How much power is to much power?

As to the magazine article referred to- I beg to differ that the phase angle is all that important - the proper term for what is imporant is the group delay.

I think it all depends on the speaker and amp combo. The Spectron Musician III SE in mono-block delivers 2400watts @ 4ohm. I do have to set the volume nob down than when I had only one M3 SE stereo amp, but the level of detail, effortless sound and fitness is world class.

Reports of blown tweeter fuses on the Maggies 3.6R are not that uncommon. I've read cases where the tweeter fuses blows up with an 800watt amp. I mostly listen to Jazz and Classical music, so it's unlikely that I'll go up to uncomfortable levels. But listening as loud as my room allows, I've never blown up a tweeter fuse with the 2400watt Spectron mono-blocks.

You can check the technical details of safety features for this amp, which may help to explain why I never feel anything forced upon the sound. All I perceive is the easiness of the music, just like a live musical event.

Vett93, You have learned something of great value, I think. Now to have an even more complete understanding of amp/speaker matching, consider that not only do speakers have an irregular impedence so do amplifiers have an output impedence that is irregular. Not so much SS which usually have a very low output impedence and its not a real issue, but tube amps can, and do, have output impedences that are fairly high and can make a substantial difference in what you hear from speakers. It's has been discussed here before so some night when you can't sleep, it will give you something to research. :-)

09-13-08: Vett93 said:
"What does "more control of bass" mean? If you meant sufficient current to drive the bass woofers without more distortion, then it is equivalent to a higher SPL. If you meant a higher damping factor, then it is independent to the wattage anyway."

I'm talking about effective damping, not damping factor. DF is part of the equation, but a 100 wpc with a damping factor of 1000 isn't going to control the woofers as well as my 1000 wpc amp with a DF of 1000. Someone up the thread said something along the lines that watts are like horse power. There's something too that.

Uncontrolled bass is too bloomy and resonant. An amp that grabs the woofers and prevents them from uncontrolled ringing is what's needed.

Dave

It depends.

On room size, how loud you listen. That's about it.

Realize that power alone is not always the answer. The amp has to be able to deliver power smoothly into the speakers variable impedance at different frequencies. Amps that double in power from 8 to 4 to 2 ohms do this best. Some speakers are more difficult to drive due to complex impedance loads at various frequencies. Others are less demaning.