[Eeyore]

Woody wrote:

wrote in message
...
If all (properly designed) amps sound the same, how do I decide which
amp to buy?

Is it just a case of choosing one with sufficient power output and how
do I determine this?

It largely depends on the efficiency of your loudspeakers, the type of
music to which you listen and (perhaps to a lesser extent) how loud you
like to listen to it and the size of your listening room .

If you had very efficient speakers - like Lowther PM6 units - with a
sensitivity of 92dB/W or thereabouts you could probably get away with
10Wper channel. If they were/are more like the efficiency of a few
modern units at, say, 82dB/W then by that process you would need
100W/channel to achieve the same sound level - 10dB being a factor of 10
times in terms of power. Given that many speakers are around 86-88dB/W
then an amp of the order of something like 25-40W per channel is about
right. You should have no difficulty finding an amp within that power in
this range - look at those by NAD, Cambridge, Marantz, Denon,
Harmon-Kardon, Sony, and Yamaha as examples, with www.richersounds.co.uk
being a good starting web site.

However do not be afraid to buy an amp of greater power - which actually
you may find easier to do. You are unlikely to damage your speakers with
too much power - you will hear the effects (usually 'cracking' on music
peaks) long before you do them any damage - but it is very easy to blow
them (specifically the tweeters) by having an underpowered amp and
turning the wick up too much. (If you want an explanation of how this
can happen just ask.)

Above all, if you listen to music that requires details - such as
classical or jazz, as against heavy metal or rock - then do try to at
least listen to the amp in the shop before you buy it. Although they are
all designed to achieve the same sonic end they do sound different.

--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com