Originally posted by D'Arbignal:
... the higher the number, the less demanding the speakers are on your amplifier. A sensitivity of, say, 91dB is very gentle and won't require much power, whereas a sensitivity of, say, 83dB would be extremely power-hungry and you'll need all the amp you can get.
Jeff is correct. Speakers need (in theory) twice the power for every 3dB of output gain. That would mean that a 83dB/watt/meter (sensitivity) speaker would need approximately eight (8) times the power to achieve the same sound level of a 92dB/watt/meter (sensitivity) speaker. So... even a 3dB difference between your speaker's sensitivity means you need twice the power to balance the sound output level.
More importantly, the amp ratings for Watts per Channel are some of the most misunderstood and misrepresented in the audio industry. The amps ability to provide current under different load conditions, is probably most important for you, because I would expect significant variation in the impedance profiles of your speakers.
The outlaw amps are high current, with good performance at low speaker impedance, so they are likely to outperform amps and receivers with smaller power supplies and capacitance. They also have a very good damping factor, which I believe improves low frequency driver control (the drivers that demand the most power).
These amps are the best value in solid state amplification... unless you could build one yourself; which some Outlaws are capable of doing.
good luck...
Allan
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