If you have paid a good deal of cash on a pair of good-quality loudspeakers, you want to be certain that you get an amplifier which will offer brilliant audio quality while meeting your budget. I will offer some pointers on the subject of audio amp technologies to help you make the best purchasing decision.
There is a variety of different audio amps available that all differ in their specifications, shape and size. By following some plain guidelines, you will be able to pick the type that best meets your application and budget.
One important parameter is the size of the amp. You can get models which can fill half a room. In contrast, some of the most recent miniature amp types are no bigger than a deck of cards. Numerous units will be the size of a standard 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. On the other hand, distortion will depend on the specific audio amplifier technology. Several of the most accepted technologies in the past have been "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technologies. These technologies use different arrangements to amplify the sound. Amps based on any of these technologies are also named "analog amplifiers". This technology offers fairly small audio distortion. However, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The left over part is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate most of its power as heat.
"Class-D" amplifiers, on the other hand, which are also known as "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of no less than 80% and are smaller and have a smaller power supply than similar analog amplifiers. The disadvantage is that many digital amplifiers have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a number of of the latest models make use of a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and less.
Your amplifier should deliver adequate power to drive your speakers. The amount of power will depend on the power handling rating of your loudspeakers. One more factor is the size of your space. There are two values for speaker power handling: peak and average power handling. The peak value shows how much power the loudspeaker can handle for small periods of time. The average value on the other hand describes how much power the loudspeaker can handle constantly without damage.
In a small listening environment, you may not require to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will probably be sufficient. Notice however that loudspeakers vary in their sensitivity. Typically a low-impedance speaker will be easier to drive to high volume than a high-impedance loudspeaker. Not all amplifiers can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your speaker which is given in Ohms. Then take a look at your amplifier manual to make sure that your amp can drive this impedance.
Two additional key parameters to look at when choosing an amp are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio denotes 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 amp covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
There is a variety of different audio amps available that all differ in their specifications, shape and size. By following some plain guidelines, you will be able to pick the type that best meets your application and budget.
One important parameter is the size of the amp. You can get models which can fill half a room. In contrast, some of the most recent miniature amp types are no bigger than a deck of cards. Numerous units will be the size of a standard 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. On the other hand, distortion will depend on the specific audio amplifier technology. Several of the most accepted technologies in the past have been "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technologies. These technologies use different arrangements to amplify the sound. Amps based on any of these technologies are also named "analog amplifiers". This technology offers fairly small audio distortion. However, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The left over part is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate most of its power as heat.
"Class-D" amplifiers, on the other hand, which are also known as "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of no less than 80% and are smaller and have a smaller power supply than similar analog amplifiers. The disadvantage is that many digital amplifiers have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a number of of the latest models make use of a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and less.
Your amplifier should deliver adequate power to drive your speakers. The amount of power will depend on the power handling rating of your loudspeakers. One more factor is the size of your space. There are two values for speaker power handling: peak and average power handling. The peak value shows how much power the loudspeaker can handle for small periods of time. The average value on the other hand describes how much power the loudspeaker can handle constantly without damage.
In a small listening environment, you may not require to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will probably be sufficient. Notice however that loudspeakers vary in their sensitivity. Typically a low-impedance speaker will be easier to drive to high volume than a high-impedance loudspeaker. Not all amplifiers can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your speaker which is given in Ohms. Then take a look at your amplifier manual to make sure that your amp can drive this impedance.
Two additional key parameters to look at when choosing an amp are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio denotes 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 amp covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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