Big or little....

No, this is a few extra watts

MC2KW
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=amplifiers&ProductId=MC2KW

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Please don't try to describe quality in terms of quantity, they are two completely different things.

30 watts is much larger than a 3 watt amp some folks love, and 1200 watts is is just as large in the other direction as compared to a 130 watt amp. But neither extreme describes the accuracy or quality they produce. Just because one is small or large doesn't describe how well it performs. You just are making assumptions. Does a 300 hp engine coming in the form a super charged 4 cylinder 2 liter engine capable of the same performance as a large 9 liter 6 cylinder diesel engine in a 40,000 lb bus. Of course not.

Lets say a 30 watt amp has 90 db signal to noise and .1 % distortion. How quiet would 300 watt amp be to equal the smaller amp. It would have to be rated at 100 db. In addition to costing more to create 300 watts it will cost significantly more to gain those extra 10 db of quietness. Lets say you are using 1 watt driving Klipsch speakers which is concert level. and your 300 watt amp is driving a Bose 901. Well 300 watts won't be enough and the distortion will be much higher. So what have you gained, nothing you have lost. The 30 watt amp has over 14 db of extra power left for peaks. You would need al most 8000 watts to create the same level from your Bose speaker. How does that work for you.

I don't attend to offend, but quantity has never described quality. Just because one blonde person weighs 110 lbs and another weighs 110 lbs makes them almost identical in every other respect. One could be beautiful and female, the other ugly and male.

Never assume power is the ultimate answer. Its not.
 
My speakers are B&W DM10,s 1981 replaced 6Uf Caps...BI pol

B&W make quite inefficient speakers,

87dB / 1W / 1M for yours.

You cannot use a 3-10W amp with this, or only if you listen pretty close and at low levels.
 
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What are you Fav Vintage lower Watt amps up to 50 watt and want are the best years for innovation in sound design.....
 
I like tube amps that uses a tube rectifier, a recent design of tube amp that I am interested to and use tube rectifiers (2) in is the Raphaelite CP65,

But there is also the older designs like the Dynaco ST-70 and ST-120 in this power range

Those last two requieres a preamp if you don't take the attenuator option, and they have electric conductive parts on the edge, I feel like with this option, you better to use the cage to cover them from accidental contacts.

Lower power may not suits the power needs (Requierements) of your B&W speakers.
 
All of the B&Ws I've had liked lots of clean watts. They didn't sound bad with lower watt amps but really came to life with higher wattage.
 
All of the B&Ws I've had liked lots of clean watts. They didn't sound bad with lower watt amps but really came to life with higher wattage.

Just curious by what you mean by higher watts? Would a 100WPC vintage stereo amp do the trick, or should I be looking at a Crown XLS1502 150WPC monster?

I'm looking to put dad's B&W DM16 speakers back into action so these are what I'm considering. There's not a huge difference in price between a vintage Denon PMA-777 and the Crown XLS1502.... I suspect the Denon would be smoother and more musical though the Crown has insane power. The auto on / off is of interest there too. Alternatively a vintage Nakamichi RE10 reciever might fit the bill....
 
Just curious by what you mean by higher watts? Would a 100WPC vintage stereo amp do the trick, or should I be looking at a Crown XLS1502 150WPC monster?

I'm looking to put dad's B&W DM16 speakers back into action so these are what I'm considering. There's not a huge difference in price between a vintage Denon PMA-777 and the Crown XLS1502.... I suspect the Denon would be smoother and more musical though the Crown has insane power. The auto on / off is of interest there too. Alternatively a vintage Nakamichi RE10 reciever might fit the bill....

I would imagine total wattage wouldn't matter as much as a more solid power supply that can deliver all the watts you want cleanly. Most B&Ws seem to dip pretty low in certain spots of the frequency range (my 804s dip down into the high 3s IIRC) and you need an amp that doesn't mind the dips.
I've heard a few pairs on a 75 watt Audio Research tube integrated that sounded absolutely great.
 
Hi Gents , if you have a 30W and 130W amp which would sound better at say no.4 on the Volume Knob......?do they put better parts inside the large Amps.....

is it like a Big V8 ilding and sounding great or a Fiat 500 reving the nutsoff inside trying to sound the same as the large Amp....

any thoughts.......matt.

Sure there is something to be said for headroom if you like to go loud with less distortion.
But then again what did Paul Klipsch say it's the first watt that counts.

Best-

Boozehound
 
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