Of course, the only problem with a paper assessment such as this is will one get 100 dB SPL across the full bandwidth of which the loudspeakers are capable, playing actual music, and -- if so -- for how long before thermal shut-down or other, similar sequelae?
I mean... maybe...
This being said, I fully (!) support the notion that 50 watts is a lot with loudspeakers of any reasonable level of sensitivity (and non-sadistic impedance and phase curves).
Time for math. I need to just keep this post in my clipboard for every time these claims are made. The claims are made in good faith, and sound reasonable, but don't stand up to scrutiny. That said, I will concede this state is accurate perhaps during 80% of listening time. That said, these amps would start clipping on my roughly 87dB floor standers at around 96dB at the listening position. That's not exactly a lot. Y'all need to keep in mind the 6dB/m decay from the speakers, and that you do NOT get to use doubling for stereo sources, as you do for monophonic bass. If something is mixed full left, you need to play it all with one speaker.
Maths: 87dB/1W/1M --> 2M=80dB. 3M=77(ish)dB. Let's start there, then, for what we really get out of a watt.
That watt is also all I get for average volume with these amps on
some material. At a 77dB average, they're spent. According to one study, that's roughly the background noise in an average "modern" restaurant. But why are they done? Ideally, I would have 20dB of headroom in reserve for various symphonic tracks. That drains the amp entirely, since that's 100W into 4R. On music with less dynamics, I might be able to squeeze out an 87dB average. Still, this is not sufficient to reproduce a piano playing full tilt. With inefficient (or, perhaps, normal efficiency these days) speakers, the amps cannot put any instrument "in the room" at "real" level short of a violin. They might get you a bass drum, but there's nothing left for the rest of the band. They can't even do the singing in a church service on that speaker. According to the journal
Noise Health, Catholics apparently average around 90dB and Pentecostals will crank it up to 95dB. In a choir performance, the pews near the chorus were hit with 104dB peaks. The conductor got 110. The organist got 105. That might get compressed a bit when put to tape, but not enough to avoid clipping if you want "front row" seats (or you want to re-live singing
Carmina Burana).
With small amps, you either need much more efficient speakers, or need to be one of the many audiophiles who listens at chamber music levels. Many of you apparently do fall into one of these categories, but for those who do not do so all the time, flea amps are not appropriate. (In the 86dB 4 ohm speaker era, 100W/4R is a flea amp, since it is the equivalent of a roughly 10W/8R amp in the 96dB, 8 ohm era.) All of this is why, at least in my view, 400W into 4 ohms is not at all unreasonable. That's another 6dB for the
average level, which is still only 4 watts.
Moreover, many people will use the B100 for bookshelf speakers. With a couple of exceptions (e.g., KEF Reference One), most bookshelf speakers will be exhibiting high levels of distortion and high compression by the time the power limit of the B100 amplifier is reached, and should not be played that loud.
Untrue. Many bookshelf speakers will happily handle momentary peaks of well over 100W. Revel M106, March Sointuva, Polk R200... Recommended amps are often 200W or more, and speakers will take way more, particular with subs and a crossover, since the limit is almost always woofer bottoming and /or voicecoil heating from bass. And with with sensitivities often well down in the 83dB to 86dB range, bookshelf speakers can easily be power starved at high volume with 100W. Don't think for a minute just because you have bookshelf speakers that a small amp can drive them to full output. It can't, unless they've very cheap or very efficient. Power compression is just barely setting in at 103dB on the Sointuva, at which point a 100W amp is clipping.
Again, small amps are not for the "bookshelf" crowd. They're for the "never turn it up to 11" and "horn speaker" crowd, regardless of speaker type. And that may well be a lot of people. Great amp, but not for everyone.
