2. amps-preamps
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SS amps. Why so much power?

I though that there was so much tube amp talk on this page lately, I'd put up a SS thread. Why do so many people buy the big SS amps that have 200,300,500 watts of power? Is it because the speaker you want is inefficient and you need lots of power, or do you need to play real loud? Or is it a status thing, like my amp's bigger than your amp, or what? Do you buy a big amp first, and then look for a speaker with high power handling? Or do you pick a low efficiency speaker you like and then look for a big amp to drive it? Do you subscribe to the idea that if you have alot of watts, the amp will sound better at lower volumes? I've noticed that the majority of AudiogoNers go with high power SS amps and low efficiency speakers. What gives?
twl

Showing 2 responses by jtinn

jtinn
1,124 posts
 
Most solid state amplifiers prefer low impedance speakers. Most tube amplifiers prefer higher impedance speakers. On a reasonably high impedance speaker, a much lower powered tube amplifier should be able to drive the speaker better than a high powered solid state amplifier.

A good example is the SoundLab speakers. They have a reasonbly high impedance through much of their curve and will generally laugh at higher powered solid state amps, while a 220 watt tube amplifier, like the Wolcott (Hi Albert & Duke), has no trouble with them whatsoever. Even much lower powered tube amplifiers do a very nice job on them.
jtinn
1,124 posts
 
Sean: So are you saying that a fairly average 100 watt solid state amplifier would prefer to drive an 8 ohm load to that of a 2 ohm load?
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