[Walt]

eponymous cowherd wrote:
I am thinking about buying a new amp and would like to know how much
power I need. My current amp is rated at 25 watts and I never put the
volume knob past the 1/3 point and I never have problems playing music
LOUD enough. Is the power usage proportional to the volume knob
position, am I always using less than 12 watts?

No and Probably.


A hot input can drive an amp to full power even with the volume knob at
1/3rd. A low input can be so weak as to not drive it to full power even
with the knob at full.

Volume knobs (pots actualy) usually have a logarithmic taper, not a
linear taper. This means the same degree of turn produces the same gain
in dB at 9 oclock as at 12 oclock. 12 watts is 3 db less than 25 watts.
If you go with a 50 watt amp, you'll be able to play 3db louder.

//Walt