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
Always is a terrible word in any real question. If we say mostly a good thing I would definitely say yes. I am convinced that if you're going to get a bass driver to play cleanly at loudish spls there is no replacement for displacement. Sure great sound attributes can be found in really well built transformers. I find the sound quality of most class D amps with big output numbers sterile sounding, but with the usual assortment of tubes or bipolar devices the more power usually in terms of both amperage and watts the more I like the sound. And despite claims that there are beautiful 22 watt amplifiers It may well be an arifact in fact the music sounds better because there is really more juice. Thus some of the best sound you are going to hear- depending on your affection for microdynamics (read SET preferences) comes from the bigger amps. For instance many amps that use transmitter tubes are asked to drive only the higher frequencies, e,g, the need to biamp VSA DB99s they have the amps built into them and big bass columnspeakers almost they almost always have snarling V8s driving them frequently out of the way. While you're bewildered and beguiled with sheer effortless beauty of that relatively small tube amp out front, paying attention to the musical elements now that the bass isn't a blur of ill defined vibration and pleasant. Demand some real db from a low watt amp, even with high efficiency speakers and I almost always hear them distort/clip like mad except the overbuilt ultra transformer amps for a couple of million mega bucks the ability to provide real output in some manner, or another, it comes from someplace and it ain't cheap.
Also why are so many companies drawing attention to their High Amperage/Wattage Flagships? Is it because the smaller versions simply cost less to build and are more affordable and therefore less likely to sell well. Hardly, watch what sells easily on this site, the profit margin maybe smaller but they count on the basic models to keep them afloat.
An aside price is critical. You don't see too many 1000 watt Chinese amps they would cost too much. We all know how poorly the Chinese are doing in the market not because they build powerful amps that cost a fortune. Its simply too expensive to build a really big (BIG) good sounding amp to be competetive! There are just a couple of us who can mortage the house for that big American/ European amp. It will be interesting to see if the Chinese ever make that real powerhouse for cheap and how they fare. I know the bigger but still not huge ASL amps are really struggling to sell compared to their 2X/3X price competitors.(right)
There are diehard believers in low output amps and sure a lousy high output amp will sound terrible but within a range from a single company, its always the bigger one they claim sounds better. I have found few if any manufacturers of low powered tube amps that don't tout the magnificence of thier big brothers, only if they make a bigger amp of course. Even using delicate musical tubes e.g. Canary Audio.
Now ,now....play nice.

Those are the facts dude....that's why 3 watts work.I didn't say they were the best.And that an empty room is the answer either.You are drawing conclusions.I'm talking general.
Some of the equation can be answered by your listening habits . If you are not interested in extreme or loud playback levels and acoustic as well as intimate jazz is your cup of tea you may well not need excessive power reserves. I would err on the side of too much for reasons that your musical taste may alter or friends may want to pop in Kraftwerk at 109 db . System synergy with your preamp , speaker sensitivity , nominal ohm rating , room and listening tastes are quite a balancing act.The larger the room for instance , the more power you will probably need to get the same level of playback in a smaller room . The rule I use is how good is the first watt in reproducing the sonic characteristics you deem important. Is dynamic range more important than space retrieval? Is bottom end extension more important than midrange accuracy? Your choice and your system. Thats what makes this hobby so personal and thought provoking.
51, there just seems so much wrong with your conjecture -

-covered with absorbtion = traffic - no, reflections due to lack of absorbtion equal unwanted traffic
-large amp - hard to get signal through - huh? Want to explain that?
- speakers weigh tons - hard to get signal through - huh (again) - for every large inefficient speaker, I can show you one that's extremely efficient - in fact large and heavy horns are one of the most efficient.
- large speaker wire usually equates to lower resistance, or easier for the good 'ol signal to get through.

So your equation of what makes for good music leaves me very confused.
"So your equation of what makes for good music leaves me very confused."

Snofun3, me thinks he works for DK Designs.:-)