Topic: 40 to 70 wpc vs 100 to 125 wpc SS

[dana]

Imo, first you got to understand clipping. Once you do, then the wattage can easily be understood and why the need for more...
It turns out that a lot of 50watt amps and below will easily clip. Now here is the deciding factor, if you hear the it clipping... Get an amp with more wattage. If you don't then you can keep what you have.
If you do not know what clipping is... Then you should be happy

clipping can also happen in the input stage, that is, input overload...so alalay lan sa gain ng source if may adjustment feature.

[JojoD818]

mga kapatid sa hobby, magtatanong lang about wpc. 

i noticed when visiting our suking tindahan and would ask on SS integrated amps more often than not they would suggest higher wpc to accommodate wider range of speakers.

One of the biggest reason for salesmen to offer you higher wattage amps is that any speaker you may have, high or low sensitivity, will still work with their amps.

Instead of asking you what speakers you have or planning to buy, they rather go the shortcut way and just sell you amps with high wattage ratings.

Meron din ako alam para tumunog ng maganda yun speakers kailangan kalahating milyon ang gagamitin mo na amp.

opposite, i noticed in the recent 2013 what hifi awards daming winner na below 100 wpc, konti lang yung 100 wpc and up.  they are grouped according to SRP.

Pricing, in any type of field, plays a big role. Some gullible buyers tend to admire those amps with a lot of bells and whistles, some go for aesthetics, and some do care about the sound. But ALL classes care about the price, it's a universal thing.

Low wattage amps are understandably more cheaper than their high wattage counterparts.

the reason i am asking is the cost, mas mahal and mas konti yung choice for 100 wpc.  let's limit the samples to Naim, Roksan Caspian, Rotel, PeachTree, HK 990, Arcam; out onkyo, yamaha and dennon. to be specific, pwede ba yung concept na low wpc but can drive wide variety of speakers.

TIA.

Luis 

Pwede, basta lahat ng speakers na gagamitin ay sensitive enough. Dito nagkakatalo ang power ratings ng amp, the higher wattage amps can compensate for lower sensitivity speakers because they can pour out more power. Lower wattage amps can still be at par with their bigger cousins if you match them with a fairly sensitive speaker.

[ATJr.]

clipping can also happen in the input stage, that is, input overload...so alalay lan sa gain ng source if may adjustment feature.

yes it does, but also just as important is how the input stage recovers from overload.....
does it throw tantrums?, does it recover smoothly like nothing happened?

[dana]

yes it does, but also just as important is how the input stage recovers from overload.....
does it throw tantrums?, does it recover smoothly like nothing happened?

yes, papa tonyt.
again, it all boils down to a good engineering circuit design then..

[luis]

pwede!
basta minsan consider the size and audible effect of the room or area.
consider also the chemistry of the speakers and amps, and all the other components in your system.
there are times that you might need those extra wpc, but if not, just save the extra $$ and get the lower wpc depending on the situation...

Minsan iniisip ko din i-consider yung situation ko kay misis kung bibilhin ko yun mas mahal (with higher wpc) na amp

ayos! parating may punchline pampasaya.  husay bro JJ, may creative thinking...   

[Nelson de Leon]

class d is good to use on subs...

Class D amps has evolve so much that they're also good for main speakers. Common brands using class D are Pioneer, Rotel, Jeff Rowland, Wyred4sound to name a few. And yes, hit and miss din kung babagay sa system mo just like any other amp.

[jjlovemusic]

ayos! parating may punchline pampasaya.  husay bro JJ, may creative thinking...   

pero pwede mo din sabihin kay misis pag nabili mo na: "kung hindi yung higher model binili, sayang ang full potential ng speakers natin", pambola lang

[ATJr.]

Class D amps has evolve so much that they're also good for main speakers. Common brands using class D are Pioneer, Rotel, Jeff Rowland, Wyred4sound to name a few. And yes, hit and miss din kung babagay sa system mo just like any other amp.

agreed....

[JojoD818]

Class D amps has evolve so much that they're also good for main speakers. Common brands using class D are Pioneer, Rotel, Jeff Rowland, Wyred4sound to name a few. And yes, hit and miss din kung babagay sa system mo just like any other amp.

nakalimutan mo sa car audio scene pa tukayo... puro kasi models ang tinitignan mo pag may car show kaya di mo napapansin yun mga class d amps...

[deist]

got the chance to hear the class D hypex "ucd" series & was astounded by the details. the Ncores are supposed to be way better, some recording companies are using the ncores for their studio 

[tony]

i like SS amps that can do loads down to 2 ohms....

[bhenard]

In my case, i inherit Pio stereo integ amp(4got d model) w/ 150wpc half decade ago, since bigay lang no choice for a prefer wattage i want, ok na din kasi there was a time nga na nagamit sa basketball court na parang open field ang area using 600w per channel na 18'inch kevler speaker for 9hrs continous at almost peak level,

whew! akala ko bibigay eh, luckily ok pa naman nung gamitin ko ulet sa old Klipsch KG5 ko.makinis pa din.

To make the long story short,....better if u a have chance to get a decent higher wattage(if price does'nt matter) amp for future preference,why not? . pag mahina amp,indi ka na makapaglakas while pag malakas na amp mo,pwede mo naman syang hinaan sa prefer mong level IMO

What if ikaw naman ang manahan bigla ng Mansion hahaha
no need to upgrade na,wala pa gastos

[JoeyGS]

My simplified 'general' guideline from years in this hobby:

1.  If you have a speaker now:
     a.  if sensitivity is 85 db and below - High powered amp is needed - say 100 watts and above
     b.  if sensitivity is 86 - 93 db -  Mid powered amp is needed - say 40 - 100watts
     c.  if sensitivity is 94db and above - Low powered amp is needed - say 35 watts and below
2.  If you have an amp now:
     a.  if the rated rms power is 100 watts and above - look for speakers w/ sensitivity of 85db and below
     b.  if the rated rms power is 40 - 100watts - look for speakers w/ sensitivity of 86 - 93db
     c.  if the rated rms power is 35 watts and below - look for speakers w/ sensitivity of 94db and above

Take note the above is a general guideline only and not absolute.  Amplifiers and speakers need to be matched.  In my experience, having a powerful amp (above 100watts) will not match a highly sensitive speaker, in such a way that the sound coming out of this speaker will be of low quality and will easily be distorted.  Volume at 8:00 will be too loud and the sound will be all over the place.

In reverse, pairing a low power amp (say 25 watts and below) into a low sensitivity speaker (84db and below) will also not match.  The low power amp will not drive the speaker to put out all the frequencies from a music track as the amp is not able to have full control of the driver.

With a general guide like mine, you are able to narrow down your choices wisely.  The next thing to do is read, audition, borrow and attend sessions with the community and learn how a particular brand or type of speaker sounds considering the type of amp used with a particular speaker.

With patience and perseverance you may be able to acquire the amp or speaker that you  prefer without changing in the next one year or so (but not absolutely guaranteed .....  ). In that way spending is controlled......

Just sharing my experience in this hobby.

[tony]

it pays to visit other member's set ups, find one that makes your ears happy and does not burn a deep hole in your pocket, if looking for a bang to the buck set-up....

pero if you are very rich with lots of moolah, then go ahead and splurge, no law against that......