Dodgealum,
The power as engineering term is the product of voltage and the current and thus you must control both, separately.
It is my opinion that rated continius power into specific load (e.g. 100 wpc into 8Ohms) is almost totally meaningless since you do not listen to music as to continous test signal.
In normal conditions, you use may be 5% may be 10% of this "power" - however, when you want to reproduce creshendo your demand for voltage and/or current will rise two orders of magnitude (x100) !!!!!!!
The only one characterisic which truthfully describe real "power" of the amplifier is its Headroom which in turn, has a number of parameters to watch - most important of which are peak voltage, peal current, their duration, and level of distortions at full output and few more.
Its somewhat complex matter so most reviews and audiophiles describing specs emphesize the nominal (meaningless) power stats and threads like this one discuss one meaningless parameter versus another meaningless parameter.
What is common - the more power however you define it - the more expensive and more difficult is to build such device be it tube, solid state of switching.
Thank you
Simon
The power as engineering term is the product of voltage and the current and thus you must control both, separately.
It is my opinion that rated continius power into specific load (e.g. 100 wpc into 8Ohms) is almost totally meaningless since you do not listen to music as to continous test signal.
In normal conditions, you use may be 5% may be 10% of this "power" - however, when you want to reproduce creshendo your demand for voltage and/or current will rise two orders of magnitude (x100) !!!!!!!
The only one characterisic which truthfully describe real "power" of the amplifier is its Headroom which in turn, has a number of parameters to watch - most important of which are peak voltage, peal current, their duration, and level of distortions at full output and few more.
Its somewhat complex matter so most reviews and audiophiles describing specs emphesize the nominal (meaningless) power stats and threads like this one discuss one meaningless parameter versus another meaningless parameter.
What is common - the more power however you define it - the more expensive and more difficult is to build such device be it tube, solid state of switching.
Thank you
Simon