Why do speakers improve with more powerful amps?


So, if I have a solid state amp that more than adequately powers a speaker, why do people recommend a larger more powerful amplifier to improve things?

Why do more powerful amplifiers impact speaker sound quality in a favorable way? Is it because more power is reaching the speakers? Mid and Tweeter drivers I was told receive a reduced signal versus bass drivers which receive relatively more power via crossovers.  All for the purpose of balancing a signal going to the various drivers.

 

 

jumia

I have a 2.5 watt Decware amp and a 300 watt Aavik amp class D....a 35 watt 845 SET amp and a Belles 70 watt integ amp.also a Peachtree GanFET 400 watt amp.....They ALL sound DIFFERENT But they  ALL sound Great !......To each his own....If one was BEST....No one else would sell any equipment......I love this Hobby!

I wonder if what I often read is correct. That high current / high powered amps improve significantly the sound rendition at low listening volume like 60db.

@ricco275 

 

Yes, sometimes. But ultimately it is the whole system, and really important to have that power paired with the right speakers. 60db is fairly low… I typically listen at volumes I in the low 70’s. But I am using a 70 wpc tube amp. When I had a 350wpc solid state amp I listened about ten db or more higher. There are a lot of variables.

Same amp brand, same board engineering, the bigger amp with the larger power supply and power reserves is going to sound better. That power is always there, at low or high volume.   Push your left finger (speaker) with your right finger (50w amp). Then push it with your right hand's palm (400w amp).   For one you almost always get a better damping factor and bass control. Think about it. and when the going get's tough it's even better.

But, different brands sound different, and quality varies. I recently moved from a 570w/1140w amp to a 160w/?s  watt smaller power amp (although with large supply and capacitance). The Odyssey amp bested my old W4S (decent sounding to me, before...) amp in five very audible ways almost immediately. Stunning. Power had nothing to do with it. The bass got way better too.   :-)

As for why buy low-efficiency speakers, I'll go with @Clearthinker's view on it (grin). Honestly, my ears have never heard a high-efficiency speaker that didn't seem 'in my face' to me,  but that's just my ears...  I'll just plod along with my 85dB Raidho D2s (room equalized flat to 30Hz and smile lots as they play.

Lots of overthinking on this subject but usually, common sense goes a long way. When I purchased my KEF R3 speakers, I had a conversation with a KEF engineer about suitable amps and he pointed me to a blog on their website about power requirements. At its most basic level, choose an amp that is 60 to 110% of the recommended power requirements if published by the speaker manufacturer. Ignore the minimum number because it is usually just enough to get the cones moving.

Narrowed down to those parameters, you can start looking at things like current delivery and such. In a perfect world, and amp just makes a tiny signal louder. What's left is what leads to all the arguments and discussions on forums. We all have to choose our own distortion preference and altered reality.

Having said all that, You can, and many people have filled books with what I don't know or understand about these subjects.