Re: Wattage and Volume

In message <dr7v01$fka$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Larry Shaw <larry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes 
Back in the days.... there was 'Gentlemans agreement' that amp's would have
their ratings quoted at 0.1%THD - trouble is then - not many amps could
manage 0.1%THD unless they were 'hi-fi' amps - I think it was either 'Leak'
or 'Quad' that actually brought out an amp called a 'Point One Plus' because
they were so proud......

I think that was Leak?, I used to have a Leak Stereo 70, a great little amp - I've used it as a disco amp, and it also had guitar played through it (VERY successfully) more than once.

So who is going to be the first to explain 'Loudness' my old Selmer T&B 50SV
is percieved as a hellish loud amp with guitar... But can't compete with a
lead player through a little Laney 15W . Lets see: 3Db output change anode
current increase of  x^2 and gives a percieved....... ZZZzzzzz. - I fell
asleep

Quite simply valve amps sound louder because they are massively over driven and highly distorted - and distortion sounds louder than a clean sound.

You can't do the same with a transistor amp because the distortion is odd harmonics (valve is even harmonics), odd harmonic distortion sounds HORRIBLE, and you obviously turn it down to a sensible level.
--
Nigel.

        /------------------------------------------------------------\
        | Nigel Goodwin   | E-Mail  : nigelg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx          |
        | Lower Pilsley   | Website : http://www.lpilsley.co.uk      |
        | Chesterfield    |          Author of WinPicProg            |
        | England         |       http://www.winpicprog.co.uk        |
        \------------------------------------------------------------/
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Triode Preamp Distortion
    ... For example - watts are watts - and yet take a 20 watt tube amp ... So can sound pressure. ... That is due to "Inter-Modulation Distortion". ... products and their harmonics mix together producing even more byproducts. ...
    (alt.guitar.beginner)
  • Re: pentode amplifiers
    ... The equipment in question was not entirely free of higher order ... typically adds far less distortion than was already there.OTOH, ... A conservatively designed and well-developed 300B amp can easily get ... the third and higher harmonics down to 0.03 per cent without any loop ...
    (rec.audio.tubes)
  • Re: pentode amplifiers
    ... The equipment in question was not entirely free of higher order ... typically adds far less distortion than was already there.OTOH, ... A conservatively designed and well-developed 300B amp can easily get ... the third and higher harmonics down to 0.03 per cent without any loop ...
    (rec.audio.tubes)
  • Re: Rich on Amp Use For Live Music. Part #2 Re: Once in a lifetime pirchase - tone monsters
    ... methods guys use to get tone, ... SF Deluxe Reverb with no master volume, and a later Deluxe Reverb with a master volume. ... what small amount of pre-amp distortion, if any, is present at a lower volume. ... We now have an amp with output stage distortion moved, ...
    (alt.guitar.amps)
  • Re: Power amplifier hookup questions
    ... The closest you can come to determine whether the amp is neutral is to ... a resistive load on the output, and pad the input so the amp has unity ... he hooked up fifty Quad 303 amplifiers in series this way. ... there are some non-obvious things about how distortion adds up ...
    (rec.audio.pro)