I use my Hi-Fi for the Front L and R channels of my Home Cinema. I had a DIRAC calibration carried out before upgrading my NAP 300DR. How many extra dB does 140W per channel compared to 90W deliver?
2
4 Likes
It all depends on how high you set the volume control…!
Unless you have extremely inefficient speakers, or DIRAC is severely cutting large parts of the spectrum to boost others in relative terms, or you are listening a long way away from the speakers, then you are unlikely to be using anywhere near the 300s, or if you are you may need to keep increasing volume due to increasing deafness! What is far more significant in most systems with amps of more than a few 10s of watts RMS is the peak capacity, which IIRC with Naim amps is something of the order of 5x RMS. Still of course the 500 can do more than the 300.
1 Like
I am using Unity Gain on my NAC 552DR which I think means volume is fixed at maximum on the pre-amplifier allowing volume to be controlled through the AV amp.
Answering your question in a different way:
If all else stays the same - including volume control on the source as well as unity in the preamp, sound level from each speaker will be 1dB louder, so 2dB total combining the output of two channels, because the 500 has a gain of 30dB and the 300 29dB
If both amps were to be driven up to the maximum output before the amp clips, assuming the speaker can handle it the 500 would give a sound level 1.5dB louder on each channel, whether average level or peak, so 2.8dB combining the output of two channels. 150W vs 90W max RMS or 700VA vs 500va transient.
The 500 goes to 11. The 300 doesn’t. Simple.
2 Likes
And it’s nicer at 10, too…
Apologies, but I’m not following the 11 and 10 chat. Care to explain?
It’s a reference to the comic film Spinal Tap in which the rock band boasts of the fact that, unlike other bands, whose volume knobs stop at 10, their amplifiers go up to 11.
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.