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In Reply to: How much power do you really need?? Honestly? posted by chgolatin2@yahoo.com on March 24, 2007 at 11:54:23:
I would have never believed it....i always understood that's it's better to have better current, more current, or more power....but when I got my Mcintosh MC 501 monoblocks with those baby blue VU meters, ..and played an FM source (classical live recording)..those VU meters registered under 5 watts most of the time, but easily jumped to greater than 200-300 watts on peaks..and believe me, the volume control was at best moderate..not high..I think at most i was registering 80db from the listening position...so i agree with the fact that more power never hurts..and i'm using relatively easy to drive Paradigm Signature S8 speakers rated about 91db/watt/meter anechoic...
that's the honest truth..
Follow Ups:
Perhaps you need to look further. I swap between JBL L200b and slightly modified Altec Valencia driven with an updated triode wired Harman Kardon Citation II and I can literally blow myself off the back deck 40 feet from my speakers.
Yes, those blockbuster climaxes require a lot of current. For small jazz, folk, chamber there is not much of a problem, unless you are listening to some new DSD mastered recordings with wide dynamic range.Rock? Ok, you need some power and current, but you're not requiring dynamic range like in classical symphonic.
I'd say 100-120 wpc would be ok for most average speakers and music. For current sucking speakers like PSB gold i's and similar 500 wpc and up should be considered with 250 wpc a bare minimum.
And if the meters are peaking at 300 watts, you need more. The meters have mass and measureably register low because of it on very short peaks.
One's amp needs to be able to cope with transients which (as you've shown) are typically 50-60 times the RMS power ... maybe even up to 100 times!This is what separates the men from the boys, in terms of amps, IMO.
Your speakers are more efficient than mine (my Maggies are rated at only 85dB) so I need even more transint power than that!
Regards,
It's true of what you say, but in reality do you REALLY need 750 to 1100 watts of massive power. Maybe 300 to 500 watts should be more than what you really need it all depends on your speakers and listening habits. I tend from time to time to drive up the volume a bit but that doesnt mean that I like all of my music super loud. It all depends on what type of mood I'm in.the Mcintosh is a SUPER SWEET setup, if I could afford it believe me I would of have owned a nice setup already but oh well, cant do it for now.
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