To monoblock or not to monoblock McIntosh MC275's

i've read the magazine 'stereo review' since the early 70's to their retirement. julian hersh said to increase volume by 3 decibals you need to triple your power. who is right here??

@g_nakamoto, for a given load impedance the ratio of two power levels is expressed in db by the following formula:

db = 10 x log(P1/P2)

where "log" is the base-10 logarithm.

From that it can be calculated that a 3 db increase corresponds to a doubling (not tripling) of power. Or more precisely, a doubling of power corresponds to an increase of 3.0103 db, which is usually rounded off to 3 db.

And a 3 db increase in the amount of power delivered to a speaker will result in a 3 db increase in the volume that is produced by that speaker, at a given distance, assuming that the speaker is not being driven so hard that "thermal compression" or other factors cause its behavior to become significantly non-linear.

Mr. Hirsch might also have referred at times to a commonly stated rule of thumb guideline that a **subjective** perception of "twice as loud" requires ten times as much power, which is an increase of 10 db.

I have no idea why or if he might have referred to a tripling of power.

Regards,
-- Al

My experience using the MC275 as monoblocks was that it was a little louder and a little more dynamic, but for my personal taste it wasn't worth it. While I love the tube sound, I use my system for hours at a time daily and I decided to go with SS. MC601's give my speakers a ton of power that fits more with mostly rock music that I listen too. Jazz was dreamy with the MC275 but I listen to it about 5%-10% of the time.

As for your original question about the benefits of mono blocs vs. stereo...
I found the advantages were precisely what I had hoped for... in fact they were even better than I had imagined they could be:
My experience with both tubed and SS mono blocs ( independently auditioned) was that monos consistently delivered a broader, deeper soundstage and within that stage were more tangibly located 3 dimensional performers/ instruments and the billowing sense of air and space around them. In other words... a far more realistic presentation and a pronounced step ahead in the holy grail we’re chasing: believability.
I have found this consistent with each and every brand of mono bloc amplifiers I have used including SS by Krell and Pass as well as tube amps by Conrad Johnson, VTL, and Tube Research Labs.
I find it hard to believe that “YMMV” (“Your Mileage May Vary” LOL) because the exact mentioned results have been so consistent across the board. 
Needless to say I highly recommend mono blocs whenever attainable based on my decades of experience comparing them with single stereo amplifiers. 
Happy Lissn’n

Adding to this 6 years old thread, as recently I'm planning to upgrade to 275 Mk 6 in monoblock setup.

I have been already running 275 mk 5 in monoblocks for the last 13 years. And my experience is very much similar to that @lissnr detailed in his post. Broader, deeper sound stage, more airy representation, defined placing of instruments.

However, I must say that the strength of monoblocks became more obvious when I moved from c2300 to c12000 and also added dCS Rossini as the frontend player. (My speakers remained the same in the last 13 years - Sonus Faber Cremona M)

Currently thinking of upgrading from mk5 to mk6 in monoblock setup. Originally I was considering 2301. But given the price difference and size of my room (13x15x11) I thought of moving to mk6. Also heard mixed feedback on 2301.

Anyone, here have experience with running 2301s ?

 

Regards,

Sourav