Dear Dr. Nelson Pass

Professor smith · 27th March 2010, 04:15 PM

Dr. pass,

I have a question for you and that is why so many hifi amps including some of yours are designed with such high power outputs given that most modern speakers are efficient and only require say 50 watts at most to deliver a reasonable level of sound?

I feel that there might be some good reasons for this, can you explain this?

trd1587 · 27th March 2010, 05:06 PM

thd is at lower point near you speakers operating range? (0-50 watts?)

my guess......
Sorry Mr. Pass

wakibaki · 27th March 2010, 05:12 PM

Professor smith

If you are going to claim professorial status, then IMO you should reveal your true identity especially if you intend to correspond with a public figure and draw attention to his professional status in such a public fashion. To add insult to injury, you have misspelled his name.

w

BobEllis · 27th March 2010, 05:27 PM

It's about peak to average levels. If your listening level is 1W average, and there is a peak 20 dB above average, that's 100W needed. A 50W amp would be severely clipped trying to keep up.

Not that most speakers can handle 110 dB peaks, but at least the distortion won't be from your amp if you have plenty of power. Not to mention less chance of damaging your tweeters with the extra high frequency energy produced by clipping.

[rant] Much popular music is terribly compressed. Watching the levels on many songs by major pop names like Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones and many others' recent recordings, the meters seem to hang between 0 db (clipping) and -2 dB rarely venturing south. If that's your musical preference, you can use a 50W amp quite comfortably because there won't really be any peaks to worry about. Take a look at the levels of your recording before thinking that the system sounds bad. [/rant]

Nelson Pass · 27th March 2010, 05:56 PM

His first name would be Zacchary

and I am not a doctor, although I play one on TV.

To answer the question, I sell what people want. Many of them
want more power. Of those, some need it, some might think
they need it later if not now, and some don't need it.

shaan · 27th March 2010, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nelson Pass

I sell what people want. Many of them
want more power. Of those, some need it, some might think
they need it later if not now, and some don't need it.

Pro!

Saw that Mr. Smith?
Even to ask, there is a lot to know before we do.

intouch1 · 27th March 2010, 08:02 PM

there's no replacement for displacement.....be it litres or watts...

Zen Mod · 27th March 2010, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intouch1

there's no replacement for displacement.....be it litres or watts...

Gyuri · 27th March 2010, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor smith

Dr. pass,

According to me if we want to provoke our good Papa,
we call him a guru rather, than for a doctor.

Wacky Gyuri

wahab · 27th March 2010, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nelson Pass

and I am not a doctor, although I play one on TV.

Not sure, Nelson...
Doctor is the higher degree in universities..
A master + 3 years to sustain an original research thesis..
An engineer that has a long practice can undoubtly be
granted a doctor degree based on his career track...

27th March 2010, 04:15 PM	#1
Professor smith Banned Join Date: Sep 2008	Dear Dr. Nelson Pass Dr. pass, I have a question for you and that is why so many hifi amps including some of yours are designed with such high power outputs given that most modern speakers are efficient and only require say 50 watts at most to deliver a reasonable level of sound? I feel that there might be some good reasons for this, can you explain this?

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27th March 2010, 05:06 PM	#2
trd1587 diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Thurso, Quebec, Canada	thd is at lower point near you speakers operating range? (0-50 watts?) my guess...... Sorry Mr. Pass

27th March 2010, 05:12 PM	#3
wakibaki Banned Join Date: Jan 2008 Blog Entries: 2	Professor smith If you are going to claim professorial status, then IMO you should reveal your true identity especially if you intend to correspond with a public figure and draw attention to his professional status in such a public fashion. To add insult to injury, you have misspelled his name. w

27th March 2010, 05:27 PM	#4
BobEllis diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Upstate NY	It's about peak to average levels. If your listening level is 1W average, and there is a peak 20 dB above average, that's 100W needed. A 50W amp would be severely clipped trying to keep up. Not that most speakers can handle 110 dB peaks, but at least the distortion won't be from your amp if you have plenty of power. Not to mention less chance of damaging your tweeters with the extra high frequency energy produced by clipping. [rant] Much popular music is terribly compressed. Watching the levels on many songs by major pop names like Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones and many others' recent recordings, the meters seem to hang between 0 db (clipping) and -2 dB rarely venturing south. If that's your musical preference, you can use a 50W amp quite comfortably because there won't really be any peaks to worry about. Take a look at the levels of your recording before thinking that the system sounds bad. [/rant]

27th March 2010, 05:56 PM	#5
Nelson Pass The one and only Join Date: Mar 2001	His first name would be Zacchary and I am not a doctor, although I play one on TV. To answer the question, I sell what people want. Many of them want more power. Of those, some need it, some might think they need it later if not now, and some don't need it.

27th March 2010, 08:02 PM	#7
intouch1 diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2009	there's no replacement for displacement.....be it litres or watts...

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