Posted by Wayne Parham [ 66.139.39.113 ] on December 20, 2003 at 09:56:16:
In Reply to: How Much Power? posted by elektratig on December 20, 2003 at 07:34:36:
You're right. I'm quite happy with a little 2 watt tube amp, and it gets remarkably loud. Certainly for music in a 500 sq. ft. room, but even for HT movies with lots of slam, bang, boom. I wouldn't have thought that the soundtracks of action movies would have been realistic on such small tube amps, but I was wrong. It's pretty loud, and really cool to do.
But then again, I also have the other end of the spectrum with a Crown MicroTech 2400. I can host parties and dances and stuff like that with this thing. I joke that I could arc weld the frame on my car with it too. The word "impact" is given a whole new meaning. The word(s) "home repair" are also given new meaning because it will vibrate the drywall loose from the studs. No kidding.
In either case, the quality of sound is really great. These are two different worlds, in that there are two different sets of strengths. Naturally, the little tube amps are very intimate and sweet sounding. And they'll generate a lot of output too, as you well know. But naturally, 1000 times as much power represents 30dB difference, so even if your system suffered from 5dB compression there is still a huge 25dB difference. If you're setting up in a fairly large room with a lot of people absorbing the sound, that extra output is really necessary. And even for a smaller room, the more power that's on tap, the more dynamic range your system is capable of.