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 outstanding sound quality while meeting your budget. I will give various tips about audio amp technologies to assist you make the right purchasing decision.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good portion of your living room while some of the latest mini amplifier models are as tiny as a deck of cards. A lot of amps are rack sized. This allows them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
The largest part of today's audio amplifiers are based on solid-state technology whilst a small part is based on tube technology which has been popular over a decade ago. Though, tube amplifiers have fairly high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded whilst passing through the amplifier and is specified in percent. This value is frequently used when evaluating the audio quality of amplifiers.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is employed. Some of the most popular technologies in the past have been "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technologies. These technologies use different arrangements to amplify the audio. Amplifiers based on any of these technologies are also known as "analog amplifiers". While amps employing these technologies generally have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is used to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amplifiers with low power efficiency will need quite large heat sinks because the majority of the power is radiated.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amps will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. The most conventional amps employ a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amplifiers are also labeled "analog amplifiers". While amplifiers employing these technologies normally have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is utilized to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amps with low power efficiency will require relatively large heat sinks since the majority of the power is radiated.
Your amplifier should deliver adequate power to drive your speakers. The amount of power will depend on the power handling rating of your speakers. One more parameter is the size of your space. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which denotes the greatest amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the loudspeakers can tolerate continuously.
In a small listening setting, you may not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will almost certainly be sufficient. Low-impedance speakers generally offer high sensitivity and are less difficult to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Not all amplifiers 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 amplifier can drive this impedance.
Other vital parameters are the signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response which should be in the order of at the least 100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response for high-quality amplifiers.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good portion of your living room while some of the latest mini amplifier models are as tiny as a deck of cards. A lot of amps are rack sized. This allows them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
The largest part of today's audio amplifiers are based on solid-state technology whilst a small part is based on tube technology which has been popular over a decade ago. Though, tube amplifiers have fairly high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded whilst passing through the amplifier and is specified in percent. This value is frequently used when evaluating the audio quality of amplifiers.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is employed. Some of the most popular technologies in the past have been "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technologies. These technologies use different arrangements to amplify the audio. Amplifiers based on any of these technologies are also known as "analog amplifiers". While amps employing these technologies generally have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is used to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amplifiers with low power efficiency will need quite large heat sinks because the majority of the power is radiated.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amps will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. The most conventional amps employ a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amplifiers are also labeled "analog amplifiers". While amplifiers employing these technologies normally have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is utilized to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amps with low power efficiency will require relatively large heat sinks since the majority of the power is radiated.
Your amplifier should deliver adequate power to drive your speakers. The amount of power will depend on the power handling rating of your speakers. One more parameter is the size of your space. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which denotes the greatest amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the loudspeakers can tolerate continuously.
In a small listening setting, you may not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will almost certainly be sufficient. Low-impedance speakers generally offer high sensitivity and are less difficult to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Not all amplifiers 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 amplifier can drive this impedance.
Other vital parameters are the signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response which should be in the order of at the least 100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response for high-quality amplifiers.
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