Amplifier current vrs watts; why is current more important?


Lately when talking to knowledgeable people in the audio industry I’ve been hearing how current delivery is more important than watts in determining weather an amplifier will drive a speaker.
So what exactly is current and how does it effect speaker performance? How can a amplifier rated at 150 watts into 8 ohms vs one rated at 400 watts into 8 ohms be a better match for a hard to drive speaker?
hiendmmoe
hiendmmoe
Get over it.

Bit rude! that response for being shown the truth. After all it’s what the subject of this thread is all about.
Educating is a form of telling, and if you don’t want to learn why current is needed from an amp, and what happens when they don’t have enough for the load they’re seeing and become tone controls because of it, then don’t listen or partake in the discussion

Cheers George
Unless you have a very benign flat impedance speaker (rare) that doesn't wander to much from being a flat impedance between 20hz to 20khz, only then is an amp with watts but little current OK.
This statement is false.

The impedance *curve* is not so important. The *overall* impedance is, and more importantly than that the intention of the designer of the loudspeaker.  As an example, many ESLs have a fairly low impedance at high frequencies and yet amps with a fairly high output impedance (aka 'low current') can do quite well on them. This has to do with the simple fact that an ESL is fundamentally different from box speakers in that its impedance curve is not also a map of its efficiency. In a box speaker the impedance peak in the bass is due to the resonance of the driver in the box; its much more efficient at this point. ESLs don't behave this way at all and as a result many solid state amps have troubles making enough power into the bass region of the electrostatic.


This is only one example and there are many more, but the bottom line is that you don't need a flat impedance curve, just an impedance that is high enough.


Of course:  ... SETs. They would not exist if the above quote were true. 


Of course no speaker has flat frequency response! Trying to get flat response is a Sisyphean task. 

It would seem to me that if one wanted to tailor the frequency response; it could be done more specifically and more consistently with an equalizer than with the chance of amplifiers not lining up with impedances of loudspeakers in just the right manner towards that end.

In that loudspeakers have mechanical considerations that amplifiers do not; it seems quite understandable that it would be much more difficult to build loudspeakers with truly flat impedances, than to build amplifiers that can linearly adapt to fluctuating loudspeaker impedances.

Having a linear base line is an important consideration towards the goal of "high fidelity". Even if one wanted to deviate from that goal, amplifiers that can better adjust to loudspeaker impedance fluctuations would be easier to use with the afore mentioned equalizers.