Some amps with a lower rated power sound more powerful than their specs would have you believe (due to good design and a robust power supply). Speaker sensitivities are unreliable (and misleading). If a high powered amp sounds “more dynamic” than a lower powered amp at lower levels, it is not due to its maximum power rating in watts, it has much more to do with the amp’s design, regardless of rated power. An amp’s input sensitivity dictates what sound level will be produced at what position of the volume control (all else being equal). If you listen to music at moderate levels, you likely don’t need as much power as you think you do. I’m getting some of the best sound of MY life with a Music Reference RM-10 amp (35 w/ch) driving my Magnepan 3.7s… and I’ve used dozens of amps of various power ratings over the past 37 years (I’ve always had Maggies in the house). This is my experience with power. Ymmv. Gotta try some different amps out with an open mind regarding power!
What is your experience with amp power?
So I wanted to know what my fellow audiophiles feel about power.
I realize that some speakers are current hounds and need a prodigious amount of power or watts (lets say Maggies). But my question is for speakers that do not. Speakers that are easy to drive, or maybe just higher in efficiency and can be driven by a modest tube amp or even an adequate receiver.
What is you experience with high power, high current amps ? Do your speakers sound better with more power? At low volumes, in a small or medium sized room? Do you think the quality of the music is dependent on higher powered amps?
Showing 3 responses by krelldreams
@spaceguitarist : Excellent article! My French has become almost entirely unusable (I last studied French in college almost 40 years ago), so I had to resort to the translation function, but the information was spot on. My experience with “rated power” of various amplifiers has shown this info to be true. See, we can agree! Lol. Thanks for the link. |
Using examples such as: “Amp A @ 600 w/ch sounds better than Amp B @ 150 w/ch shows that more powerful amps sound better” is an unreliable argument. It may in fact be 100% true, but is it solely due to Amp A’s higher maximum power rating? No. Also, the idea that a 200 w/ch amp plays 3dB louder than a 100 w/ch amp only holds true when each amp played to its maximum output. At any listening level below the maximum output of the lower powered amp, the output is unaffected by the maximum rated power (all other factors equal, re: input sensitivity, power supply, design, etc.). Two amplifiers using identical components, but configured differently so one outputs 200 w/ch rated power, and the other outputs 50 w/ch won’t sound different because of rated power, unless the listener exceeds 50 watts. For example: If you are listening to music and using 25 watts to achieve the volume level you desire, it matters not whether the amp in question maxes out at 50 watts, 100 watts, or 1000 watts… because you’re only using 25 watts for this level. There WILL be a difference if one amp in the comparison is designed with a stronger power supply, regardless of its power rating. |