Audio Systems: Speaker setup, crossover point, design question


Question
Hello there.

A few years ago, our old passive Community CSX52-S2 Three way speakers caught on fire.  This year, we want to replace everything inside of the box with completely new stuff.  

Here is what we plan to get (everything fits the same dimensions already):

Eminence APT-50 Super Tweeter (8ohm, 45w@3.5kHz)
Eminence La6-CBMR 6.5" Midrange (8ohm, 150W, 500Hz - 5.4kHz)
Eminence Kappa 15LFA 15" Woofer (8ohm, 600W, 38 - 2,700 Hz)
Selenium 3V1K2-7K-650 Passive 3 way crossover (650W, 1,200/7,000 Hz)

We are trying to get 600-650 watts pumping out of this system, because we are trying to get close to the JBL 3 way active 650W speakers we have already.

1) Is this a good enough setup to get 600 - 650W out of the system without any danger of blowing the speakers up?  If not, should I get the 800W Omega pros instead to get the desired 600-650W setup?

2) Can we get a lower wattage crossover that will still gives us the desired setup?

3) How much Wattage can this system support at most right now?

Answer
I don't have time right now to investigate deeply into your design question, sorry, but let me give you some guidelines that will help.

ONE:  Power ratings are mostly fiction and don't relate to engineering design criteria - only in a broad and general sense. The reason is there are no standard adhered to ratings by all the manufacturers.

TWO:  The sensitivity of the drivers is the most important specification in your situation and you did not post them. They are important.  For example, if a driver is 3db more sensitive than another it will take only half the electrical ac power input to give out the same acoustic level of sound.

THREE:  The balancing or voicing of a final system requires listen and lab testing to adjust the crossover point more precisely and the matching levels between bass to mid and mid to tweeter in order to get good sound.  Audio and speaker engineer spend untold hours doing the voicing work - which is 20% measurements and 80$ subjective trial and error.

FOUR:  You might get lucky and everything balance out and you get good sound - I give it a 20% chance of it being so.

FIVE:  A system of this power level should have some kind of fusing to prevent melt-down of the drivers.  Some drivers are more fireproof and more reliable under heavy power than others.  

SIX:  Final system power matching between the amplifiers and the speaker drivers in order to match up with a similar JBL is a function of the sensitivity of the drivers and the final balancing of the crossover network.

SEVEN: Final subjective loudness is sometimes a function of the midrange driver more than the bass driver; it depends so much on the voicing challenge.  But, if you want it to sound like the JBL why don't you use JBL drivers that are the same as the JBL you are up against?  That would come closer.....

Let me know if there is more to the story unfolding.
C