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a Power vs Volume Question

Hell,

I just replaced my old 200w power amplifier with a new 300w amp. by my surprise, with all things left the same, including the volume setting, the output read by my spl meter was the same between the two amps. isn't the 300w amp supposed to be louder at the same volume setting?

please post your thoughts.
thank you
maab
metro04
222 posts
 

Ohhhhhh, THAT'S where I miscalculated! I thought I needed 536,870,913 watts.

Sheesh, and yet another 37.062017-foot Marshall stack!
plato
1,543 posts
 
172dB??? Wouldn't that cause incontinence, impotence, deafness, blindness, and sudden death? WOW, now that's really something to shoot for!
herman
2,274 posts
 
You think 172dB is double the volume of 85dB? You are kidding, right?

Maab, the ampunt of power delivered is determined by the input to the amp and the gain of the amp. The gain is basically how many times the amp multiplies the strength of the input signal. A 10W amp can have the same gain as a 1,000W amp, but the 10W amp will reach it's maximum limit and clip before the 1,000W one will.

If both amps have the same gain then they will produce the same volume with the same input. The differences are as Suarbrie pointed out and the headroom.
maab OP
27 posts
 
... very intersting. thank you.

just for info, the speakers in use have a sensitivity of 90db. I don't know if that says anything at all.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
A lot depends on the speakers. There was a thread explaining all this about one week ago but it got nuked.

If your speakers are heavily compressing (like most do) at 200 watts then you gain very little if anything by going to 300 watts...you need the kind of speakers that can use that kind of power and actually turn it into clean sound.

Volume is often constrained by the speakers and not the amp. An extremely well built 85 db SPL sensitivity speaker may actually play louder and more cleanly than a 90 db spl sensitivity speaker with the same 200 watt amp. It doesn't seemv logical but it is true. Driver construction is crucial. Lightweight cheap northern european mass produced drivers with small motors very soon run out of gas!
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