Jazzzman, South43, Thanks for your response. Jazzman, your explanation is wonderfully precise! I will cut/paste it into magnetic immortality for future reference. To be sure I understand, let me pose a follow-up. When you say that a ten-fold increase in wattage offers a 10 decibel rise in sound pressure, is this a doubling of sound pressure? That is, twice as loud? Just how loud is "loud"? I've heard the reference made to "good vs crummy" watts before and would like to make sure I understand the distinction between "good" watts and the amount of them. That is, the influence of quality AND quantity of watts. I suspect a "good" watt is "clean", consistent, distortion free watt. "Good" watts make for accurate, pleasing music, so a few "good" watts are preferable to a legion of "crummy" watts. Quality trumps quantity. But what if all the watts are the same? Is there some sonic virtue in having more "good" watts, that lies beyond the volume equation? I have heard people say so! Let me put this another way. If I understand your example correctly, If I NEVER want to hear music above 95 dB -- a 15 watt tube amp will produce that sound level. A 30 watt amp of EQUAL "goodness" will not produce "better" 95 dB music by virtue of its higher QUANTITY or "good" watts alone -- yes? I don't yet fully understand this, but I think it is a very important concept. I've heard "experts" say that more "good" watts are always better, even at low listening levels. They seem to claim that 95 dB produced by our 30 watt amp will sound, fuller, rounder, snappier, than the 95 dB out of the 15 watt equivalent. I don't understand this. Their argument seems to be that those 15 "good" watts can get tired running back and forth to the speaker. If you have 30 "good" watts, they will take turns carrying the load and produce a faster, fuller, richer, sound. Is there any merit in this argument? On our system, we listen to jazz and symphonic music, usually at conversational levels; with the family sitting on the floor about 8 to 10 ft back from the speakers. I really like the intimacy of this "near-field" listening position and very rarely play anything loud. (I've joined an amateur band again, so at home I like the music -- soft!) Thanks again for your very informative post. We did choose the Pass amplifier, but still think we may want to have some fun with tubes. I've read about and wanted to try some of the low power tube amps, but the lack of power has made me hesitant. Now, I may try to pick up something used to have fun with. Thanks again, Kurt
A "dumb" question about power ratings?
I'm no engineer, but I believe that our Revel Gem speakers have an impedance of 87db, which is whiy the dealers I talk with to recommend an amplifier that puts out at least 100 watts. If this is correct, does this mean that they are suggesting 100 TOTAL watts? Here's where I'm a little confused: The solid state amps I've looked at like the Levinson 334 or Ayre V-1 are "rated" in terms of total watts available. In this example 125 watts and 200 watts respectively. If that's right, then 1/2 of the total wattage is available to each speaker. A 200 watt amp provides about 100 watt per speaker - right? The reason I ask is that mono-block tube amps and the Pass 'class A' amps seem to be rated by the watts put out by each mono unit. If a mono-block tube amp is rated at 50 watts, then that means 50 watts for each speaker, or the equivalent of 100 total watts available in the system -- is this correct? Put simply, is a mono-block tube amp rated at 60 watts roughtly equal in power to a solid state amp rated at 120 watts? I find power ratings and figuring out how much amplifier power is optimum a bit confusing. I suspect this may be a dumb question, but I just want to make sure I understand the ratings correctly. Also, I'd love to know how to make the decision of how much power is enough. Is it simply a mathematical question dependent on how loud you want the speakers to play? Or do other sonic factors come into play? I've read about tube amps that only put out 15 watts, which seems miniscule to me. Would my Revel Gems even operate running off a low powered tube amp? What would they sound like? This is America, after all, isn't more power always better :-)? I will certainly appreciate your insights! Sincerely, Kurt