poll only, not a debate thread

[mike c]

Who here believes that the sound gets better with stronger wattages?

(and im not talking about clipping levels)

please, this is just a poll of audioholics members ... not a who's right who's wrong thread.

 

[Sheep]

Its not that cut and dry.

It depends on the speakers. How much THD is being introduced at 100W? 400W?

A 100watt/channel amp can sound great, same with a 400W. Whether or not the extra wattage is needed is another question.

SheepStar

 

[jaxvon]

Assuming everything else is equal and you're driving at a reasonable reference level, then I believe that a more powerful amp will be better. The beefier amp will have larger dynamic headroom so that there is absolutely no chance of clipping with dynamic listening. That said, if you're just listening quietly (and the amps have the same, low noise floor), then there should be no difference in sound (also assuming THD is reasonably low on each).

 

[Hi Ho]

It really depends on the speakers. I personally saw the difference a good amp can make with inefficient speakers. I connected A Peavy PA amp to my Advents, which are normally run by my inexpensive Pansonic receiver, and the difference was astounding.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

When we got our HK 340 in, I put it on some Infiniti Beta 50 speakers. At 70wpc it sounded pretty good, but when I wired it with the fronts on the lows and the rears on the highs (140 wpc), it sounded a lot better. It really brought out the low end of the speakers. I did the same thing with Polk Monitor 70's and got the same result.

~Chuck

 

[highfihoney]

Assuming everything else is equal and you're driving at a reasonable reference level, then I believe that a more powerful amp will be better. The beefier amp will have larger dynamic headroom so that there is absolutely no chance of clipping with dynamic listening. That said, if you're just listening quietly (and the amps have the same, low noise floor), then there should be no difference in sound (also assuming THD is reasonably low on each).

my thoughts exactly,must be something in the michigan water

i also agree with sheep too,it's not that simple an equation.

 

[mike c]

like jaxvon said, all things equal. decent speakers ... minimal THD

we just want to separate those that believe that adding a stronger amp made their speakers sound better and those that believe 10w (example) is sufficient enough.

edit: ok, me and my army

 

[Nick250]

we just want to separate those that believe that adding a stronger amp made their speakers sound better and those that believe 10w (example) is sufficient enough.

Who is "we"?

 

[majorloser]

If the two amps are equal in all other specs besides wattage, they'll sound the same.

That being said, I'd stil take the one with more power. Never have enough power!

 

[mike c]

no tubes. all SS. 10w was just an extreme example of people who say speakers normally coast on 3w or something. so, its still 100w vs. 400w (or anything bigger).

100w to satiate the assertions that speakers need the dynamic headroom in loud passages.

i dont even think im talking about "loud" "reference" levels. just the question of WILL the speakers sound better with a stronger amp at any volume?

 

[tbewick]

Yesterday I read some of an article on sound in the Britannica that really confused me:

"In one's living room the limit of tolerable loudness is probably in the area of 90 dB, with some variations amoung individuals. With high-powered amplifiers (about 100 watts per channel) and moderately efficient speakers this can be achieved,"

I thought that such a volume would be easily managed on most systems?

I once bought some B&W speakers from a guy who was once involved in amplifier design and he was cleary quite knowledgable. He said he wasn't pleased with the performance of his Arcam amp driving his B&W 601 S2 (or S3 - I can't remember). This must have been at least 40 watts and probably nearer a 100 watts or more. When I said I was using a Denon amp, he said he had been told that that particular model (AVR-2802) wasn't very good for music. He did own some expensive Audioquest cable as well.

 

[Duffinator]

If the two amps are equal in all other specs besides wattage, they'll sound the same.

That being said, I'd stil take the one with more power. Never have enough power!

I pretty much agree with this.

Chuck, bi-amping with two 70 watt inputs does not make it 140 watts. It's just 70 watts to two seperate inputs on the speaker, usually hi and low. In this case 70+70 does not equal 140.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Its not that cut and dry.

It depends on the speakers. How much THD is being introduced at 100W? 400W?

A 100watt/channel amp can sound great, same with a 400W. Whether or not the extra wattage is needed is another question.

SheepStar

Remember, he said not at clipping, hence, the THD going to the speaker is very low. But, at high power levels into the speakers, what is the speakers distortion?

 

[mtrycrafts]

like jaxvon said, all things equal. decent speakers ... minimal THD

we just want to separate those that believe that adding a stronger amp made their speakers sound better and those that believe 10w (example) is sufficient enough.

edit: ok, me and my army

I believe you said not at clipping, hence, the THD will be very low from the amp and there is no reason to speculate about headroom as that may or will or could clip an amp.

Believing is not reality, knowing is.

 

[mtrycrafts]

If the two amps are equal in all other specs besides wattage, they'll sound the same.

That being said, I'd stil take the one with more power. Never have enough power!

I would take more power for the same or lesser amount too It's not like having more horsepower in reserve and your fuel economy goes to pot

 

[mtrycrafts]

no tubes. all SS. 10w was just an extreme example of people who say speakers normally coast on 3w or something. so, its still 100w vs. 400w (or anything bigger).

100w to satiate the assertions that speakers need the dynamic headroom in loud passages.

i dont even think im talking about "loud" "reference" levels. just the question of WILL the speakers sound better with a stronger amp at any volume?

Well, they coast there at lower average volumes. But, at dynamic passages, even on the center, you can exceed that 10 watts. But, needing 100 watts plus excluding the sub? That is another matter.

 

[mtrycrafts]

He did own some expensive Audioquest cable as well.

That might give an indication about him

 

[mike c]

was waiting for your vote on option2 ... M gonna TRY some CRAFTS (im gonna figure out your login name even if takes years - warm or cold?)

of the voters as of the moment, they're split in half. hmm, so choosing a side now would mean the 50% would disagree with you ... i'll wait

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

was waiting for your vote on option2 ... M gonna TRY some CRAFTS (im gonna figure out your login name even if takes years - warm or cold?)

of the voters as of the moment, they're split in half. hmm, so choosing a side now would mean the 50% would disagree with you ... i'll wait

I was wondering the same thing... It bothers me when I can't figure out someone's name...

~Chuck

 

[majorloser]

I was wondering the same thing... It bothers me when I can't figure out someone's name...

~Chuck

Does my user name confuse you? I thought it was pretty self-explanatory

CRAFTS= Can't Remember A F'ing Thing Syndrone

As you start getting older you develop CRS syndrone. This eventually progresses into CRAFT syndrone.