I also have an interest in this particular thing of "preconceived notions about what amp can drive what speakers". Will it be the same experiential result if a 'low powered amp is cranked up' -to match the output of a- 'high powered amp in moderate volume'? Will the quality of output be the same in both cases?
while this has been discussed before, i will quickly and hopefully succinctly try to put it in context.
doubling of audio power output to a pair of speakers, will give a sound pressure level increase of 3db. this 3db is the minimum reliably noticeable difference in sound levels that the human ear can perceive.
so double power, gives a
just noticeable increase in volume. to double perceived volume you need an increase of 10dB, which require 10 times the power. (10w = double the volume of 1w; all other things being equal)
Now in the context of the statement that i disputed, we were talking about a 80w receiver and saying that it is not powerful enough to drive a pair of towers; and a ~100w receiver is better. Now 1.25 times the power is 1db; which would be not noticeable. that was the first part of the generalisation that i contested.
the second generalisation is that tower speakers need more power. now most towers
can handle more power. but equally, becuase of nature of box alignment and the drivers used, tower (esp 2.5 ways- because of reduced bsc requirements) tend to be more efficient that bookshelves. now remember what I said about dBs and power. so if a tower is 3db/w per efficient; you actually need 1/2 the power to drive it. that is the second part of the generalisation that i disputed
the point that needed to be made was more about amp musicality. and how for music a stereo works much better. but that's subjective and not one that one can generalise about either
the other other day, an FM member was over and we played a pair of medium efficiency towers (88db/w/m) with a 10w amp. and in my 300sq.ft+ hall, it was pretty loud enough for anything but a dance party.
hope this clarifies
