What does more power do for Magnepans?

my listening position is about 10.5 feet from the adge of the right speaker.

more power is neither better or worse. playing a speaker louder is not better or worse. it is just louder.

i have been driving my 1.6s with 30 watss, listening at 72 to 82 db of spl. it's loud enough for me and i don't need more power.

the magnepans do not need a lot of power. a good 20 watt set is all you need. i have driven the speakers with 4 watts and within my listening level i had no problems.

you don't need 200 watts to enjoy magnepans.

hi narrod:

it's too bad you weren't at an audio meeting when i demonstrated the 1.6s with a 4 watt amp. i would have given you a barf bag, or you might have passed out. it was the best sound i heard from those speakers. bernadette peters sol rendition of "blackbird" was lush, thick and gooey. wonderful !!

hi narrod:

thick and gooey means severely attenuated treble and highly palpable midrange.

how is a speaker driven to hard with a 30 watt power amp at 72 db, if for example it is rated at 85 db/1 watt/1 meter ?
i would understand trying to produce 85 + db, subject to room size as perhaps being a problem, but not 72db.

i listen to orcehstral as well as small ensembles. i just don't listen loud and low power amps seem to work for me.