I will take a look at several audio amplifiers and describe some vital terminology to aid you pick the perfect amplifier for your speakers
There is a flood of different audio amplifiers available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. By following some plain suggestions, you will be able to choose the model that best fits your application and resources.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good portion of your living room whereas a number of of the latest mini amplifier models are as small as a deck of cards. Numerous units will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment. There are some core amplifier technologies available. One technology is known as "solid-state". Solid-state amplifiers now account for the majority of audio amplifiers. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still obtainable. Tube amps, however, have a fairly large amount of harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion refers to how much the audio signal is degraded while being amplified. This term is often used while comparing the audio quality of amplifiers.
There are a number of core amplifier technologies available. One technology is labeled "solid-state". Solid-state amps now make up for the majority of audio amps. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still available. Then again, tube amplifiers have fairly high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded while passing through the amp and is specified in percent. This value is often used when comparing the audio quality of amplifiers.
In contrast, "Class-D" amps which are also named "digital amplifiers" offer a power efficiency of typically 80 to 90%. This permits the amplifier and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amps typically have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. Though, some of the newest types are capable to lower distortion to 0.05% and lower by utilizing a feedback mechanism.
When choosing an amplifier, make sure that the output power is adequate to drive your loudspeakers. The needed power will be determined by how much power your loudspeakers can handle as well as the size of your room where you will be listening. Loudspeaker power handling ability is given as peak power and average power. The peak power value refers to how much power the speaker can handle for a short period of time while the average power handling value describes how much power you can drive the speaker at continuously without harm.
In a small listening setting, you might not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power would probably be sufficient. Speakers though differ in their impedance and sensitivity. As a rule of thumb speakers with low impedance offer higher sensitivity. High-sensitivity speakers are simpler to drive to high volume than low-sensitivity speakers. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Two additional essential parameters to look at when choosing an amplifier are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio describes how much noise the amp will generate and should be no less than 100 dB for a high-quality amp. The frequency response indicates which audio frequency range the amplifier covers and should be at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
There is a flood of different audio amplifiers available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. By following some plain suggestions, you will be able to choose the model that best fits your application and resources.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good portion of your living room whereas a number of of the latest mini amplifier models are as small as a deck of cards. Numerous units will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment. There are some core amplifier technologies available. One technology is known as "solid-state". Solid-state amplifiers now account for the majority of audio amplifiers. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still obtainable. Tube amps, however, have a fairly large amount of harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion refers to how much the audio signal is degraded while being amplified. This term is often used while comparing the audio quality of amplifiers.
There are a number of core amplifier technologies available. One technology is labeled "solid-state". Solid-state amps now make up for the majority of audio amps. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still available. Then again, tube amplifiers have fairly high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded while passing through the amp and is specified in percent. This value is often used when comparing the audio quality of amplifiers.
In contrast, "Class-D" amps which are also named "digital amplifiers" offer a power efficiency of typically 80 to 90%. This permits the amplifier and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amps typically have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. Though, some of the newest types are capable to lower distortion to 0.05% and lower by utilizing a feedback mechanism.
When choosing an amplifier, make sure that the output power is adequate to drive your loudspeakers. The needed power will be determined by how much power your loudspeakers can handle as well as the size of your room where you will be listening. Loudspeaker power handling ability is given as peak power and average power. The peak power value refers to how much power the speaker can handle for a short period of time while the average power handling value describes how much power you can drive the speaker at continuously without harm.
In a small listening setting, you might not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power would probably be sufficient. Speakers though differ in their impedance and sensitivity. As a rule of thumb speakers with low impedance offer higher sensitivity. High-sensitivity speakers are simpler to drive to high volume than low-sensitivity speakers. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Two additional essential parameters to look at when choosing an amplifier are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio describes how much noise the amp will generate and should be no less than 100 dB for a high-quality amp. The frequency response indicates which audio frequency range the amplifier covers and should be at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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