If you have spent a good amount of money on a pair of good-quality speakers, you wish to be confident that you get an amplifier which will provide brilliant sound quality while meeting your budget. I will present a few tips on the subject of audio amp products to help you make the correct buying decision.
The most apparent parameter is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as big as half your living room whilst some of the newest mini amplifier models are as small as a bar of soap. A lot of units will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good part of your living room whilst a few of the newest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a deck of cards. Many models will be the size of a ordinary audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is frequently as high as 10%. Solid-state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion. However, distortion will depend on the specific audio amplifier technology. In the past, for the most part "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were obtainable which are also called "analog amplifiers". This technology provides relatively low audio distortion. On the other hand, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is used to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amps with low power efficiency will need relatively large heat sinks since the majority of the power is radiated.
In comparison, "Class-D" amplifiers which are also called "digital amplifiers" offer a power efficiency of normally 80 to 90%. This allows the amplifier and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amplifiers normally have higher harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. Though, a few of the latest types are capable to reduce distortion to 0.05% and lower by utilizing a feedback mechanism.
Another technology is referred to as "Class-D". This technology provides much greater power efficiency than analog amplifiers, generally around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amps are also named "digital amplifiers". The downside is that many digital amps have higher audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a few of the latest models utilize a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and below. When picking an amp, ensure that the output power is enough 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 is given as peak power which denotes the maximum amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the speakers can handle constantly.
In a small listening area, you may not need to drive your speakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power would almost certainly be sufficient. Low-impedance speakers normally offer high sensitivity and are less difficult to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Not all amps can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your loudspeaker which is given in Ohms. Then look at your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive this impedance.
Two additional essential parameters to look at when selecting an amplifier are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio denotes how much noise the amplifier will generate and should be no less than 100 dB for a high-quality amp. The frequency response reveals which audio frequency range the amp covers and should be at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
The most apparent parameter is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as big as half your living room whilst some of the newest mini amplifier models are as small as a bar of soap. A lot of units will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good part of your living room whilst a few of the newest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a deck of cards. Many models will be the size of a ordinary audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is frequently as high as 10%. Solid-state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion. However, distortion will depend on the specific audio amplifier technology. In the past, for the most part "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were obtainable which are also called "analog amplifiers". This technology provides relatively low audio distortion. On the other hand, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is used to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amps with low power efficiency will need relatively large heat sinks since the majority of the power is radiated.
In comparison, "Class-D" amplifiers which are also called "digital amplifiers" offer a power efficiency of normally 80 to 90%. This allows the amplifier and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amplifiers normally have higher harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. Though, a few of the latest types are capable to reduce distortion to 0.05% and lower by utilizing a feedback mechanism.
Another technology is referred to as "Class-D". This technology provides much greater power efficiency than analog amplifiers, generally around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amps are also named "digital amplifiers". The downside is that many digital amps have higher audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a few of the latest models utilize a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and below. When picking an amp, ensure that the output power is enough 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 is given as peak power which denotes the maximum amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the speakers can handle constantly.
In a small listening area, you may not need to drive your speakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power would almost certainly be sufficient. Low-impedance speakers normally offer high sensitivity and are less difficult to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Not all amps can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your loudspeaker which is given in Ohms. Then look at your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive this impedance.
Two additional essential parameters to look at when selecting an amplifier are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio denotes how much noise the amplifier will generate and should be no less than 100 dB for a high-quality amp. The frequency response reveals which audio frequency range the amp covers and should be at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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