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1) Is bigger amplifier/receiver watt means better and louder sound?
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The wattage output of an amplifier tells you how much power it can put into the loudspeaker. Although, in general, a more powerful amplifier will play louder quite a bit is dependant on the loudspeaker. For example, the loudspeaker’s impedance (Ohms) and construction are two simple variables that affect how loudly it will play.
The power output of an amplifier does not necessarily equate to the quality of its sound. This is a complicated question to answer in a short time and I’m not really an analog guy. However, two amplifiers can have the same wattage but one can sound vastly better than the other. One reason (but by no means the only reason) for this is the number of gain stages employed and the quality of those stages. Maybe Gene can expand on this a bit.
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2) Can the speaker watt be less than the amplifier/receiver watt?
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In short, yes. However, if the speaker is rated lower than the output of the amplifier or receiver you run the risk of overdriving the loudspeaker. Overdriving a loudspeaker can damage it. Normally you want to choose a loudspeaker with the same or higher max rated power (Watts) than the amplifier you will drive them with. One note here is that most loudspeakers have two power ratings: maximum continuous power and peak power. The continuous power tells you how much power the loudspeaker can handle “all the time” and peak tells you how much power the loudspeaker can handle for short periods.
Hope this helps.
Eric</font>
