I would make several points:
1)As a practical matter what you are using with this particular speaker is a 240 watt amp, not a 150 watt amp. The amp is rated at 150 watts into 8 ohms and 300 watts into 4 ohms. The impedance curve of the speaker, as shown in Stereophile’s review, indicates an impedance averaging about 5 ohms across almost all of the frequency range below 1 kHz, which is the part of the spectrum that encompasses most of the energy of music music. It can be calculated from the 150 watt/300 watt 8 ohm/4 ohm numbers that the amp is capable of 240 watts into 5 ohms.
2)The difference between 400 watts and 240 watts is about 2.2 db, which while not quite negligible is not much of a difference.
3)IMO design differences between amplifiers are likely to be vastly more significant from a sonic standpoint than a 2.2 db difference in maximum power capability.
4)Everything else being equal more amplifier watts = more amplifier $. IMO it is usually desirable to have as high a percentage as possible of the dollars one chooses to invest in an amplifier go toward quality rather than toward watts, assuming the number of watts is sufficient to avoid getting near the amp’s clipping point.
Good luck. Regards,
-- Al
1)As a practical matter what you are using with this particular speaker is a 240 watt amp, not a 150 watt amp. The amp is rated at 150 watts into 8 ohms and 300 watts into 4 ohms. The impedance curve of the speaker, as shown in Stereophile’s review, indicates an impedance averaging about 5 ohms across almost all of the frequency range below 1 kHz, which is the part of the spectrum that encompasses most of the energy of music music. It can be calculated from the 150 watt/300 watt 8 ohm/4 ohm numbers that the amp is capable of 240 watts into 5 ohms.
2)The difference between 400 watts and 240 watts is about 2.2 db, which while not quite negligible is not much of a difference.
3)IMO design differences between amplifiers are likely to be vastly more significant from a sonic standpoint than a 2.2 db difference in maximum power capability.
4)Everything else being equal more amplifier watts = more amplifier $. IMO it is usually desirable to have as high a percentage as possible of the dollars one chooses to invest in an amplifier go toward quality rather than toward watts, assuming the number of watts is sufficient to avoid getting near the amp’s clipping point.
Good luck. Regards,
-- Al