gsrai wrote:
DARRELL and LEEThankyou very much for your thoughts (cleared up a lot in my head - left some questions as well but that's the nature of the game I suppose :Not Sure
.
Lee, what is it that gives the "torque" as you put it (great analogy
) - is it current?
Darrell, your conclusion (If I understand it right) is that the transients (sudden changes) in the music is where power is important, is that right?
Since I only listen at low volumes (say between 7 and 8 o'clock) - what would be the best answer/compromise?
ICE - you must be mad
Sudden changes from soft to loud could drive a not-powerful-enough amp into distortion - note the warnings on some cds - eg my copy of the 1812 overture "the live cannon on this recording could damage your system/ears" (I paraphrase).
I was trying to explain, to the best of my ability, the original question which was something like "Why doesn't a more powerful amp, at the same volume setting, sound louder than a less powerful amp?"
I would say that the headroom available at 7 or 8 o'clock on an amp should be adequate for almost all situations. But the power/torque analogy comes in here - if your speakers are easy to drive (like a level road) the amp's current capabilty will not really be taxed. But if your speakers are a difficult load (a steep hill) The amp's current delivery will be tested, at suprisingly low listening levels.
But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Forget about the specifications, forget about the physics. Try out an amp, definitely with your own speakers and preferably in your own room. If you only listen to rock/pop, just play something a bit louder than you ever would in normal circumstances. (most rock/pop recordings seem to be recorded at at least 90% of maximum level for at least 90% of the time). If it sounds alright, it is alright.
With classical, choose a disc with large dynamic contrasts (some solo piano recordings are good for this). While listening to the softest passage in the music, turn up the volume to the loudest you would ever want this to be (try it during the day, with the kids playing upstairs, the washing machine on, etc). Then, without adjusting the volume, play the loudest part of the disc. If this sounds alright, it is alright.
There are so many variables, room acoustics, speaker sensitivity and impedance, the behaviour of the amp as as it reaches its limits, that it's hard to generalise. But I think most of us would be surprised to find that most of the time we are only using a few watts. Suck it and see.
Good luck.
Darrell
