ICE Amps for classical music?

Dob.... My front channels (which is all I mentioned above) has three Channel Island D200 amps (Hypex module) driving MG1.6 main speakers. For the six subwoofer drivers I have three CarverPro ZR1600 stereo amps (six channels of 600 watts/channel) each connected to one driver. I vary the crossover frequency according to the type of music: anywhere from 40 to 200 Hz.

Kijanki... With the planar main speakers, (three of them) and the three line array configured subwoofer systems, my SPL does not fall off with distance as you suggest.

There are also two rear channels, CI D200 amps (again) and Madisound Odin speakers each with a pair of 7 inch drivers (good enough for rear channel use).

As you state, loudness and dynamic range are different, but maximum attainable loudness is what typically limits dynamic range. Every system can play softly.

The best illustration of what my set of large subwoofer drivers can do is to play pipe organ music. Not all organ music has loud bass, but when it does you should FEEL it in your stomach, and my system does achieve this. Also, when the SPL is moderate, the large drivers are loafing compared with small drivers that would be generating large excursion, with attendant distortion.

Obviously I could not enjoy such a system if my nearest neighbor were not about 600 feet away with woods in between the houses.

Eldartford - I've been (long, long time ago) at some very loud rock concerts. At one of them my lungs were vibrating when I opened my mouth. I don't have any desire for that now (other than cleaning lungs - quit 6 years ago). In scale of things only some musical pieces require extremely high sound level but all of them benefit from better quality. I would rather spend money to improve my system's sound at the expense of peak power.

One have to be grateful for good things in life. I'm particularly grateful for not being your neighbor.

I agree with Eldartford on how dynamic swings depend on how much juice your power gear have on standby. I have a Dvorak 9th CDR that I got from someone. It is the king of all my CDs on dynamic swings. I turn it to 11 o'clock, and sit back for a hair blow-back performance. The first instruments are played gently. Then out cries the full force of the symphony, hard struck Tympani drums leading off.

Of course, bass power is driver dependent, and though my speakers can reach way down, there is no replacing what a well integrated sub-woofers will do.

Very few systems "grow" this is the ability to have good micro and macro dynamics ..

Weseixas: In the past , many moons ago , i used to measure avg usually 82-88db , crescendos sometimes hit a peak of 109 db from row 7.

DOB: The answer to this interesting question lies in the attendance of classical music concerts particularly orchestral, choral and operatic ones. You will be surprised to find out that SPL at your ear varies from zero to about 115 dB (if you happen to conduct the orchestra during this attendance as well).

... Keith Howard (Hi-Fi News Sept 2007) made actual measurements of peak power and peak SPL obtained using B&W805, Music Fidelity power amp and classical music recordings.

His measured peak SPL was about 110 dB.

As someone who listens to a lot of classical symphonic music, on minimally compressed audiophile-oriented labels, and who has also listened to Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" from the very first row at Tanglewood (among many other live symphonic performances attended), these numbers all strike me as about right. (Aside of course from the reference to minimum spl being 0, since ambient noise will be much greater than that, both at home and in the concert hall).

I've never used an spl meter, but I've been able to develop what I think is a pretty good sense of sp levels based on sensing the onset of clipping with amplifiers of various power ratings, and extrapolating to spl at the listening position based on speaker sensitivity and listening distance.

Regards,
-- Al