"High Current"

If a device truly is "high current", it will produce twice the power output at or very near the point of clipping as the impedance is cut in half. If the device doesn't do this, it is NOT "high current". While some might say that having a "big power supply" is what makes a design "high current", having the big power supply and having an output stage that is capable of passing all of that current are two different things. This is why all amps should be tested at the point of clipping. This tells you more about the entire amp in terms of "brute strength" than any other spec. Sean
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PS... Most amps will fall flat on their face in such a test. That's because most amps aren't really "high current", they are just "high hype".

The "wattage" can decrease and the current can increase. Look at your formula - if the current decreases by a factor of 10 and the voltage increases by a factor of 20, the wattage doubles. As far as the the power rating of the SimAudio i-5, it's determined by the voltage output and the current output into an 8-ohm load. If the output current is fixed to a certain maximum, then that will determine the power rating at a given load regardless of the voltage. If the voltage level is fixed, then that fixes the power rating at a given load regardless of the current available (the extra current available will give more power as the load decreases).

The term "Ultra High" current is a marketing one and there's nothing "notorious" about the amp's output current - it obeys the laws of physics to determine the power rating.

The amplifier design determines the maximum voltage that it can put out. The load (speaker) impedance, 8 ohms, 4 ohms etc. determines how much current will flow if this voltage is output. That is, if the amplifier can deliver that much current. It would be possible to design an amplifier which did not put out a high voltage, but could maintain that voltage despite a low impedance load which requires a lot of current. The power rating of the amp specifies that it applies at a particular load impedance. If a lower impedance speaker is connected, more power will be delivered.

El: what you are basically saying is that it is possible for a low powered amp to be "high current" even though it isn't "high powered" and i agree. It is actually much simpler and less costly to do something like that than it is to make a high powered high current amp. Regardless of the rail voltages used, so long as the amp can supply enough current into the various impedances that it encounters, it will be able to sustain the same voltage levels. This is what makes the amp a TRUE "voltage source". Sean
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