A little deeper on amp power please....

I have always found the sound from any given pair of speakers to be smoother (less grainy and more natural) when driven with larger power amps, regardless of listening level. This impression was less pronounced with tube equipment than SS gear, due to the "soft clipping" nature of tubes and their inclination toward even-order harmonics, but still apparent.

I owned a well regarded 255wpc powerhouse Hafler DH500 in 1986. My 2023 amps are ~ 17 wpc in triode, 30wpc ultalinear. Granted I don’t try to play as loud as I used to, but the system sure sounds better now.

More power doesn’t equate directly to better sound, unless the amp is straining to produce the needed power. Lower powered amps can sound abso-freaking-lutely amazing...,within their power range. Sound quality really boils down to the given circuitry of an amp, and it’s ability to power a given speaker at the desired volume.

And I do believe there’s an audible difference in the sound of different "well designed" amps, even at the lower volume ranges. If you don’t hear differences, start over, and try a different tact (if you’re interested in that sort of thing)....otherwise, enjoy the music. 😎

I happened to be using 2a3 monoblocks when I bought Klipsch Jubilees and was selling my KHorns. The buyers wife wanted to hear vintage rock on the Jubes which I obliged. She asked for “louder, louder” when at some point I indicated that’s all there is. Even with speakers rated at 105db 2-3 watts can be woefully inadequate when asked to do too much. Normal listening was divine, rockin’ the house was less than spectacular. 

Power or wpc do not translate into sound quality.  The Class A mono block tube amps we build easily outperform many higher wpc amps on many different speakers at various ratings or recommendations by the manufacturer.  We drove a pair of Vandersteen model Sevens 83.5db with a 28wpc stereo tube amp from ART Audio with no issues.  So you need to experiment.    

Audio peaks being measured can hit acoustic transient peaks up to 10 x the average from low to highs , That is why clean power for one is most preferable more so then just wpc ,that being said though more is better to have . transient distortions is what blow especially tweeters more times then anything else.