I really NEED a 100 watt amp!

Sage advice from DIY amp site ax84.com:

I'll give you the obligatory speech about watts VS. volume so that you don't get all caught up in the 100+ watts thing.

The way that watts translate into decibels is in powers of 10. That being the case, if you want to do twice as loud, you need to go 10x higher in wattage. The difference in volume between 100W and 50W is actually only 12% less or so. HALF the volume of 100W is actually 10 watts, and TWICE the volume of 100w is actually 1,000 Watts. And when is the last time you played a 100W amp on a setting higher then 3 on the volume without everyone screaming to turn it down!

Now, after you have digested that, we can move along to the next part...

Speaker efficiency is also key to volume. That curve is also not linear. If you take 2 otherwise identical speakers, one with a sensitivity rating of 103dB, and one with a rating of 100dB, that -3dB drop is the equivalent of sending half the power into the speakers... like moving from a 100W amp to a 50W amp, or about a 12% drop in volume.

Now, if you move from the 103dB speaker to a 97dB speaker that is otherwise identical, that -6dB drop is like moving from a 100W amp to a 25W amp. That being the case, a 25W amp played through 103dB speakers is exactly as loud as a 100W amp being played through 97dB speakers.

OK, digest that for a second and then we'll move on.

Last week, I played a 35W amp on full blast (but not clipping) through a Marshall 4x12" cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's, which have a sensitivity of 100dB. I took out a sound pressure level meter and put it 10 feet away from the speakers. The 35W amp produced a clean power level of 117dB, which is only 3dB quieter than an airplane landing.

With all that in mind, you should decide on whether you really want to go with the added expense, weight, maintenance and extra wiring that a 100w amp requires.

-Aletheian-Alex

Thanks, Alex - I wish I'd said that.

[TJH]

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