What is your experience with amp power?

I do not like high efficiency speakers, because they usually have poor dynamic floor. It's a trade-off. Heavier speakers can get a lot better dynamic range from quiet listening to very LOUD.

Not all amps are created equal, and not all watts are created equal. I’ve gone the gamut from a 55wpc Technics SA500 receiver to a 70wpc Yamaha A500 integrated amp to as high as 255 wpc in a Hafler DH500, down to 150wpc in a NYAL Moscode 300 hybrid, to a Distech LS-2 (modded BKST-140) @ 100wpc, all the way down to about 12 watts per channel from KT66 tubes in triode. Every amp on that list sounded progressively better to me....playing louder did not. All my speakers have been average efficiency, and the amps I’ve liked the sound of best are my current 12wpc monoblocks.

I know it’s subjective, but I suspect that synergy and paying attention to the whole system chain is a more critical consideration than just amp power.

For 15 years I’ve been running Tannoys, between 91 - 96dB. I play loud. I like tubes. I don’t think I’ve gotten to the point yet where I have "too much" power. My most powerful amps, 250 Watts/ch and 300 Watts/ch tube monoblocks, have had distinct advantages in dynamics, bass, and "driver grip". Yes, even on the big 96dB / Watt Tannoys! I’ve gotten great sound with lower power amps, but there are clear advantages in the higher power levels that you won’t get until you get there. Headroom matters. My 300 Watt VAC Master monos in particular are just in another world of performance compared to all prior amps - the 200 Watts/ch 200iQ monos (really more like 140 Watts./ch into 8 ohms) aren’t even in the same zip code.

I think higher power also greatly lowers the risk of "problems", in my experience. With a vinyl source there can be a lot of feedback and LF energy to deal with, and you DON’T want to risk the amp clipping from that. It' always better to have the extra headroom. 

If you listen at "75 - 80dB peaks max" or whatever, then you can safely ignore my observations :)

If you want to play (loud), you have to pay. Big powerful expensive amps exist for a reason. They work in most applications and let you not worry about coming up short on power. And for some reason, unknown to me, big amps add power and weight even at low volumes, although I have no idea how that works. Better to have too much than too little. On the other hand my 25 watt Quicksilver Mini-Monos are my favorite amps? 

Power has nothing to do with sound quality.  If that were true, then anyone could make a high powered amplifier.  Comments about power and headroom are completely false.  Power has really nothing to do with headroom.  And higher power sounds better at low volume and high volume is another false statement.

@knotscott - is going in the right direction.  I have Vandersteen model Seven speakers 83db driven by 28wpc stereo amp that sounds better than the 220wpc amp and even the 100wpc amps we have.  In theory, no one I know would even think to use a 28wpc amp on the Sevens.  But so far it has outperformed the other amps by a significant margin.

Happy Listening