Watts are watts?


So it's been said that tube watts aren't the same as SS watts. This always struck me as nonsense, but I'm open to hearing what others think. In particular, I've been wanting to delve into tubes...whether in the form of a tube preamp or a tube or hybrid integrated. So....I'm sure that 90 watts would easily drive my Goldenear Tritons 1s. But how about if I decided to return to Maggies? I would normally never even consider that little power for Maggies...hence the question. Are tube watts really "stronger" than SS watts?
secretguy

Showing 1 response by erik_squires

What’s missing in watts is the output impedance of the amplifiers. This can behave in positive or negative ways depending on the speaker and it’s design.

Also, its important to understand how little watts have to do with loudness. Relatively. Doubling the power increases loudness only by 3 db. To get double the loudness, you need 10x the power. So the difference between 90 watts and 150 watts is less than 3 dB.

If you want to do the math yourself: 

change in dB = 10 x log ( powerA / powerB )


Best,

E