Recommended amplification

My Vandersteen 3A's typically sounded fine with 50 watt amp, but with some music really came alive with 200 high current watts...I'm sure if I used them in a small room, at lower volume, and less dynamic music...their recommendations are simply a general guideline for most listeners, not an absolute...

If a speaker manufacturer recommends higher power, then what likely will happen with higher power is a more powerful and dynamic sound. You can get good sound with the lower power amp, but it will not be as powerful or forceful with music that calls for that grunt. This applies to a small room too.

For example, Led Zeppelin's When the Levee Breaks. Listening to that song on my higher power requirement speakers with the lower powered Benchmark AHB2 vs the CODA #16 is a huge study on contrasts. Both sound good but with the CODA you feel the music in your bones. 

If you are listening to Sarah McLachlan (as I am typing this) it does not matter if I used the AHB2 or the CODA #16.

I don't know but they are always high.

Some people think, even people posting in this thread, that more power means "better" sound.  But if at normal listening volume you're listening to 1 watt, then you have to hope the 300W applifier you have has a good first watt and they didn't blow the budget on the high power.

Jerry

Source Material plays a big part as well… So much stuff we remember sounding great from our teen years just doesn’t cut it on the reveling systems we’ve acquired over the years in our pursuits of sonic bliss, maybe it was the drugs… who knows, LOL…. Heck, even a lot of today’s so called “Remastered” material sounds worse that then originals, many times it’s just S#!t on a Gold Plate, if ya know what I mean. Try some really well recorded material and if it sounds great, kinda narrows down the field as to what the issue could be. Been there so I get it.   

some speakers thrive off the headroom high power amps provide.