/speaker to avoid potential damage. I recommend getting a slightly lower amplifier rating vs the speakers it will be driving just to play it safe.

Another consideration is if you have a bass/treble control or an equalizer that allows you to adjust various frequency delivery. The power ratings of the amplifier are based in "normal" mid-level settings/ranges. If you change the bass/treble or equalizer settings/levels, you can throw the ratings out the window.

Finally, a good set of speakers will usually allow a cheap amplifier sound good, and a better amplifier to sound great. However, even the best amplifier will sound like crap if it is attached to a cheap set of speakers. Just something to keep in mind.

Hope this helps, and I'm in the USA, so can't be of much assistance helping on specific suggestions since I'm assuming you are in the UK. Cheers!

Awesome , a little more wattage on that amp. It will probably sound even better after the speakers get a chance to "break in".

There is a debate whether bi-wiring improves the quality of sound. In my experience it does not and most people would agree with that.
Now bi-amping is a different story which can improve sound but that would require another amp, disabling the speaker's passive crossover and using an active crossover to send the appropriate frequencies to the correct driver.

Happy listening, the Prisoner...