Power and sound quality ::: Onkyo 503 vs. 602 ?

[ehead]

I am just curious if you guys think a more powerful amp sounds better ?
By which I mean, if you take a 100w/channel amp and a 75w/channel amp and set them at the same volume, is the more powerful one likely to have more "clarity" and "richness" and "texture" ?

I know to a certain degree it probably depends on how loud ... I don't listen to music that loud really.

Reason I ask is, I just got a 503 and I guess I just expected it to be louder. Not that I even listen to it that loud (typically I have the volume on about 1/2), but on my old stereo I listened to it on just 2 or 3.

I was watching a foreign movie and found myself turning it up to about 60%.

Anyway, the 602 is $100 more, and is 85W/channel (as opposed to the 503's 75W/channel). Does 10w/channel make much difference ?

You think the 602 is worth the extra $100 ?

Thanks.

 

[Snap]

At lower volumes you will probably not notice a difference. It is when you crank the heck out of it that you will notice the lower power amp having to work harder than the higher powered amp.

The only execption to this rule (IMHO) is if you have "power Hungry" speakers. Like sensitivity below 90. Then the higher power amp will definatly sound better.

I have both High Power and Med Power receivers.

So in short, I would not spend the extra 100 bucks to get 10 watts. But that is just me.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

How much for the 602? They're going for a song and dance here. The 503 will distort sooner when pushed. They should sound the same at lower listening levels. What speakers are you driving? Are they 8 ohm? Whats the sensitivity level?


http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=10495940&s=uwba68298

 

[DaveOCP]

The difference between 75W and 100W is actually pretty small. Assuming the same speakers are used, the difference between 64W and 128W is just 3db of SPL. Most likely you will not be able to tell them apart.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I am just curious if you guys think a more powerful amp sounds better ?
By which I mean, if you take a 100w/channel amp and a 75w/channel amp and set them at the same volume, is the more powerful one likely to have more "clarity" and "richness" and "texture" ?

No, it won't.

Reason I ask is, I just got a 503 and I guess I just expected it to be louder. Not that I even listen to it that loud (typically I have the volume on about 1/2), but on my old stereo I listened to it on just 2 or 3.

You cannot compare volume differences based on volume control position from amp to amp. It is meaningless. I believe this is where your problem is.

I was watching a foreign movie and found myself turning it up to about 60%.


No standard to what level is on a movie. One disc may be louder while another softer.

Does 10w/channel make much difference ?


$100 difference only

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

If you drive two channels, it won't make much difference. If you drive five or seven, it might.

I just posted on another thread the Yamaha RXV2400 that is rated at 120 watts. Here's Home Theater Mag's tests on that same unit driving 7 channels:

With seven channels driving 8-ohm loads, the amplifier reaches 0.1% distortion at 32.3 watts and 1% distortion at 36.9 watts
...taken from this article: http://hometheatermag.com/receivers/104yam/index1.html

You won't use equal power to all channels listening to a dvd, but if you use a 5 or 7 channel stereo mode (say during a party), you can see how this power is distributed.