400 watts to a 200 watt speaker?

[silver98]

How? A clean but crappy sounding CD is of no more danger to the speakers than a well mastered one. The only issue is the spectrum of the overloaded signal. The speakers certainly don't know the quality of the source.

I do not speak here of the CD's quality, but the CD transport/DAC or CD player. I would submit that a better mastered CD sounds true-er to real life, its effect on the speaker is mainly insignificant.


All things being equal this is not my experience at all. Having heard and sold dozens of brands of amps I have always found that a manufacturer's lower powered units, all things being equal, are better sounding than their higher powered units. A perfect case is the ML-2 at 25 wpc versus ML-3 at 200 wpc. YMMV

I won't challenge your experience and would submit that a higher power amp, with inherent more headroom will provide a better sound at a moderate SPL than a lower power amp at the same SPL.

When all is said and done, what sounds best to your ears is always the best, irrespective of power or price.

Now go drop a favorite song on your source and relax and enjoy the music. If you must, pour a glass of your favorite single malt, turn the lights down low, and lose yourself in the sound. It is after all, what its all about. Salute'