benefit of Higher power over Lower power Amp ?

Deja vu all over again! I was going to reference a thread with virtually that same question from a week or two ago, but it disappeared. It is no longer on the Gon, even though it wasn't very controversial -- just some spirited discussion.

Long story short: It depends. Many love the sound of simpler circuits with lower wattage and believe that's the way to go. Others like the additional headroom and current that larger amps provide. Power statistics alone are insufficient for any direct comparison of sound quality. Even when the term "all things equal" is used, many point out that all things can never be equal.

Each doubling of power provides another 3 db of sound pressure. In the other thread, no consensus was attained other than an acknowledgement of the value of good design, that pure Class A amps are a good thing and that some electrical properties around power (e.g., ohms law) do apply and may affect bass response.

I hope that's a decent summary and I hope others join in to correct any misstatements.

Ozfly,

Why would a thread like that...that had so many responses get removed?

mitch

I was wondering the samething. It was not mean spirited at all. Just a lot of different viewpoints. Towards the end, it was mostly about the sonic merits of the Parasound JC1's. Different points of views and thoughts but nothing mean spirited. All of a sudden, boom, it's gone! I've seen a heck of a lot more contraversial stuff stay on.
Anyway, to answer the question, it is a BIG depends. It seems it is easier for manufacturers to get smaller amps right more than it is the big ones. However, there are some good big ones out there.
To me, smaller amps have a sweeter more delicate sound. But it does depend on the overall system the amp is be utilized in.