It depends greatly upon the design of the amplifier and the characteristics of the speakers that are used with it.
In many cases, it is only the first watt or two which make the most impact on the sound. However, as playing gets louder,particularly with some inefficient speakers(and some with difficult impedances) the amplifier can become strained, and can eventually go beyond its ability to drive the speaker cleanly.
Current delivery ability of the amp can become increasingly important in these situations, and also when deep bass response in in the equation.
Since it requires about double the amp power applied, to increase most speakers SPL by 3db/1 meter, it is apparent that higher amp power can be useful to extend the SPL of many speakers up to their maximum SPL capability.
Additionally, dynamic headroom may play a factor in this, and many amp makers will include a dynamic headroom spec, which means that their power supplies are robust enough to provide "bursts" of power beyond their rated power levels, to handle difficult musical passages.
The more modest your listening SPL demands are, generally the less demanding you are of amp power, unless your speakers present a particularly difficult load for the amplifier to handle.
I realize that many other technical factors are present, but I'm trying to explain it in simple layman's terms.
In many cases, it is only the first watt or two which make the most impact on the sound. However, as playing gets louder,particularly with some inefficient speakers(and some with difficult impedances) the amplifier can become strained, and can eventually go beyond its ability to drive the speaker cleanly.
Current delivery ability of the amp can become increasingly important in these situations, and also when deep bass response in in the equation.
Since it requires about double the amp power applied, to increase most speakers SPL by 3db/1 meter, it is apparent that higher amp power can be useful to extend the SPL of many speakers up to their maximum SPL capability.
Additionally, dynamic headroom may play a factor in this, and many amp makers will include a dynamic headroom spec, which means that their power supplies are robust enough to provide "bursts" of power beyond their rated power levels, to handle difficult musical passages.
The more modest your listening SPL demands are, generally the less demanding you are of amp power, unless your speakers present a particularly difficult load for the amplifier to handle.
I realize that many other technical factors are present, but I'm trying to explain it in simple layman's terms.