A1126lin, I think your question is rhetorical, at least I hope so. As Gmood1, Nrchy and Thorman already said, quantity and quality have never been the same thingand I dont think they will ever be. I would like to bring up a couple of additional issues that are relevant to your inquiry.
Throughout the years, the best sounding solid-state and tube amps in the midrangewith some notable exceptionstend to be those with low to medium power. This may or may not be a coincidence as high power tends to require pushing the design and the parts to work closer to their limits with unavoidable penalty in the sound.
The other important parameter in selecting the power of an ampthe most important one in my opinionis your listening preference. If you like small-scale, intimate music, youll be very happy with low- to medium-power amp. If you like heavy rock music and large-scale symphonic music with thunderous bass or subterranean organ notes, youll never be happy with low- or even medium-power amps no matter how efficient your speakers are.
I run into this dilemma all the time so I have both medium-power tube amp and high-power solid-state amp in my system and use one or the other depending on the kind of music I listen to. But switching amps is a pain in the neck. Bi-amping solves most of the problems though not all but thats another story for another time.
Throughout the years, the best sounding solid-state and tube amps in the midrangewith some notable exceptionstend to be those with low to medium power. This may or may not be a coincidence as high power tends to require pushing the design and the parts to work closer to their limits with unavoidable penalty in the sound.
The other important parameter in selecting the power of an ampthe most important one in my opinionis your listening preference. If you like small-scale, intimate music, youll be very happy with low- to medium-power amp. If you like heavy rock music and large-scale symphonic music with thunderous bass or subterranean organ notes, youll never be happy with low- or even medium-power amps no matter how efficient your speakers are.
I run into this dilemma all the time so I have both medium-power tube amp and high-power solid-state amp in my system and use one or the other depending on the kind of music I listen to. But switching amps is a pain in the neck. Bi-amping solves most of the problems though not all but thats another story for another time.