Power: Good or Bad

Whether a low powered or high powered amp in the same line is "better" depends upon the rest of the system, especially the efficiency of the speakers. The best systems I have heard employ speakers that fully untilze the amplifiers power output; i.e. a high efficiency speaker that is designed to take up to 50 watts works very well with a 50 WRMS amplifier...it is using the full power output of the amp.

I own a Threshold T-200, a Class A amp rated 100W at 8ohms. It was said in the trades that the T-200 was a sweeter amp that the T-400, which put out 150 watts. I listened to the T-200 drive a pair of B&W 801s; and while it did drive the speakers, the T-400 really gripped the speakers and drove them more efficiently. At the same time, the T-200 did sound sweeter with speakers rated at 120 watts or less.

No doubt an amplifier must provide sufficient juice to provide adequate output, and the most divine 8 watt amp will sound completely inadequate with a low efficiency speakers. But somehow, I suspect (sort of what I am asking)that lower powered designs are some how purer, more natural, as a result of a simpler, less complex approach. I'm not sure this is true, but I lean towards believing this to be true. It seems to me that high power output requires a lot of engineering and overbuilding, and that this affects sound quality negatively with too much complexity - in general. I think it takes great design ingenuity to design high powered amplifiers that sound as good as their low powered bretheren. But yes, you always need sufficient power for the speaker of your choice. I believe power requires some sacrifice in sound quality iwth advantages in sound quantity.

Most SET amp owners will tell you they sound more pure and closer to the music, and SET amps certainly have less parts/engineering.

SET amps aside, however, I don't believe you can assume that low power in a push-pull design translates to more natural or purer sound than a high powered amp of the same design. It really has everything to do with the amplifier/speaker match...not only power/sensitivity, but also impedance match.

Few amplifiers sound more pure and natural than a high power, VAC push-pull amplifier mated with the proper speakers.

again, what does better mean ?

how can you ask this question unless you provide the criteria of "better" and "worse" ?

i realize such standards are subjective. however, only you can decide what is better.

frequently on audiogon forums, a request is made for the names of products which provide "better" sound than what one owns, without specifying what "better" is.

i have often said that better means more pleasing to one's ears. in which case one person's better is another person's worse. thus, the answer to the current question regarding amplifier power is very simple:

a lower powered amp is better if you prefer it in your stereo system to a higher powered amplifier.

it is best not to generalize, as tastes differ and designs differ.

All things equal, lower powered amps with less amplification stages sound way better (in all respects) than their complex counterparts. It really comes out in low level details. I have never heard a big amp retrieve low level detail like a good low powered single ended design.

The only advantage I can think of of a high(ish) output amp is that they can drive demanding speakers. The easy way round that is to buy speaker that are easy to drive.

Regards
Paul