Is more amp power always better...?


Hello.  

Asking advice on what power Amp/int amp I should buy for my room size...

I have a small listening room.  11' x 10'. I have 89db speaker sensitivity  I am going to buy a solid state amp.   

For best audio quality (ignoring all other factors), my question is:  

Do folks advise "Buy as much watts per channel as you can afford"?  -OR- "Buy enough watts for the room" as more watts in reserve do not mean better quality audio?

Put another way: are more watts in reserve better for audio quality, even if amp does not use this power?  

Thank you...hope this was clear.  

dunkin

@OP A power amplifier is basically a modulated power supply, so the quality the amp's power supply is more important than its power output. Quality watts don't come cheap so you should not buy a bigger amplifier than you need. 60-100 high quality watts supported by robust current delivery is quite adequate for your setup.

“Quality watts” is a catch-phrase, in that any manufacturer will tell you their amps provide quality watts. It is simply another way of saying expensive amps often sound better than inexpensive amps and, given their speakers, room, music, and listening habits, some listeners prefer an expensive amp that provides less power to a more powerful but less expensive amp. Of course, if your budget allows, figure out your power needs and then buy the amp that meets those power requirements while sounding best to you.

Listen for yourself and decide on the type of amp that sounds best to you. Decide for sure that you plan to stick with your current speakers. Tube watts, and Class A watts can be expensive. A SS amp, or amps, will be less expensive to provide the amount of power you need for your medium efficiency 89dB speakers. Consider the type of music you listen to, and the volume you listen at. Do you like to occasionally rock out and, if so, do you want enough power and headroom for a realistic portrayal of the crescendos? Do some research on sound pressures for your chosen music and listening habits and then use something like this calculator to verify how much power you need. I would guess at least 100 wpc with 200 wpc being optimal, if you want the ability to occasionally crank it up.

Try Class A amps if you must but IME of owning several, they are generally over-hyped for the sound, the inefficiency and heat, and the cost per watt. I would look for a well-built, well-regarded, class A-B amp that provides the power you need. Go listen to some amps, if not at a dealer, then in your friend’s systems, or at an audio show. Or, if you must, read the reviews, buy something, take your chances, and sell it if you don’t like it. You won’t be the first or last to do that, and neither was I but, relying on reviews and feedback from others can be a longer road to satisfaction than hearing stuff for yourself before buying.

More watts do not make for better sound. If that were true, a Decware Zen Triode would sound like absolute garbage at a whopping 2 wpc yet it does not. It continues to baffle me what some people believe despite any objective evidence. 

In my experience, the larger the transformer is in the Amplifier, the better it will sound (Solid State).

Class D is a bit different there, but a quality power supply in the Class D is important.

If I have this correct, the larger the transformer, the more current it can deliver (I may be wrong here) - I do know that the Dyn’s that I have are current pigs, and they sound phenomenal with high current amps and lean with lower current amps.

I have heard a lot of class D lately that sound really good.

My next Amp-Go-Round is going to be Purify’s with a tube input buffer stage (If I have that r=terminology correct).

In summery, like an above post stated, ‘Heavy is Good’ - most of the time.

My 2 cents

 

Better amp is always better - watts are deceiving in my experience.

For example a 80 watt Audio Research Company integrated amp and it shocked me in the dynamics, clarity and powerful bass drive.  It sounded more powerful than McIntosh C462 to me.

I've currently own Moon 860A V2 which is 250 watt amp and it's an upgrade from Moon M400 monoblocks rated at 400 watts.  The 860A V2 has larger power supply (it's a dual mono) and more capacitance capacity and able to reproduce music at a finer level of detail with finesse as well as bass drive.

I agree more power is better though theirs more to understand the power of amp than just the watts per channel.