Help please choosing AMP wattage for a newbe

yep.... just don't stand on the gas pedal and you'll be fine.

I wouldn't buy an amp until the final choice of speakers is made.

The amp/speaker match is the most important in every system.

There's a good chance you won't need 350WPC.

Audiofeil

I wouldn't buy an amp until the final choice of speakers is
made.

I fail to see the reasoning here as to why speakers should be bought first, than an amp. Unless some esoteric speaker choice is ultimately made such as high eff horns are on the top of the short list. If someone is eyeing high current amp (s), I doubt horns are a recurring thought.

it looks like even money to me either way. Speakers then amp or amp then speakers. Both areas offer many choices of fine matches regardless which comes first.

Always buy the speakers first. They are the final element of your system and have the job of turning electrical energy into sound waves. The only other component which has a task like this is the turntable. They make far more difference than the amp. How will you know which amp to buy, you can't hear the amp without the speaker? Chose the speaker you like best and then chose an amp that maximizes it's qualities. If your favorite speakers are horns, you don't need 500 watts. If they are Apogee's , then SET is out. The amp is a tool to get the best performance out of a speaker, if you don't know what speaker you are using , how will you know which tool to select?

Stanwal got it right Blindjim.

Although most amps will work with most speakers, few combinations are optimal.

So you buy a speaker (the most subjective and personal component in any system) that pleases your listening preferences and then an amp which is a very close electrical match.

Read and learn.