2. amps-preamps
  3. 1206044020

Whats with the Watts ??

Hi everyone. I'm starting an audio system for the first time and I've been doing my homework -- reading and listening as much as I can. Sorry if I ask some dumb questions along the way...

One aspect I'm very confused over is how much power I need in an amp. So many highly rated amps seem to be in the 50 watt range, yet there are also those in the 100's of watts. My room is about 25 x 15 with a ceiling that slopes from 8 feet at one end to about 18 feet at the other end. The room has 3 walls but opens up into a foyer on one side. I listen to all types of music, but mostly blues, jazz, and some rock. I like to listen at low to medium volumes. Its rare that I would play very loud. If it's important to my question, I seem to prefer the sound of solid state amps.

Being uneducated on the subject, my initial thought is, get more watts. Better to have too much than too little. So my questions are; how many watts should I be looking for and is there something to be gained or lost with too much or too few watts? Thanks.
silver911
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
The bass on the DALIs is night and day, depending on the damping factor. See if anyone carries Jeff Rowland research electronics so you can hear how good they can sound, then see if the dealer has a less expensive option.

Dave
rodman99999
6,131 posts
 
Silver911- Are you taking your own recordings with you to listen to, or relying on what the dealers have on hand? It's always best to have your own recordings, material that you know sounds good on a correctly set up system. Do you have a friend with a correctly set up system, and some well engineered CDs? Otherwise there is really no reference to compare the auditioned systems by. One may have lousy CDs, and the other excellent ones. that could also explain the Maggies sounding better on one type of music than another(one CD being better than the other).
silver911 OP
9 posts
 
Rodman - I bring my own cd's and have ben playing the same cuts on each system.
rodman99999
6,131 posts
 
Good move!! Did they sound equally good on anything you auditioned? Here's a short treatise on damping factor: ( http://www.crownaudio.com/pdf/amps/damping_factor.pdf) Some will tell you it's baloney. All I know is the amp I'm using to bi-amp my woofers with, has a very high damping factor(1000 to 1kHz) and a fairly fast slew rate(150V/ms). My bass is extremely articulated, even with the drivers in a transmission line(virtually no system damping). A treatise on "slew rate": (http://www.amplifier.cd/Tutorial/Slew_Rate/SlewRate.htm) PS: I'm not suggesting Crown in a home system. They just explained damping factor well.
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Thanks for the nice links Rodman.

Can you name some "affordable" amps with high damping factors? I'm thinking Bryston is one relatively affordable amp.

Dave
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