How Much Difference Does a More Powerful Amp Make?

Larry - Sand Amps ? :-) what does that make the other variant "Lack of Air Amps" Made me chuckle though.

Peter

In my experience, a more powerful amp does not necessarily translate into better sound. I had Dynaudio C4's powered by a Plinius SA-102 (125 WPC), then thought I'd get more out of them moving to Simaudio W-6 monoblocks (425 WPC). Ended up being the wrong move and I sold the W-6's three days later. IMO, it's often the quality of the power that counts... not the number of watts. Based upon my experience with Simaudio & Dynaudio, I suggest you try something other than Simaudio with the Dyn's... maybe a higher powered tube amp from McIntosh (MC275), VAC or Conrad Johnson... or if you must stick with solid state, try the Plinius SA-102 class A amp, or a class A amp from Pass or Clayton.

According to perceived loudness calculation

k^(1/3.5) where k is ratio of powers

your loudness will increase by 15.7%.

Greater power may or may not offer a 'better' sound. The quality of the power matters also.
As has been mentioned, the increase you are interested in is not really much. However, if you are at the point of running out at your current power usage, it might be all you need.
The issue IMO is not quantity of power, but the quality of the power along with the quantity.
If you buy a cheaper sounding, but more powerful amp, you will be disatisfied with the sound, louder or not.
A good amp can last a long time. My last amp, A Forte 4a i used for 17 years.. and my current amp, i hope to use for the next 20 years (Bryston 4B-SST2)

How would someone know if they were "running out at current power usage"? Is there an easy way you can tell that an amplifier is not powerful enough for your speakers? Or does that just manifest in "bad" sound?