SS amps. Why so much power?

Re: volume, I once had a musician friend( trombonist) visit me, who upon walking in my door exclaimed "isn't your stereo kinda loud?" I replied that I was trying to replicate the the sound of the original performance ( a small jazz combo playing a mellow bluesy piece) to the scale of the room and distance from the sound source. He just happened to have his horn with him, so I invited him to play along with the recorded music. He was astonished to find that he couldn't play softly enough to properly accompany the music. Now, I believe two things were going on here. One, that a trombone wasn't designed to play in an average living room, but in a larger concert hall. Two, most people (not you dear readers)are accustomed to low quality "Hi Fi" systems that distort terribly at anything above low volumes (Especially those who mostly listen to TV (not serious home theatre)). In anticipation of horrid above low volume sound in a typical home environment thier defences arise before relaxing and allowing themselves to enjoy the moment.

In the SS case it's imperative to keep away from clipping as far as possible. That's the way the transistor will operate linearly. Getting even close to clipping will result a large scale of distortions. Clipping can result the driver damage and blown transistor(s). Tubes clip less dangerous to itself and speakers as well.

sean-get yourself a high current ~30 wpc amp.match with 92dB speaker.play some clean recordings in a 15x20x7 foot room THEN say "no headbanger would ever be satisfied with a 30wpc amp"
I listen at loud levels with room to spare.
I have excellent bass slam but with the midrange purity only a single ended amp can offer.
sorry if my remarks offend you.Its only a hobby ya know.
over and out....

P.S. this same musician friend had pretty good ears. After settling down and listening he shortly there after went out and replaced his Sansui and Proton equipment with Rotel, Creek and Linn. To be fair the previous equipment he had was probably the best that was available to him at the local appliance store. He had no previous knowledge of High End stores.The last time I visited him he was playing his music at a much greater volume than I usually do!

David, i've used two different SS amplifiers that were biased Class A, were rated for 40 wpc and 50 wpc, doubled down at 4 ohms and were from the same manufacturer that you're currently using. These powered a set of 96 db speakers in a room appr the same size ( probably slightly smaller ) as to what you mention. It was never loud enough while retaining the clarity that i was looking for when trying to throttle the system. Hence, i upgraded to a far more powerful amp from the same manufacturer and things improved quite measurably.

Having "been there, done that" many times over, i have to laugh at thinking that one could achieve "headbanging levels" with the amount of power and efficiency of speakers that you mentioned in a room of that size. That might be an excellent system for doing chamber music but it is surely NOT suited for trying to reproduce "metal" at "headbanging levels".

As to offending me, i think that your comments were offensive to everyone that currently owns, has owned or may be thinking about purchasing a high powered amplifier. Not only did you pidgeon hole all of these people from various walks of life with different philosophies into one category, you also insulted them by commenting on their "johnson-sized" mentality.

It might only be a "hobby" to you, but it is one of the passions of life to others. Either way, one should think before speaking or posting. Sean
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