Are powerful amps only for low sensitivity speakers? No.
My 4-way hybrid-horn/dipole system is powered by eight identical Class D amplifiers. Each amp is rated 175W RMS, 325W peak power into 8 Ohms.
The compression driver mid horns and tweeters are very sensitive, about 110 dB/W/meter.
The four 15" woofers in four U-frames are each about 95 dB/W/M.
I don't know the overall system sensitivity - the horns had to be padded down by the active crossover to match the woofers - but it's pretty high. Total power is 1,400 W RMS/ 2,600 W, peak power.
I never push SPLs very high, I want to preserve what's left of my hearing, so usually power is under 1 watt, with brief peaks of 10, or 15 watts, maybe. Lots of head room. Sounds very good.
My 1.5 W/channel Type 45 SET amp, on the other hand, also sounds very good powering sensitive horns. And that little amp has pretty much no headroom.
My 4-way hybrid-horn/dipole system is powered by eight identical Class D amplifiers. Each amp is rated 175W RMS, 325W peak power into 8 Ohms.
The compression driver mid horns and tweeters are very sensitive, about 110 dB/W/meter.
The four 15" woofers in four U-frames are each about 95 dB/W/M.
I don't know the overall system sensitivity - the horns had to be padded down by the active crossover to match the woofers - but it's pretty high. Total power is 1,400 W RMS/ 2,600 W, peak power.
I never push SPLs very high, I want to preserve what's left of my hearing, so usually power is under 1 watt, with brief peaks of 10, or 15 watts, maybe. Lots of head room. Sounds very good.
My 1.5 W/channel Type 45 SET amp, on the other hand, also sounds very good powering sensitive horns. And that little amp has pretty much no headroom.