Watts, and clarity.
Nelson Pass and others, along with myself feel the "First Watt" is most important. With high efficiency speakers you may not even need more than a watt for normal volumes. That said, if the first watt sounds like crap who cares about the other 99? Steve Deckert belongs in the "First Watt" contingent and has been saying "If the first watt sucks, why continue?" for years. |
FWIW - Sensai Pass attributes "the first watt is the most important watt" comment to Dick Olsher. From NP’s introduction to his First Watt company... http://www.firstwatt.com/ "Dick Olsher famously remarked that 'The first watt is the most important watt.' This sentiment has also been expressed by others as “Who cares what an amplifier sounds like at 500 watts if it sounds like crap at one watt?” With this in mind, I created First Watt in 1998 as a "kitchen-table" effort, exploring unusual low power amplifiers with an emphasis on sound quality." |
