[[email protected]]

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,

No. Think of the volume knob as a valve. While the position of
the valve handle does determine, to some extent, how much
water flows through, it's also dependent upon the water
pressure itself. Imagine having the valve all the way open, but
with no wtare pressure behind it. Result: no water. Now, close
the valve almost all the way up, but put a low ot water pressure
behind it, and you'll get a lot of water out.

The same with your volume control. Turn it all the way up, but
don't play any music. How much power is your stereo putting
out Very, very little, if any. Now, put your volume control down
to 1/3, and play a loud CD: your amplifier is putting out MUCH
more power than it did in the first example.

Basically, if you don't even touch the volume control, the
amount of power your amplifier is putting out can vary
hugely from one instant to the next.

am I always using less than 12 watts?

Probably, because with most speaker, 12 watts is pretty
loud.

But it's not because the volume control is at a certain position:
it's becaus ethe combination of all the factors, volume position,
the type of music and the instantaneous level of the music, etc.,
make it so.