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What does moving from a 150 watt amp to a 400 watt amp get you?

Hi all, I’m coming back to tap the knowledge of the forum again.  I have a pair of revel ultima studio 2s that I very much enjoy. I’m currently running them with an Ayre V-5xe.  I’ve seen others say that these speakers need to be driven by 400 Watts to get them to sound their best.  I sort of understand the relationship between wattage and sound volume, but if I am not looking for “louder” what do I get with a more powerful amp?  I don’t hear clipping. More current?  But what does that do?  Sorry for my ignorance!
miles_trane

Showing 3 responses by willemj

willemj
1,036 posts
 
A big amplifier is useful for a clean sound on dynamic peaks as in symphonic music. Harbeth's Alan Shaw recently did a demonstration of his big M40.1 speakers and the digital power meters on the monoblocks that he was using indicated they were delivering more than 500 watts/ch on peaks.
Fortunately beefy pro audio amplifiers do not cost mega bucks, and can be very good for home audio. See here for a serious test (with an AP audio analyzer) that makes precisely this point: http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/amplificateurs-de-puissance-haute-fidelite/mesures-ampli-yamaha-p...
willemj
1,036 posts
 
Which Harbeth speakers are these - the P3ESRs? If so, your amplifier is at the beefy end of what they can handle.
If not, the bigger Harbeths are more sensitive than this. How big is your room?
willemj
1,036 posts
 
Indeed. Your amplifier is more than powerful enough for the P3ESR. In fact, you will need to exercise some caution. You are fine. You did not say how large the room is, but if the room is medium size or larger, the only thing you could do to get a 'bigger'sound is add two small subs like the SVS SB1000 and an Antimode 8033 (but don't add subs if the room is small).
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