Is there any truth to this question?

86 db speakers are not very efficient. you may need more power to drive them vs more efficient speakers. So, to me, this conversation depends on the interaction between your amp/speaker cables and the speakers. That YBA amp may be absolutely wonderful matched with your cables and speakers. on the other hand, I don't know what db efficient speakers the amp manufacturer recommend that you pair with the amp. 86 db is on the ragged edge of making amps work too hard and therefore you may need proper power handling capability (i.e. huge power supply capacity) in order to drive less efficient speakers). All that said, turn it on, listen. Does it sound like the amp is working too hard? sometimes biamping with the same amp will fix this. other times, well, either more efficient speakers or better more powerful amp is required. If you are really concerned about this for your own system and not just an intellectual conversation, then go "borrow" a few more powerful, nice, clean amps within your price range, in-home test them with your favorite music at the listening level you are used to, and tell for yourself. A good stereo store will let you take home and audition. If they won't (even after taking your credit card information), then they aren't worth my time. I won't buy blind. Or, find a good friend and borrow their amps for a quick listen. or have a wine, dinner party with friends and have them bring their amps over for a in-home listening session. There are several fun ways to do this without buying first. But, 86 db speakers are not efficient. Far from it and they are difficult to drive. However, a class A Pass, Threshold, Mark Levinson (20.6, 23.5, etc.)amp at 50 wpc or more would not have a problem at all driving these speakers. I like the sound of YBA equipment (if you can find it), but I don't know about their load driving capabilities.

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Yes, but remember, back in the day, 86 db was pretty darn good speakers for standard air moving drivers. Not withstanding horns which are incredibly efficient and only require very low power to drive you out of the room. Back in the day, amps clipped routinely and most (not all) amp manufacturers openly lied about their specs. I'm not saying that you need rediculous power to drive speakers. What I am saying is that you have to make sure you match the amp/cables to the speaker you intend to use. 86 db is absolutely not efficient and based on a speaker's db/watt rating, you need more power capability out of a decent amp to drive an 86 db speaker well. Also, just to clear up something I read earlier, amps are rated by what their sensitivity (input voltage for the input signal) is to get rated output power. So, look at most amps, their sensitivities are pretty close to the same. Sort of a industrial standard. So the power rating of the amp has really nothing to do with volume. It is the signal coming into the amp and the amp's sensitivity. for example, a certain Mark Levinson amp has an input sensitivity of 1 volt for 250 watts output into 8 ohm load. Same for other amps for lower watt output. 1 volt input. But, my point here is say you have a 100 wpc class A solid state amp with a 1 volt input sensitivity. If this is a true class A amp (and I mean class A output bias at rated output), and it doubles the rated output for halfing the load. 100 watts for 8 ohms, 200 watts for 4 ohms, etc. There is no way this amp won't be able to drive your 86 db speakers well. Lesser efficient speakers require more powerful amps (better power supply capacity) to drive them. Engineering 101. Speakers with strange loads like electrostatics require solid, well designed amps that can handle the lower speaker impedances. ie. more power handling capacity. For more efficient speakers (horns, etc.) you don't need nearly as much power for the rated db output at 1 watt. So, when you buy speakers, make sure you buy an amp that absolutely is able to drive the speaker well (IN YOUR ROOM). Also, don't forget that changing amps also means that the integration of that amp to your system changes the system dynamics. in other words, that amp may not work well with your cables and your pre-amp. So, it may not be the new amp that is the problem. I evaluate one item at a time. If it is an amp. I don't change anything else. either I like it or I don't. I don't play with cables, etc.

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Actually, clipping refers to when the amp cannot reproduce the input signal correctly whereby the output waveform is actually and literally "clipped" at the upper signal level. for example, if you have a sine wave input to the amp and the amp clips, then the output signal will look like a sine wave until it reaches the peak and it will then plateau and flatten out. So the input signal looks like a clean sine wave and the output signal looks like a mountain plateau flat on the top. That is clipping. proper design prevents this, but sooner or later the amp will clip if the input signal is high enough outside the technical parameters of the amp. If the amp's maximum input level before clipping is say, 2 volts peak to peak, then if you exceed 2 volts input, the amp will clip. So the designers, among other things, design the amp so that whatever the maximum input signal possible from low level sources will be, the amp's output signal will not clip. Design specifications for amp include, but are not limited to,(legal speak), maximum input signal, minimum input signal, sensitivity, input impedance, output inpedance, gain, distortion, power output into rated load, ect. But, in designing the amp, I definitely need to know what the possible largest input signal will be so that I make sure the amp's output signal doesn't "clip" at that maximum input signal. Wow! does this bring back memories from Engineering design classes.

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Again, with inefficient speakers or speakers that present really difficult loads for amps, one must take that into consideration when purchasing an amp and really review the amps specifications and try them out personally before purchasing. The amp is designed to drive particular loads under particular circumstances and the size of the room, acoustics, distance from the speakers are are included into the decision. Just how hard does the amp has to work to drive the speakers. All speakers are not the same because their load impedance changes over frequency and power bandwith and the amp used must be able to handle that cleanly and operate within specifications. I would have a very hard time purchasing an 86 db "efficient" speaker unless I knew for sure that the amp to be used could handle the room and speaker. This is where being in the amp of the month club comes in. experimental purchasing without in-home demonstration. Which frustrates so many that want to get into this "hobby". But the more efficient the speaker, the less power I need to drive it. Hence 10 wpc amps driving horn speakers and you are blasted out of the room at 10 watts. Speakers move air and for traditional drivers, to move air means that the actual driver has to move. To move that driver takes power. How much power required depends on the load of the speaker, the speaker's efficiency rating and the room size and acoustics.

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