Why Don't We See More High Current Electronics?

interesting, but unfortunately, simplified theoretical scenarios are not very enlightening regarding what really matters playing real music.

Having a well made amp that is in no risk of breaking a sweat in practice is simply one of the best and simplest strategies to pursue in putting together a system. The actual benefits may vary, but it is an insurance policy at worst.

Few other decisions in audio can be made this easily, so doing it provides a firm playing field for mucking with all the rest as needed.

Thanks Kirk. But note that Irv specified a 40Hz impedance of 4 ohms, so I believe that my indication of 50W (rms of course) at 40Hz was correct.

Also, I think that when you referred to 40V and 20V "peak-to-peak," you meant to say "peak." The 100W figure, presumably rms, corresponds to 28.28Vrms into 8 ohms, which would be 40V peak, or 80V peak-to-peak.

Dividing by two, to reflect each of the two frequency components of equal amplitude, whose peaks will add in phase at some instants of time, we have 14.14Vrms (equivalent to 20Vpeak or 40Vpeak-to-peak), which equates to the 12.5Wrms into 16 ohms and 50W into 4 ohms that I stated.

Best regards, and thanks for spotting the "summons." :-)

-- Al

I was listening to a nuclear "expert" from a well recognized American University explain on CNN a few days ago early on in the Japan nuclear fiasco why theoretically there was nothing to really be worried about with the troubled reactors in Japan.

These reactors had containment structures, no problem!

So much for that theory.......

But to comment on the thread . . . this is some REALLY well-trodden ground. Please see:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1258580057

I have two main points of contention with Atmasphere's "white paper" to which he frequently links. The first is simply the lack of citation of any historical or scholarly references, or measurement data. This need not be . . . I think that Atmasphere could actually support his design choices much better by a properly researched, documented, and peer-reviewed paper on the subject.

The second is the interchangability of pespectives on amplifier output power ratings, output impedance, and circuit design, specifically the use of negative feedback. Obviously, Atmasphere prefers Class A OTL designs with little loop feedback . . . and the consequences are very poor power efficiency and a high output impedance, both of which are key factors in the rated power outputs of Atmasphere amplifiers.

The wholly illogical part is the inherent value judgement against amplifiers that have clipping-power-versus-impedance characteristics that are different from Atmaspheres'. Because an examination of this data gives ZERO information about how much current an amplifier will produce, what its output impedance is, or the amplitude of any distortion products in its output.

So to answer the original poster's question . . . there are plenty of high-current amplifiers on the market. However, you can't tell which ones they are by examining the clipping-power ratings into various load impedances.