Selecting a decent amplifier for your loudspeakers is not a trivial chore. You want to guarantee that your amplifier matches your loudspeakers. I will clarify some essential amplifier language and give some recommendations to aid you pick the best amplifier. There is a flood of different audio amplifiers available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. However, you don't have to be a guru to pick the best type. By following some essential rules you won't regret your purchasing decision.
There is a variety of different audio amps available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. On the other hand, you don't need to be a guru to pick the best model. By following some basic rules you won't regret your purchasing decision.
Amplifiers vary in their size and range from models that will take up a good portion of your living room whereas a few of the latest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a deck of cards. A large number of amplifiers are the size of a standard rack. This permits your amplifier to be stacked on top of your other audio devices. The vast majority of recent audio amplifiers are solid state amplifiers versus more traditional tube amps. Tube amplifiers have been dominant a decade or so ago. Tube amps, on the other hand, have a relatively high level of harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion describes how much the audio signal is degraded while being amplified. This expression is frequently used while evaluating the audio quality of amps.
Tube amplifiers will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have less audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. A few 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 referred to as "analog amplifiers". Audio amps which are based on these technologies typically have low harmonic distortion. Moreover, this technology is quite inexpensive. However, the disadvantage is that the power efficiency is merely in the order of 20% 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 fairly big heat sinks since most of the power is radiated.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is often as large as 10%. Solid-state amplifiers will have less audio distortion. On the other hand, distortion will depend on the particular audio amplifier technology. The most traditional amps employ a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amps are also called "analog amplifiers". While amplifiers employing these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is really utilized to amplify the signal. The remaining portion is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate the majority of its power as heat.
The amp should be capable to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your loudspeakers which will depend not only on how much power your loudspeakers can tolerate but also on the size of your listening area. There are two values for speaker power handling: peak and average power handling. The peak value indicates how much power the loudspeaker can tolerate for small periods of time. The average value on the other hand describes how much power the loudspeaker can tolerate continuously without harm.
In a small listening area, you might not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will most likely be plenty. Notice though that loudspeakers vary in their sensitivity. Generally a low-impedance loudspeaker will be easier to drive to high volume than a high-impedance speaker. Be sure that your amplifier can drive your speaker impedance. You can without difficulty find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Two additional significant parameters to look at when picking an amp 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 amplifier covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
There is a variety of different audio amps available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. On the other hand, you don't need to be a guru to pick the best model. By following some basic rules you won't regret your purchasing decision.
Amplifiers vary in their size and range from models that will take up a good portion of your living room whereas a few of the latest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a deck of cards. A large number of amplifiers are the size of a standard rack. This permits your amplifier to be stacked on top of your other audio devices. The vast majority of recent audio amplifiers are solid state amplifiers versus more traditional tube amps. Tube amplifiers have been dominant a decade or so ago. Tube amps, on the other hand, have a relatively high level of harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion describes how much the audio signal is degraded while being amplified. This expression is frequently used while evaluating the audio quality of amps.
Tube amplifiers will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have less audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. A few 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 referred to as "analog amplifiers". Audio amps which are based on these technologies typically have low harmonic distortion. Moreover, this technology is quite inexpensive. However, the disadvantage is that the power efficiency is merely in the order of 20% 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 fairly big heat sinks since most of the power is radiated.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is often as large as 10%. Solid-state amplifiers will have less audio distortion. On the other hand, distortion will depend on the particular audio amplifier technology. The most traditional amps employ a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amps are also called "analog amplifiers". While amplifiers employing these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is really utilized to amplify the signal. The remaining portion is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate the majority of its power as heat.
The amp should be capable to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your loudspeakers which will depend not only on how much power your loudspeakers can tolerate but also on the size of your listening area. There are two values for speaker power handling: peak and average power handling. The peak value indicates how much power the loudspeaker can tolerate for small periods of time. The average value on the other hand describes how much power the loudspeaker can tolerate continuously without harm.
In a small listening area, you might not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will most likely be plenty. Notice though that loudspeakers vary in their sensitivity. Generally a low-impedance loudspeaker will be easier to drive to high volume than a high-impedance speaker. Be sure that your amplifier can drive your speaker impedance. You can without difficulty find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Two additional significant parameters to look at when picking an amp 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 amplifier covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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