Okay Paul, I see where that phrase came from, but actually the maximum power rating on speakers doesn't have much to do with reaching their full potential, rather it's theoretically the power that could be handled continuously without going up in smoke(Alan has reported that Axiom has actually tested it to over a thousand watts). Note also the suggested 10 watt minimum(not just 1/40th potential), which would actually be adequate for listening at a moderately loud level to program material which didn't have extreme dynamic levels.
Yes, 1 watt would be used for a comfortably loud average listening level at a normal listening position. The rated sensitivity in-room is 95dB for 1 watt at a listening distance of one meter. At a more typical distance of 10-15' this might drop to about 85dB, still quite loud. A much quieter part around 65dB would use about 1/100th watt, a 105dB peak would use about 100 watts(10dB more output requires ten times the power).
