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More Power is always good?

Hi all,

I'm a little lost in my search for the amp. Does more power (like more than 100W) means good?

I have been around listening to various amps, maybe a little too much that confused me.

Say for a room of 16ft by 20ft. What is the optimum power requirement?

For example, once I heard the Sugden A21Se (Class A 30W) driving the Spendor S6E, everything was nice except that I found that the basss definition and extension is lacking which is a concern to me, the showroom was smaller than my room. That's why I'm looking for amp with more power (like 100W), am I wrong? Will Class A amp like Sugden MasterClass or Accuphase E530 or Lavardin or others similar amp with power rating of 30W-50W be sufficient?

by the way I am using the old SF Grand Piano Home. I'm looking for a good amp that will outlast the GP Home, i.e. I don't have to change amp when i change the GP Home.

Any comments?

Thank you.
pingpong
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
More power is NOT always good.

If the first watt doesn't sound fabulous, why would you want more?
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Power is power.
c5150
115 posts
 
Yes nice analogy.....

The thing is you could push the car back on to the road.The power is needed to get past ,or blend back into traffic.It's not need to get the car back on the road per say.

Now if your room is covered with absorption...you need more power...because you have traffic

Your amp is massive ,hard to get you simple SIGNAL through.....because you have traffic.

Your speakers weight tons ,you need power to get the delicate SIGNAL through.....because you have traffic

your wires are 1 inch thick.delicate SIGNAL needs power to get through .....you got traffic.

your stuck in this massive traffic jam ...your delicate signal is.....you need power to push it through....BAD FOR MUSIC IN THE END
nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,124 posts
 
Power is not power, any more than a car is a car or a meal is a meal. There are serious differences, and it is on the shoulders of a real music lover to seek out and understand the differences. If power is power, you're in the wrong hobby.
snofun3
603 posts
 
So according to 5150 get a nice bright reflective room with a small amp, horn speakers, thin wire and it'll sound great. OK, sure. I guess everybody has a different idea of what's good for the music.

There's no such thing as too much power - too little power can be heard immediately.
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