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In Reply to: Couple random questions from the newbie posted by pistonengine on March 15, 2012 at 22:08:54:
Just to add a gloss on #6, you have to keep several things in mind:
- It takes a 10x increase in power to produce a 2x increase in loudness. So someone who listens at 1000 watts can only listen twice as loud as someone who listens at 100 watts. In addition, not all concerts have a super high SPL. So only the loudest sections of a handful of recordings would require the 1000 watt amp, and only if the listener cared to listen to them at a natural level.
- Most commercial recordings are compressed and/or peak limited. That also discourages people from listening at natural levels.
- Tubes overload more gracefully than transistors, so you can generally get by with half the power.
- RMS amp power ratings are a rough guide at best. SPL's are actually limited by peaks, which can be 10 or 20 dB higher than the average level. This is what determines how loud an amp can be played, not the RMS average power. Some amps have more peak output capability than others. It's isn't uncommon to hear someone say that an amp with a lower RMS power rating played louder than one with a higher power rating.
- Minor peak clipping is inaudible, so any amp can play above its nominal range. (Dangerous for tweeters, though, because of the high harmonics of the clipped waveform.)
- Subjective loudness is determined by average levels, rather than peaks. So almost any amp can play deafeningly loud. The difference is in the cleanness of the peak reproduction, whether and to what degree clipping occurs. So people will listen to say a 40 watt amp and say "Hey, this sounds just as loud as the 1000 watt amp," but that's *not* the question -- the question is whether it sounds good on the loudest peaks you play.
- Different listening distances and rooms can alter levels by several dB in either direction, so some setups require more amplifier power than others.
Bottom line, the only way to tell how big an amp you need is to try it, or to play music at the levels you like and watch on an oscilloscope so you can see if and where peak clipping occurs. Or you can measure with a Radio Shack meter and guesstimate the peaks by adding 10 dB to the readings (20 dB for percussive instruments like piano).
There are endless debates about this on forums, but ultimately, they don't mean anything, because what matters is what works for you.
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Follow Ups
- RE: Couple random questions from the newbie - josh358 17:58:10 03/16/12 (0)
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