I guess since this is in Tech Talk should probably give a more technical explanation why power is irrelevant.
Music is highly dynamic in nature. Sound is logarithmic in power. What this means, to go even a tiny little bit louder like say 3dB, not much at all really, requires twice the power. Twice. To go 10dB louder, which is enough to actually feel louder, takes ten times the power.
So going from 75 watts to 150 watts, even though it sounds like a lot, is only a measly 3dB. Barely noticeable. Insignificant.
Back to music is highly dynamic in nature. What this means, the vast majority of the time is spent listening to only a watt or two. If that. Theoretically, at least, the only time you are going to hear the difference that extra 75 watts makes is the occasional transient here or there. All the rest of the time its the first watt.
Because, see, amplifier power is not like horsepower. A car with a lot of horsepower, even when you're only using a fraction, barely crack the throttle, it just feels so much more effortless. You can enjoy high horsepower even without ever using it.
Amplifier power on the other hand, no such luck. There's little 50 watt tube amps that convey a greater sense of power than 150 watt solid state amps. And vice versa. (Probably. Just because I never heard one doesn't mean they can't exist.)
With amplifiers the first watt is so important one of the most famous and well-regarded amplifier designers uses it. First watt. Its so important the great reviewer Robert Harley once said, "If the first watt isn't any good, why would you want 200 more of them?"
And so on. We can get even more technical. We can get into the nuts and bolts of heat dissipation and size and parts complexity and quality. But, why? Harley nailed it.
Music is highly dynamic in nature. Sound is logarithmic in power. What this means, to go even a tiny little bit louder like say 3dB, not much at all really, requires twice the power. Twice. To go 10dB louder, which is enough to actually feel louder, takes ten times the power.
So going from 75 watts to 150 watts, even though it sounds like a lot, is only a measly 3dB. Barely noticeable. Insignificant.
Back to music is highly dynamic in nature. What this means, the vast majority of the time is spent listening to only a watt or two. If that. Theoretically, at least, the only time you are going to hear the difference that extra 75 watts makes is the occasional transient here or there. All the rest of the time its the first watt.
Because, see, amplifier power is not like horsepower. A car with a lot of horsepower, even when you're only using a fraction, barely crack the throttle, it just feels so much more effortless. You can enjoy high horsepower even without ever using it.
Amplifier power on the other hand, no such luck. There's little 50 watt tube amps that convey a greater sense of power than 150 watt solid state amps. And vice versa. (Probably. Just because I never heard one doesn't mean they can't exist.)
With amplifiers the first watt is so important one of the most famous and well-regarded amplifier designers uses it. First watt. Its so important the great reviewer Robert Harley once said, "If the first watt isn't any good, why would you want 200 more of them?"
And so on. We can get even more technical. We can get into the nuts and bolts of heat dissipation and size and parts complexity and quality. But, why? Harley nailed it.