2. amps-preamps
  3. 179032-174629

Basic question about power/watts

Hi everyone - I have a question that I can't seem to wrap my head around.  

I purchased a pair of Magnepans a few months back. Honestly, I do not like them. They have their moments but overall, pffft.

So, related to this, I keep reading from various Maggie owners you need TONS of power to make these things sing rather than squawk. I bought a new amp that is rated at 80 wpc at 4ohms. This, I realize, is low power when I see these guys saying they are running some crazy amount like 600 watts per channel. Here is my actual question:

When you are listening to your speakers at a normal volume, the wattage you are using is not near the POSSIBLE output, correct? My 80 wpc is unbearable with the volume at the 11 o'clock position. Why does a person need or want 600 watts? I suspect I am missing something here. Maybe this has to do with why I dislike my Magnepans. Somebody take a moment to set me straight?

Thanks! 

timintexas
ghdprentice
6,940 posts
 

The difficulty with Maggie’s and subwoofers is the integration.  The Maggie’s are really really fast… dynamic woofers are slow. The only great integration I have heard is really big Maggies with lots of power. This can be subtle… so may definitely not be a problem for the OP.

One of the reasons I moved to all dynamic speakers is the inability to create a really coherent sound top to bottom using planar and dynamic.

tunehead's avatar
tunehead
160 posts
 

Watts is not just about getting loud. Its how it sounds as you turn it up. Even normal listening volume will sound better cuz the cleaner, faster, The watts have an easier path and usually with fewer things to get in the way. Thats what a good quality HIFI amp is designed to do. And it does it.

g_nakamoto's avatar
g_nakamoto
348 posts
 

i have a mcintosh mc602 power amp! as far as watts and current, where doe's my amp stand??

clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 

Where the question is proper full-power manly watts, the answer is always Class A.

koestner
663 posts
 

Class A is like driving your car with your foot flooring the gas pedal, and using the brakes to control the speed. It will work, but do you want to drive that way?

More to discover