2. amps-preamps
  3. 179032-174629

Basic question about power/watts

Hi everyone - I have a question that I can't seem to wrap my head around.  

I purchased a pair of Magnepans a few months back. Honestly, I do not like them. They have their moments but overall, pffft.

So, related to this, I keep reading from various Maggie owners you need TONS of power to make these things sing rather than squawk. I bought a new amp that is rated at 80 wpc at 4ohms. This, I realize, is low power when I see these guys saying they are running some crazy amount like 600 watts per channel. Here is my actual question:

When you are listening to your speakers at a normal volume, the wattage you are using is not near the POSSIBLE output, correct? My 80 wpc is unbearable with the volume at the 11 o'clock position. Why does a person need or want 600 watts? I suspect I am missing something here. Maybe this has to do with why I dislike my Magnepans. Somebody take a moment to set me straight?

Thanks! 

timintexas

Showing 2 responses by audition__audio

audition__audio
1,323 posts
 

Power doubling from 8 to 4 ohms means very little. The simple fact is that low impedance speakers or speakers with a really spastic impedance curve give most amplifiers a really hard load for them to drive. Sometimes this cant be avoided, but when it can and the designer still chooses to make the speaker low impedance it is really a design flaw and shows a lack of amplifier understanding or shows that this designer is catering to the false belief, created by this industry, that double the power trumps all other considerations. I dont think that the weird impedance of Maggies can be avoided.

 

audition__audio
1,323 posts
 

Actually I can think of a few amplifier manufacturers which claim they cant make a good sounding, higher power S.S. amp. I would guess it has something to do with the complexity of the device and the increased number of output devices. This may not be true of the stratospherically prices S.S. amps.

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