[morzh]

I once (when building transistor amps) tried to see how much power I need for my 100W/channel amp to sound loud enough so I would not need that much.
Turned out 2-3Watts did it.

So, why do you need all that power?

Yes, we all know you need to handle peaks in order to do HiFi sound, and this is where your power and your dynamics come together. However if you are playing at 2-3W your peaks will be possibly at 8-10W. And if you are into listening alone, in a designated room, you will not even need that much.

This "quest for power" - even though I was a part of it at some point, but it was more of a sport to me than the real need. When I realized I no longer wanted to brag about how much I can put out, all I needed was very little to listen to my classics and jazz.