Why are some 100 Watt guitar amplifiers so much louder than others?
Some 100 W amplifiers (ie the electric part) actually can output 100 W of electrical power. Many output rather less (look for give-away lines such as “peak-to-peak”, “peak music power” etc). If you multiply the maximum range of the voltage variation by the maximum range of current variation, you get a value of power that is eight times larger than the maximum possible power that the amp can deliver for a short time, which may in turn be larger than the power it can deliver for a sustained period. See RMS and power for details. A loudspeaker rated at 100 Watts RMS is claimed to be able to absorb 100 W of electrical power without damage. It says nothing about the sound power output. Loudspeakers are typically about 1% efficient, but the value varies considerably: some are much more efficient than others. Now the logical thing would be for all makers to agree to print the value of the sound power output. This is unlikely to happen. First, it is harder to measure. Second, the manufactures
Some 100 W amplifiers (ie the electric part) actually can output 100 W of electrical power. Many output rather less (look for give-away lines such as “peak-to-peak”, “peak music power” etc). If you multiply the maximum range of the voltage variation by the maximum range of current variation, you get a value of power that is eight times larger than the maximum possible power that the amp can deliver for a short time, which may in turn be larger than the power it can deliver for a sustained period. See RMS and power for details. A loudspeaker rated at 100 Watts RMS is claimed to be able to absorb 100 W of electrical power without damage. It says nothing about the sound power output. Loudspeakers are typically about 1% efficient, but the value varies considerably: some are much more efficient than others.
