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Can 10 watts of Class A really drive speakers?

Emmbee

Emmbee

Well-Known Member
I've been looking into upgrading to an amp capable of class A output.
Some amps have high normal wattage but quite low "Class A" output. Can 10 watts of class A really drive speakers? Is class A even worth the extra expense? I have a friend who swears no normal amp can compete with class A for solid state sound quality.
 
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It depends entirely on the speakers, of course. Anything over ~90dB sensitivity with a good 10W will be enough to impress people that think you can't get anything out of 10W, but if you're looking to approach live dynamics you'll need a whole lot more sensitivity, say 105dB+.
 
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This is a Klipschorn. At 10watts it could probably turn your body into liquid.
 
dumptruck said:
but if you're looking to approach live dynamics you'll need a whole lot more sensitivity, say 105dB+.
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Agreed, and that 104 / 105 db figure puts it firmly in horn territory. There are quite a few around, but those are generally really bulky and expensive.

Real Class A Solid State amps are very inneficient at power transfer, and thus run very hot, dissipating a lot of power as heat. However I, too, believe Class A makes for the best sounding Solid State amps.
 
RamblinE said:
31YggT633IL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


This is a Klipschorn. At 10watts it could probably turn your body into liquid.
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You beat me to it. I grew up in a house with those and I know just how loud those suckers can get with minimal power used:yes:

J.R.
 
Emmbee said:
Hmmm... My ADS L810 are rated at 93db and my EPI 100's at 89 db.
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I have a little 8wpc tube amp. At 89db you can get great near field performance out of that amp, but not room filling sound :(

The 93db ADS speakers could be worth a try though.
 
Many A+A/B amplifiers are Class A up to a watt or two. A watt or two can play at a reasonable level. Listen carefully to your amplifier at low volumes and see if you like the sound quality.

An amplifier badged as "Class-A" just means that the amplifier output transistors are conducting all the way through the waveform up until clipping. A Class A+A/B amplifier will also allow the transistors to keep conducting all the way through the waveform, just not to high output levels.
 
My friend has an accuphase a-20 (20 wpc Class A) that he uses to drive his Thiel 2.2s. Room is probably 15 by 20. Sounds AMAZING with plenty of juice.
 
Yes, I have a little class A 5 watt max 6AQ5 amp I use to listen to in my basement workbench. Also have a Audition 50c5 radio (less then 1 watt) that is plenty loud enough.
 
I have a 30' rec room and had 86 db/w speakers ( I recently replaced them). Very satisfying sound can be achieved before I needed to switch my meters out of the 2w range. So certianly 10 wpc will drive your speakers to moderate levels. 20 wpc is all I need in my townhome. The clipping lights on my 100 wpc amp will likely never be used. If I was serious about Loud, I would have purchased those Altec Lansing Model 19's on the other side of town when they came up for sale, I dam near bought them anyway just to look at, what an impresive speaker!

As far as class A sounding much better than a good class A/B it depends on the design. There are some very good, and very expensive Class A/B amps out there.
 
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If you like to crank your tunes or listen to really dynamic recordings, then that's probably not going to suffice for your speakers. If you listen at lower levels, then no problem. Or get more efficient speakers, or just don't worry about class A.

Frankly though, if you are seriously considering Class A solid state, I'd recommend considering a good tube amp instead.
 
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Monarchy is selling their 25 wpc class A amp for $580 right now. It usually goes for about a grand. Check out their site. I have two of these amps. 40wpc in 4ohm.
 
I have a Yamaha CA-2010 pushing NS-690 speakers (90 dB efficiency).

The 2010 does Class A up to 30W, but with the power meter hovering around 10W, it's actually difficult to be in the same room with them. I rarely listen to them above 5W.

I bought the 2010 for the 30W of class A power (it goes to 130W in class AB), and that's plenty of power.
 
jimfet said:
Monarchy is selling their 25 wpc class A amp for $580 right now. It usually goes for about a grand. Check out their site. I have two of these amps. 40wpc in 4ohm.
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A pal had those, extremely good sound with a variety of speakers, some high efficiency and some not.
 
Some of us at AK have built and use the Pass F6 amp. Some users have set aside or sold their tube amps in favor of the F5, it is that good. Don't know if embee lives close to Sir Byrd but he has a very nice example of this amp and and maybe a listening session could be arranged.
My Altec Model 19 components are driven to very adequate level with just two watts.
Edit: Wow, I looked again and embee is in Westbrook ME, about as far away from Seattle as one can get, sorry about that, the virus is messing with my mind.:sigh:
Here's Six Moon's review of the F5
 
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