How much power is to much power?

What does "more control of bass" mean? If you meant sufficient current to drive the bass woofers without more distortion, then it is equivalent to a higher SPL. If you meant a higher damping factor, then it is independent to the wattage anyway.

I have learned the following things recently.

I bought my current speakers, JMlab Alto Utopia, with the impression that they are easy to drive: 91dB and 8ohm load. But my KT88 monoblocks, 50wpc, couldn't drive them well. Upon more investigation, I found the speaker impedance drops to 3.2ohms. This means that bass will need 2.5X more power than the mid-range.

Then I bought a Counterpoint SA100 and upgraded it to NP100. Note that NP100 has several upgrade levels and they all have the same rating, 100Wpc into 8ohm and 170Wpc into 4ohm, with a damping factor around 40. I have tried the following upgrade levels: Basic, Basic Gold, Premium Gold, and Platinum. They sound *very* different even though they all have the same outout ratings.

So what have I learned?

1. The matching between power amp and speakers is very important.
2. The amp rating can be misleading at times.

What does "effective damping" mean then? :-)

I think what you are referring to is not damping. Rather, it is the sheer power.

I have 4 amps in the house, from 8Wpc 300B SET to 200/400Wpc into 8/4ohm load all SS power amp. The damping factor ranges from 5 to 700. I would not say a higher damping factor will yield the best bass for all kinds of music.

I've found that for Jazz and string music, a mid level DF will yield the best bass to my ears. A high DF means a dryer bass, again to my ears.

Yes, some bloom in the bass is nice. I've found live music has "bloom" too. The question is not if you need added bloom. Rather, if your amp had some bloom, would that sound more like live music to your ears?

The Lavardin amp can indeed sound like 500W monoblocks if the speakers are *very* sensitive and have a flat impedance curve.

My NP100 Platinum feels a bit lack of power when I play Beethoven Symphony No. 9, especially towards the ending. This is a time that I wish I had more power......

I thought Magfan's test validated my view. LOL

A shorted woofer is like an amp with extra high DF. It does not make sound because there is no force continuously driving it. That is control!

Try to put a 4ohm resistor with high wattage rating in serious with your speaker. The amp still has the same output power. But the bass will be very distorted.

QED! :-)

Baroque_lover,

Thanks for sharing your speaker info. I used to have a pair of Accoustic Zen Adagio speakers which are similar to yours. My 50Wpc KT88 monoblocks drove them with ease.

The much larger woofers in my JM Lab Alto Utopia need more current to drive. Consequently, you need a higher power amp.

Saying an amp is too powerful is like saying a car too fast, a girl too pretty, too much money, too much fun, etc. :-)