2. amps-preamps
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SS amps. Why so much power?

I though that there was so much tube amp talk on this page lately, I'd put up a SS thread. Why do so many people buy the big SS amps that have 200,300,500 watts of power? Is it because the speaker you want is inefficient and you need lots of power, or do you need to play real loud? Or is it a status thing, like my amp's bigger than your amp, or what? Do you buy a big amp first, and then look for a speaker with high power handling? Or do you pick a low efficiency speaker you like and then look for a big amp to drive it? Do you subscribe to the idea that if you have alot of watts, the amp will sound better at lower volumes? I've noticed that the majority of AudiogoNers go with high power SS amps and low efficiency speakers. What gives?
twl
dsunde
15 posts
 
I guess it depends on the person. For me, I had 87db speakers with an SS amp that was around 35wpc. It just didn't sound good to me. Even at 1/3 or less of full volume, the speakers sounded thin and lifeless. Then I got an amp that had 175wpc into 8 ohms and 250 into 4. It really made a difference for me. Everything sounded fuller and less strained. Perhaps if I went for a 300-400 wpc amp it would make more difference yet? I don't know. But I'm glad I upgraded in power.
jtinn
1,123 posts
 
Most solid state amplifiers prefer low impedance speakers. Most tube amplifiers prefer higher impedance speakers. On a reasonably high impedance speaker, a much lower powered tube amplifier should be able to drive the speaker better than a high powered solid state amplifier.

A good example is the SoundLab speakers. They have a reasonbly high impedance through much of their curve and will generally laugh at higher powered solid state amps, while a 220 watt tube amplifier, like the Wolcott (Hi Albert & Duke), has no trouble with them whatsoever. Even much lower powered tube amplifiers do a very nice job on them.
gpalmer
174 posts
 
Greater control of the speaker plus I play my music loud occasionally and having more power than I need means that I will not clip the amp which is the best way to blow up a pair of speakers.
stehno
1,453 posts
 
Edle, Based on that statement one could easily get the impression that you think the only thing all amplifiers do is amplify.

That is exactly what an amp is suppose to do, but very few actually do just that.
ohlala
993 posts
 
1)A true audiophile, i think, buys the amp that will allow their speaker to best do what it does, including decent SPLs. My speakers as well as others' just require high power to really do anything at all.

2)The mid-phile will buy the most powerfull because they believe to be the most important of the few dimensions they consider. They are stuck in the land of nominal, printed ratings.

3)The nonaudiophile will buy the biggest penis extension they can afford.

Varying combinations of 1, 2, and 3 for each person at a given time drives amp selection.
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