amplifier power rating

cronnin

New member
OK, I'm a bit confused about that.
MArshall 50W amlifier has two EL84 tubes(at power stage) rated at 6w each.

I've also heard some Hi-Fi tube audio amplifiers labeled at 2-5W pounding like a solid state 20W to the max? (audio level)

What am I overseeing here? :)
 
Re: amplifier power rating

OK, I'm a bit confused about that.
MArshall 50W amlifier has two EL84 tubes(at power stage) rated at 6w each.

I've also heard some Hi-Fi tube audio amplifiers labeled at 2-5W pounding like a solid state 20W to the max? (audio level)

What am I overseeing here? :)

Those are EL 34's....more like 20-30 watts each.
 
Re: amplifier power rating

I think you are a bit confused.
Most Marshall 50 watt amps use 2x el-34 tubes, not el-84. An el-84 is a 6 watt tube.
el-34 tubes are rated at either 25 watts, or el-34Ls tubes which are 30 watters.
 
Re: amplifier power rating

Sorry man, you were right...I mistaken 34 for 84....those are exactly 2x25w output tubes.

But what about Hi-Fi audio equipement?
 
Re: amplifier power rating

I don't know about hi-fi.....but a 15 watt tube amp will usually walk all over a 30 watt solid state, volumewise.
 
Re: amplifier power rating

as for the volume differences, a tube amp at a given power rating is typically quite a bit louder than a solid state amp of the same power rating. the general consensus is that at the same power rating, a tube amplifier will be roughly twice as loud as a solid state amplifier. just the nature of the design.
 
Re: amplifier power rating

But what about Hi-Fi audio equipement?

as for the volume differences, a tube amp at a given power rating is typically quite a bit louder than a solid state amp of the same power rating. the general consensus is that at the same power rating, a tube amplifier will be roughly twice as loud as a solid state amplifier. just the nature of the design.

Sorta . . . not exactly. :)

In a guitar amplifier, this is true. Thats because, both tube and SS amps are rated the same way. Max power before clipping. But in a guitar amp, you generally operate a tube amp well beyond clipping. Thus, the actual power output can be much greater than its "rated" power. In an SS amp, you don't want to clip it. Thus, its rated power is, in fact, its rated power. Even less actually, because you need some headroom.

In Hi-fi equipment, they should be the same. You don't want a hi-fi tube amp to clip. So 50 watts of tube and 50 watts of SS are identical.

Make sense?
 
Re: amplifier power rating

I was thinking more something ilke this :
http://www.sonofield.com/

Go click: Products: Power amplifiers: 300BFM SIGNATURE model

It has an 8W of power in a 43lbs amplifier!
And by the way its only 2800$ :)
 
Re: amplifier power rating

Yes! Thats exactly what I was talking about....
HiFi Home Stereo audio amlifiers weighting 100 pounds, costing thousands of dollars and having only 2-5 watts!
Whats the catch...are those the same watts as on the guitar SS amlifier?
NO way...I've seen one rated at 1,6W....who the hell would give a 3000$ for a 1,6 watts amplifier! Where to use it...on your headphones? :)
 
Re: amplifier power rating

Sorta . . . not exactly. :)

In a guitar amplifier, this is true. Thats because, both tube and SS amps are rated the same way. Max power before clipping. But in a guitar amp, you generally operate a tube amp well beyond clipping. Thus, the actual power output can be much greater than its "rated" power. In an SS amp, you don't want to clip it. Thus, its rated power is, in fact, its rated power. Even less actually, because you need some headroom.

In Hi-fi equipment, they should be the same. You don't want a hi-fi tube amp to clip. So 50 watts of tube and 50 watts of SS are identical.

Make sense?

ahh, thanks for pointing that out, that's one thing that i completely overlooked :)
 
Re: amplifier power rating

Whats the catch...are those the same watts as on the guitar SS amlifier?

In this case . . . yes.

....who the hell would give a 3000$ for a 1,6 watts amplifier!

The same folks who would spend $300/ft for speaker wire or $1500 for a replacement AC cord. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not knocking those people . . . just answering your question.

I have friends who think I'm nuts for spending $15 on a single bottle of beer. Its simply about personal enjoyment.
 
Re: amplifier power rating

your ear doesnt hear watts .. it hears sound pressure level ... and it is extremely frequency dependent too ... you have to investigate everything in the chain between the power amp and your ears before you make a comment about loudness ... namely, speaker design / efficiency / placement / construction / etc ...

that little amp can put you out of the room if hooked up to the right speakers and could lead to permanent deafness in headphones

listen with yoru ears, not your eyes
 
Re: amplifier power rating

In this case . . . yes.



The same folks who would spend $300/ft for speaker wire or $1500 for a replacement AC cord. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not knocking those people . . . just answering your question.

I have friends who think I'm nuts for spending $15 on a single bottle of beer. Its simply about personal enjoyment.

No, I'm not blaming anyone, I'm thinking the same way. Dont think one can get chiep and quality stuff. It always comes around....when you plug it in :)
Or when the pot falls off :)
Its unbeliveable how low quality guitar cables make noise!
Be sure to always get high quality cables people.


So, to conclude....that 2W of Yamamoto can produce same ammout of sound pressure like (for example) 15W Marshall MG, depending on the system preferneces.

How does speaker sensibility reffers to that... 86dB..90dB...what do you get when connecting them to those 2W Yamamoto amplifier?
 
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