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.
Power: Good or Bad
Assuming an amp has "enough" power to drive a speaker to satisfying peaks (115db?) do you find that lower-powered amps sound better than their higher power counterparts? That is, do lower power circuits inherently sound better than higher powered ones. I think Sam Tellif for one has made this claim in print. I assume that lower power amplifiers are simpler in design than higher powered, more complex designs with more tubes (or transistors), less wiring, etc. Or, do you feel that whatever price is paid for the additional complexity required to produce more power is a worthwhile trade off in terms of dynamics and "drive". I'm not necessarily thinking 4 watt SETs with super efficient horns, but maybe 30 watts driving 90db loads for example.
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- 26 posts total
- 26 posts total