Amp.. the bigger the better?

[zysth]

Hi guys.. i read somewhere that amps sound best when the volume is turn to about half to 3/4.. does that mean that having a 30w amp in a small room and keeping its volume down is worse than having a 15w amp but volume up??

 

[thor666]

depends. in general, if u turned only 1 on your volume, it's unlikely to sound good. that's the concept with the "turn past half" idea.

many other factors come into play - 15W are usually fitted with 8" speakers, while 30W and above tend to sport 10"/12" speakers. The speaker size, the circuitry, and the design/construction of the amp make it too difficult to pintpoint whether a specific amp sounds better than the other in theory.

 

[ShredCow]

Also, to add on, its usually Tube (FULL tube) amps that require you to have them pumped to a certain level before the tubes will saturate fully or what not.

 

[zysth]

a 15w n a 30w of the same model would only differ mainly in volume?

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

u need a 150w amp to make the sounds sound twice as loud as a 15w amp... so actually a 15w ans 30w amp has very lil dif in terms of volume

 

[theblueark]

u need a 150w amp to make the sounds sound twice as loud as a 15w amp... so actually a 15w ans 30w amp has very lil dif in terms of volume

Mathematically speaking yes. But different amps are built differently. Volume is largely based on speaker efficiency. There are some 15W amps that can be twice as loud as other 15W amps.

 

[subversion]

Hi guys.. i read somewhere that amps sound best when the volume is turn to about half to 3/4.. does that mean that having a 30w amp in a small room and keeping its volume down is worse than having a 15w amp but volume up??

volume plays a vital part when it's a tube unit (like shredcow mentioned), cranking it up ensures your tubes contribute markedly to the amp's performance. if it's a solid state unit, turn up th volume to your liking, doesn't make much diff if it's cranked or restrained, unless your driver (speaker) is the type which adds drive at increased volume.

 

[lppier]

The more important difference between 15w and 30w is the speaker cone size, IMO. A larger speaker cone allows for a fuller sound (usually).

Pier.