How do you know if your amp is putting out @ Rated Wattage ?

2x power makes only 22% louder.

The only way to tell how much power it is putting out is to measure it. You would need a signal generator, a large resistor for a dummy load, and either a volt meter or an oscilloscope to measure the output.

Aside from the volume differences, I always thought an amplifier with twice the power would have a better power supply thus more capable of delivering more current and better at handling the voltage/current swings as the speaker impedance varies, e.g., dips very low, across the frequency range.

Hi abhi,

You are worrying about the wrong things. Specs are a mid-fi game and mean little, excepting (if it is a SS amp) what peak current does the amp provide and does it double down as impedance halves? These two things tell the most about the quality of the ultra-critical power supply. The closer that an amp comes to doubling its RMS output as impedance halves, the better the power supply.

There are many monster-spec amps that sound bad and many lesser spec’d ones that sound great. Dozens of other things besides power output determine sound quality.

Does the new amp sound better than the old one? Honestly, that’s the only important thing.

Best to you,
Dave

To get 2x the perceived volume you need 10x the power. :) 2x the power is only 3 dB louder.

Best,


Erik