Basic question about power/watts

I concur with power and watts not 'all being the same'. 

About a year ago I was listening to a Audio Research integrated amp rated at 80 watts playing Sonus Faber Olympica Nova Vs and it sounded awesome.  I also listened to McIntosh 462 drive the speakers.  They both could easily create 75 db of sound and the sound quality difference was more of ARC tube sound versus McIntosh sound - not the 'power'.

Yeah, I think it’s likely your amp isn’t up to the task.  As far as Watts, it’s about headroom and allowing the amp to work in its comfort zone.  Many amps will not be at their best when being pushed to deliver near their max output level, and it’s good to have extra power in reserve for when loud peaks occur in the music.  If you’re running near an amp’s peak power level it can sound “strained” whereas if you’ve got plenty of power there will be more a sense of “effortless” sound.  Hope this helps answer your question.  If it was me I’d hop on this if it’s in your budget — awesome amp that will drive the crap outta your Maggies...

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649833271-mccormack-dna-225-power-amp/

A 40 wpc amp isn't going to get any Maggie working. Also, have you pulled them out 5 feet into the room? Tweeters in and pointed at your head? 

Yep, as mentioned above it is about high current more so than watts… altough there is a rough correlation. A high current amp will double the wattage between 16 ohm loads, 8 ohm loads and 4 ohm loads. Current is about the number of electrons available at an instant for transients.

Under powered planar speakers sound flat, because they require lots of electrons flowing through them. The amp needs massive power supplies.

The other thing is that planar speakers like Maggie’s are extremely sensitive to placement. They can sound terrible without careful placement. I have owned planar of some kind for over 30 years… and a 1/16th of an inch move can significantly Impact the sound.

Photos of your system would be very helpful. There is a place under your user ID.

As a former Maggie owner, a couple of comments:

1) Dipole speakers interact differently with rooms than box speakers. Positioning is critical and, sadly, some rooms are just not a good fit for Maggies. That's why I sold mine -- I moved and the room in the new house just didn't work for them.

2) The position of the volume knob on the amp tells you almost nothing about the amount of power being used.  That is dependent on the voltage output of the source and the input sensitivity of the amp. My volume knob is generally at 2 or 3 o'clock for a listening volume of around 85 dB. That's my "loud" while others prefer to list at 95 dB or even over 100.  With a different source/pre/amp I might being hitting the same actual volume with a much different setting on the volume knob.

3) Maggies are a low-impedance load at 4 ohms.  A typical solid state amp puts out the same voltage at 4 ohms or 8, but the amperage (current) doubles at 4 ohms.  The simplest test to see if an amp is good with Maggies is to check to see if the amp's wattage rating doubles when going from 8 ohms to 4.  Many amps don't do this.  You didn't say which make/model of new amp you bought. You also didn't give any indication of your preferred listening volume.  As noted above, one person's "loud" is another's "moderate."