All I can think of is noise and crossover distortion. And the latter is only of concern with class AB.Is there evidence that measuring at 1W would reveal something that 5W does not? Most importantly, are there situations an amp would measure well at 5W but not at 1W?
Yeah, I'm a wild man, what can I say‽ Dude, crank it up!So profligate. I'm usually around 20mW. Go ahead, burn down the planet!!!
At the first watt, I'm pushing close to 106db so yes ! The first 100mw are very important ! So is the actual noise-floor. With very sensitive speakers, the noise floor can hide micro-dynamics...A bunch of opinions, albeit not uninformed ones.
1) I think that the first watt is important in real life even for modern, average reproduction chains (i.e., the glut of modern, low-sensitivity loudspeakers).
2) I think the trick is mostly noise down in the low-output
3) I think folks are even more noise-obsessed now than they were 20 years ago (which I find a bit ironic).
4) I think it is really unfortunate that the proliferation of RFI 'hash' from modern technology has led to both real and imagined noise issues in audio reproduction.
5) I think that the obsession with power conditioning and esoteric power and audio cables is driven, to a significant extent, by the added noise of RFI and digital signal processing artifacts (irrespective of the low level of particularly the latter).
6) I think that y'all'll likely disagree relatively vehemently with me on some, perhaps all of these items!
(actually, I am pretty sure about number 6)
bonus opinion
7) For those of us troglodytes (mancave-dwellers, if you will ) using (very) high-sensitivity loudspeakers, the first 100 mW is important (and, perhaps, even the most important)!
Yes; hopefully you can put your ear to the horn like the RCA dog and not hear anything.At the first watt, I'm pushing close to 106db so yes ! The first 100mw are very important ! So is the actual noise-floor. With very sensitive speakers, the noise floor can hide micro-dynamics...
Roundabout 104 dB here.At the first watt, I'm pushing close to 106db so yes ! The first 100mw are very important ! So is the actual noise-floor. With very sensitive speakers, the noise floor can hide micro-dynamics...
Hopefully, the noise floor is well below the 100mw level ! LOL !Yes; hopefully you can put your ear to the horn like the RCA dog and not hear anything.
At my normal listening level, the horns get about 20mW signal.Hopefully, the noise floor is well below the 100mw level ! LOL !
The issue is a little bit more subtle. There is a "problem" with measuring power amp output using single tone sine waves. Music is not a single tone sine wave. The important difference is in the crest factor. Single tone sine waves has a crest factor of 3 dB, which means the V_peak is 1.414 * V_rms. Music typically has a crest factor of >12 dB (see below), which means when outputting the same average power, V_peak is >4 * V_rms.
The implication is that, if you are listening to music at the 80 dB SPL at 1 W average power (as in your earlier example), your amplifier will need to have the voltage output capability to produce an equivalent of >8 W when tested with a single tone sine wave. Add another 10 dB headroom for program peaks, and you will need an amplifier capable of delivery unclipped power of >80 W (as measured with single tone sine waves) when your listening level only requires an average power of 1 W.
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Hopefully not fading out to a higher level noise floor !Roundabout 104 dB here.
While we're on the subject -- I think one of the more salient (if non-dramatic) manifestations of the value of high-sensitivity loudspeakers is the way that fadeouts retain their cohesiveness, even at very low volume levels.