Need advise on my system

[Kevio]

I find that a 6 db increase in level is easily audible and pretty significant. To each his own.

I agree that 6 dB is quite significant. Most people perceive it as an approximate doubling of level. Unfortunately, doubling power (e.g. from 100 to 200 W) makes your system only 3 dB louder. That's the way the math works p = e^2/r. I hope you agree that while 3 dB is noticeably louder, it is not impressively louder.

[E-Stat]

Unfortunately, doubling power (e.g. from 100 to 200 W)...

For some reason, I thought his current amp was 100 watts total or 50 watts /channel. Indeed that is only a 3 db change assuming everything else is equal.

Which is sometimes not the case with AV receivers given the plethora of power rating schemes. I inherited a Kenwood AR104 receiver which is rated @ 100 watts per channel (yes RMS 20-20k both channels driven). Having said that, it does not have the current capability of an older Threshold Stasis 3 power amp with the same power rating - which happens to weigh more double that of the Kenwood. I suspect it would not be as happy as the Threshold driving the challenging reactive load of my electrostats.

A 3db difference is still clearly audible (if not "impressively louder") even to untrained ears. I wish I had an additional 3 db headroom added to my VTL 450s.

rw