I totally agree with 'to each his own'. And if you keep your music between 70 - 80 db's and enjoy it there more power to you, and an external amp would truely be a waste of money for you. Also I would never try to insinuate that you need to 'turn it up' if you enjoy it where it's at now. Some people have more sensitive hearing than others and enjoy the experience just as much at lower volumes as us power freaks enjoy knocking the shingles off of the roof when we have control of the volume knob.
I am really enjoying the way my M80's pound out musical notes crisp, clean & smooth while the volume is cranked with my XPA-3 running the show. And certainly a distorted signal at 120 db's is no more or less damaging to our ears than a clean signal at 120 db's. Shear volume alone is the enemy when it comes to hearing impairment, the quality of that volume has little impact if any. What audible distortion usually accomplishes in a regular setting anyway, is that it clues you in that you're listening too loud and should turn it down. Without any distortion it becomes a lot harder to even be able to tell how loud it is playing. So indeed an external amplifier may well be damaging to my ears, I have excepted that risk I
Of course I also ride a motorcycle & don't currently have health insurance, so I suppose I'm just one who likes to live on the wild side
