Question Why does more powerful amp sound quieter?

nostalgiatune

Novice Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Age
29
Location
Finland
Why does more powerful stereo amplifier sound quieter? I switched from naim nait 5i (50wpc @ 8 ohms) to roksan k3 (140 wpc @ 8 ohms). Both being awesome amps, roksan has more spacious, breathing and full-bodied sound. However, it also sounds relatively quieter than naim. Naim volume knob set at 9 o'clock was loud, but roksan at 12 o'clock sounds relatively as loud. Why is that, even thought roksan provides 3x the rms power of that of naim? Is it because of more spacious sound?
 
How the gain is applied across the range of movement on the volume dial is not necessarily the same. The more powerful amp will go louder before starting to distort, don’t attempt to draw any significance or comparison from the position of the volume dial. Also distortion can make things sound louder than they really are so it’s easy to push the volume higher and not realise quite how loud you’ve got, when distortion is absent.
 
Last edited:
Yep, different amp manufacturers use different volume controls. Some need turning up further for the same volume, but they give you finer control at lower settings. As DT79 says, it's the point at which the amp starts going into distortion (a kind called clipping, where it doesn't have the power to reproduce the signal any more) that tells you what an amp can do, not the position on the volume knob.

Also, the real benefit of more power is rarely in making the music go louder - I'm sure your lower powered Naim will go plenty loud enough. The real benefit is in having the headroom to respond quickly to transients in the music. So a more powerful amp will often sound more dynamic and responsive than a less powerful one, at the same volume. I suspect what you describe as the "more spacious, breathing and full-bodied sound" of the Roksan is indeed partly due to its greater power.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom