Great advice above. We are all reconciling the following truisms:
- Never under power loudspeakers if you can avoid it. Too little power can damage speakers.
- When buying amps, don't forget when you buy a 400W mono block, or the like, that it's the first few watts that matter.
When an amplifier clips, nasty stuff typically happens to what the loudspeaker gets fed and pushes back.
When we listen, even at loud volumes, the first 1-8 watts are most of what we use and hear. A 9 watt tube guitar amplifier will blow you out of the room, compared to these massive wattage amps we see today.
Sorry, don't mean to confuse you. It's all good advice above. It's a delicate balance. Going over with a good quality amp is usually a good thing!