Whats with the Watts ??

I play guitar. I have two amps I use - both are tube. I would never consider using SS. Sound is night and day to me so go figure that I seem to lean towards SS in home audio. One amp is 40W and the other is 50W. Both are very LOUD. Is there any general correlation I can make between these and the wattage I need for home audio or is it apples and oranges?

I haven't purchased speakers yet, though I've listened to quite a few. The more I audition, the more difficult the decision becomes. Since the audio dealers in my area don't seem to seel the same brand amps, I can't tell if the speaker sound I like or dislike is more the speaker or amp.

Dave - Budget is $10-12k

Generally speaking, what sounds better a low watt amp turned up a bit or a high watt amp played low?

Rodman - "tyro"?

I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to provide me direction and advice. Every comment has been more valuable than you know. I listened to three speakers yesterday that I really enjoyed – Dali Mentor 5 (88db), Totem Forrest (87db), and Magnepan 3.6 (85db). The dealers did not have any other Dali or Totem models and I would have liked to give them a listen. These two sounded “similar” to me. When I first listened to the Magnepans, I was “wowed”. The music separation was incredible. But, poor recordings sounded poor and they seemed to prefer certain music genres over others. They were played through an AR SD135 amp and AR SP17 preamp. But, they sounded much better with the AR HD220 amp, but that is really pushing my budget… Anyway, back to the wattage theme of my thread…. It seemed as though I needed to increase the volume on the Magnepans to get the best out of them. I’m a quick learner, and what I’ve learned here is that these speakers are not very efficient and more wattage is needed to drive them. However, does that also mean that I need to listen at louder volumes?

Dave - I live in NJ (Essex County). I visited three dealers thus far. Two were outstanding - Audio Connection and CSA. Both were very knowledagble and helpful. The first is where I listened to the Maggies and AR. CSA had the Dali's and Totem (I listened through these with Simaudio I3 integrated and Simaudio cd player - don't know the model). I really liked the Dali's but wished they had other models, such as the Helicons, to listen to. Yes, the bass seemed wooly as you say (not tight). Thanks for the damping factor. I'll try and educate myself on what this means and what to look for.

Rodman - I bring my own cd's and have ben playing the same cuts on each system.