How much of a difference does a higher watt amp make?

What’s the amp and bass your using now?

what are your goals, musical styles? Gigging, garage band with friends, at-home only?

would you like a speaker, or are you open to a headphone amp?

 

10w is fairly low. The devil is always in the details, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that upgrading your amp to something a little higher powered will likely make quite a noticeable difference - at least in any situation aside from those with very low volume levels.

As far as your question concerning separate head+cab rigs and combos, the combos are just that - they combine an amp head with a speaker cabinet together in one unit.

 

How close is the amp to your ears? Some cabinets are 98db at 1M at 1W

I bet you 10w is like 80db or less because of the speaker and of course fibbing by the manufacturer.

A brand name like Fender Rumble at 40w would be fine for practice.

You ought to give a second look at IEM as it's the way of the industry these days.
Online jamming works be with headphones or IEM

 

Cool, cool. Jazz bass will hum if both pickups aren’t evenly turned up. Do you still get hum if the pickups are both full on?

back to the question, I’ve owned the Ampeg BA 108 and now a Rumble 25. Both 25 watts, 8” speaker, and 100 bucks. Those amps have been all I’ve ever needed for at home playing. Never turn them above 9:00. Havent tried that Ibanez amp, but it kinda looks like a toy

Now you can surely spend $200 or more, and (subjectively) get better tone. If you’re ever interested in playing with peeps, I’d recommend spend 100 on one of the amps I mentioned, and saving the other 100 for something that can hang with a drummer. If you only see yourself playing at home, hey, that’s cool too. Maybe treat yourself to a really nice at home amp.

there’s lots of headphones amps out there, but I’m the same. I just bought this Rumble cause I was so sick of my headphones!

 

Thirded. Yes, I do a lot of playing/recording while using headphones as monitors, but it's only out of necessity.

 

These are the best new combo amps IMO for your price range:

Ampeg BA-110v2 1x10" 40-watt Bass Combo Amp for $179
Hartke HD50 1x10" 50-watt Bass Combo Amp for $199
Fender Rumble 40 1x10" 40-watt Bass Combo Amp for $199

If I had to choose between these 3 I would get the Fender IMO. The ampeg is a close second.

 

I have an Ampeg BA-108 (25 watts, 8" speaker) and a Fender Rumble 100 (100 watts, 12" speaker). That Ampeg sounds fantastic, it's clear, clean, and can handle the B string (within reason) on a 5 string bass. That's all ya need for a great sound. I even used to gig with it (DI box to the board and the little combo on a chair as my monitor). BUT... switch to the Rumble 100 and it is a more visceral experience. That cone moves a lot more air and the amp is a lot more powerful (as is the equalizer section). You FEEL a lot more here. The 100 is certainly gig-worthy for most small-medium venues. If I lived in a place where I could only practice at low volumes... the Ampeg actually sounds BETTER. If I could turn it up once in a while... then, the larger, more powerful Rumble is the favored amp, and is more versatile.... and weighs LESS I think! Some unicorn-horn magic there! But... the 100 is a bit out of your price range. The Rumble 40 though.... that may be key. Any of what is recommended here will be a huge step up from your 10w amp.

So, to answer your question, I DO think my bass (USA made Stingray 4) sounds better played through a higher-watt head with somewhat "large" speakers. I particularly liked it through the Aguilar head and 4x12 cabinet. But, I can't carry that and it is hella expensive. So, I will keep using the combos and a DI box.

 

As an owner of the Rumble 100, I would suggest saving your money and get the Rumble 100. It really is a fantastic bass amp that sounds great and can get loud. It's $299, just $100 more than your budget, plus you get so much more amp.

 

I bought an Acoustic B200 (thats the make and model, not an amp for acoustic instruments) for $100 and that thing cranks and has good tone. It’s plenty for playing with a band and it’s great for home practice.

 

When purchasing the Ampeg, I also tried out the Acoustic models and liked them a lot.

 

I completely forgot about those. I bought one used and it sounded great. It was heavy though, but more than enough to keep up with a band. I think I paid around $150 for mine.

 

200 bux? Hartke HD50 1x10" 50-watt Bass Combo Amp

 

I've got the ampeg 110, and it's a great amp, imo. Since you can set it on an angle like a monitor, it projects the sound up to you very well. I currently use mine as my rehersal amp, and I play metal in a 5 piece metal band. The little 110 keeps up well enough.

 

IMHO you can never have too much, but you can always have too little. My bedroom practice rig is the same 550 watt rig for I use for gigging. Get the best quality and highest power amp you can afford. It'll put a smile on your face.

 

10 watts? so it’s a headphone amp not a bass amp.