A little deeper on amp power please....


If somebody could elaborate on exactly how a higher watt amp will improve the sound of speakers (lower sensitivity speakers that “need” power).  More specifically, I get that when the nature of the recording and the volume setting demand an immediate spike in power, an amp that delivers the spike will perform better than one that does not.  But when I used to have an amp with output meters, it would be in single digits for most normal listening, and I don’t recall what a spike would have been - I want to say 15 or 20 watts.  What I am scratching at is whether there is something more to power, i.e. the notion that the effortless power of, say, a 300 watt amp would somehow be an improvement over an otherwise similar 75 watt amp…even if a spike is just 20 watts.  Hope the question make sense.

mathiasmingus

Showing 1 response by mathiasmingus

Nothing is ever easy, and I will need to learn more. I get that power, impedence, and damping factor will all play, and then I need to learn more....

What inspired this is that I thought I had my end-game speakers in Harbeth 40.2. But then I got interested in playing around with low powered gear (I know it can be expensive too, but there are definitely interesting economies of design and $$$ in producing, say, 5 high quality watts vs 100). Some people say they have had good experience with low power amps and these speakers, others have said running SS monoblocks is a must-do! With unlimited space and budget, I would love to add a set of high sensitivity speakers for experimentation. (can somebody loan me their La Scalas?)😂