"Don Pearce" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 May 2006 16:01:35 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:


(Ooh! Does this mean you've got ping-pong balls for eyes? :-)


I did have last weekend when I was headbutted in the nuts by a
two-year-old.


Nasty...

(When that happens it's faster than a lightning strike, innit? :-)


No, not referring to valves vs SS - that is just preference.


Agreed.



More the
fact that there is nothing more to be had from SS by spending more
money. The plateau starts *really* low.


Yes, well under a hundred quid from I can see of it!!


Two things, I think, have steered the modern trends - the inexplicable*
need
for unnecessary, loud, pistonic bass in (paradoxically) a small 'user/wife
friendly' enclosure! Consequently amplifiers have to be capable of
outputting three figures of totally unnecessary and expensive watts (in
the
average UK room) to get 'em to work at all and that brings a raft of other
considerations into the equation which are simply not of much consequence
when driving sensitive speakers with low-power amps. (Distortion, power
supply issues etc.)

Expensive watts? No, those watts are really, really cheap, especially
for subwoofers that use switching supplies and power amps.



Well, I reckon a 30 wpc amp will work out at about 2 to 4 quid per watt, but
the trouble is you *need* 100+ watts these days (ludicrous) and then I
reckon you are looking at 5 times that sort of money *at least* for similar
(construction/appearance/appointments) 'assembly line' amps....??



Interesting that there's nothing particularly small about 'high end'
speakers, innit?

Some friends of mine have Willson Maxx speakers. They weigh about half
a ton and sound equally good when bending the walls or barely
murmuring. They also stand about five feet high.


My point entirely..... :-)