2. amps-preamps
  3. 1120111839

does more power=better quality ?

in term of sound quality in amp? does more power give you better quality.I understand it give you better control of the bass. how about mid and high?
is a 300watts ( krel, levinson,rowland, audio reserach ..etc ) better than a 200 or 100 watts model within the same company and product line? what if you have a relatively efficient speaker?
a1126lin
garebear
1,183 posts
 
No...better designed components with superior parts = better sound quality....IMO. I have listened to some 50 and even a 25 watt amp ( 1 was running in class A mod ) that were absolutely incredible.
troutfishing
21 posts
 
Is Julian Hirsh part of Kubala ?
morbius396c
134 posts
 
A1126lin,

The reason for the seeking higher power is "linearity".

If amplifiers were perfectly linear - that is their
characteristics were independent of the magnitude of their
output, then Gmood1 and Nrchy above would be correct -
there would be no advantage to having more power than
you need.

However, amplifiers are NOT perfectly linear. They are only
approximately linear. One way to stay within the most
linear regime of the amplifier's operating characteristics
is to use a small fraction of the amplifier's ultimate
power. That is the more the amplifier "loafs" - the
better.

Who would you trust more with lifting a prized breakable
possesion weighing 40 lbs - someone that can lift 60 lbs
or a longshoreman that routine lifts over 100 lbs?

The less the load "taxes" the amplifier - the better.

Now does high power necessarily equate to better quality?
Certainly NOT - Thorman is correct there.

The design of the amplifier, the quality of the components,
etc; all are factors affecting the quality. However, all
else being equal - the more powerful the amp - the more
you stay in the linear regime of the tubes or transistors
that make the amp work.

You also have to be cognizant of the fact that the response
to power is logarithmic. That is 300 watts is only a
1.76 dB increase over 200 watts, and only 4.78 dB over
100 watt power level.

So what may look like a large increase on a linear scale -
is actually only a small increase on a logarithmic scale.

Dr. Gregory Greenman
Physicist
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
I think we are getting a little off track. If I understand the poster, he is asking does a (for example) Classe CA301 sound better than a Classe CA201. A comparison of the same line is what he is after. My response would be that it depends on the sensitivity of your speakers. However, in the case of the classe, the 201 sounds quite a bit better than the 101. Not necessarily because it have more power, I'm not really sure why. I think you will find the same thing within the pass labs line. The 250.5 will sound better than the 150.5.

I think in most cases, this is true, but not all of them. Again, I think it largly depends on your speakers.
justin_time
100 posts
 
A1126lin, I think your question is rhetorical, at least I hope so. As Gmood1, Nrchy and Thorman already said, quantity and quality have never been the same thing—and I don’t think they will ever be. I would like to bring up a couple of additional issues that are relevant to your inquiry.

Throughout the years, the best sounding solid-state and tube amps in the midrange—with some notable exceptions—tend to be those with low to medium power. This may or may not be a coincidence as high power tends to require pushing the design and the parts to work closer to their limits with unavoidable penalty in the sound.

The other important parameter in selecting the power of an amp—the most important one in my opinion—is your listening preference. If you like small-scale, intimate music, you’ll be very happy with low- to medium-power amp. If you like heavy rock music and large-scale symphonic music with thunderous bass or subterranean organ notes, you’ll never be happy with low- or even medium-power amps no matter how efficient your speakers are.

I run into this dilemma all the time so I have both medium-power tube amp and high-power solid-state amp in my system and use one or the other depending on the kind of music I listen to. But switching amps is a pain in the neck. Bi-amping solves most of the problems though not all but that’s another story for another time.
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