Drjjpdc: Your comment "Therefore a 200 watt amp has twice the wattage of a 100 watt amp and is only 3 db louder, which is about the limits that you can detect by ear." is WAY off base. I use a dB meter on a daily basis at work and differences of less than 1 dB are easily discernable on my less than "hi resolution" test bench using a 4" communications grade speaker and test tones. Some people have demonstrated hearing differences down into the millibel range under test conditions.
Herman: 100 dB's is too quiet. I would say that a system should be able to do at least 110 dB's at the seated listening position. This is not too hard to accomplish so long as you have enough amplifier for the size room that you are in and relatively efficient speakers that don't go into massive compression when fed some juice. Obviously, using more efficient speakers in a smaller room would put most people WAY ahead of the game. Sean
>
Herman: 100 dB's is too quiet. I would say that a system should be able to do at least 110 dB's at the seated listening position. This is not too hard to accomplish so long as you have enough amplifier for the size room that you are in and relatively efficient speakers that don't go into massive compression when fed some juice. Obviously, using more efficient speakers in a smaller room would put most people WAY ahead of the game. Sean
>