[net.audio] info wanted on monster amps

wab@reed.UUCP (Baker) (09/26/83)

	I adhere to the "spend half on the speakers" theory of
system construction.  I started out by paying $300 for an old
pair of Speakerlab 7's, then spending another $250 for a
decent cartridge-turtable-amp combination.  It sounds great, but
I can't get the volume control past 9 o'clock without
shaking the apartment building I live in.
	When I had this system set up in a place where I could
play it loud without fear of complaints, I encountered an odd
problem.  When played at a sound level above normal but
below the point of distortion, the midrange drowned out the
bass.  The Speakerlab people said that my modest amp (32 watts)
just didn't have the power to drive the woofers.  I can
understand that since these have a 10" and a 12" woofer per
cabinet, but I don't understand why.  Is there any way I
can get decent sound at high volume from my system without
paying out the major bucks to buy a big amplifier?  If I must,
what price range am I looking at for a 200+ watt amp.  Is
it worth it to pay for the ritzy names like Hafler or Carver,
or could I, as someone more interested in monster sound without
distortion than precise imaging, survive with less
thoroughbred machinery?  I haven't seen much in net.audio about
the big guns of a stereo rack.

					Bill Baker
					!tektronix!reed!wab