If you have paid a good amount of money on a pair of good-quality speakers, you wish to be sure that you get an amplifier which will provide excellent sound quality while meeting your budget. I will offer a few tips on the subject of audio amp technologies to aid you make the right purchasing decision. There is a variety of different audio amps available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. However, you don't need to be a guru to select the perfect type. By following some key rules you won't regret your buying decision.
Audio amps come in all different shapes and sizes. They use different technologies and have numerous technical specs. Still, you don't need to be an expert to choose the best model. By following some essential rules you won't regret your purchasing decision.
The most apparent criterion is the size of the amp. There are models that are as large as half your living room while several of the latest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a bar of soap. A lot of amps are rack sized. This enables them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
An audio distortion of up to 10% is characteristic for tube amplifiers while solid-state amps have lower audio distortion depending on the specific technology. The most conventional amplifiers employ a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amps are also known as "analog amplifiers". Audio amps which are based on these technologies typically have low harmonic distortion. Moreover, this technology is fairly inexpensive. Though, the downside is that the power efficiency is only in the order of 20% to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The left over portion is wasted as heat. An amp with low power efficiency will radiate most of its power as heat.
An audio distortion of up to 10% is typical for tube amplifiers whereas solid-state amps have lower audio distortion depending on the specific technology. The most traditional amps use a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amplifiers are also known as "analog amplifiers". Whereas amps employing these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is only 10% to 30%. This means that most of the electrical power supplied to the amplifier is wasted as heat whereas a tiny fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
The amplifier should be able to offer enough output power to sufficiently drive your loudspeakers which will depend not only on how much power your speakers can tolerate but also on the size of your listening environment. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the highest amount of power during short bursts whilst average power refers to how much power the loudspeakers can handle continuously.
If your listening environment is rather small then you may not require to drive your loudspeaker to its rated power handling value. You would most likely be good having an amp that can deliver 20 to 50 Watts while your speakers might be capable to handle 100 Watts of power. Low-impedance loudspeakers generally offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance loudspeakers. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amplifier can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Finally, be certain that your amplifier introduces little noise and has a broad enough frequency response. High-quality amps will have a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 100 dB and a frequency response of no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
Audio amps come in all different shapes and sizes. They use different technologies and have numerous technical specs. Still, you don't need to be an expert to choose the best model. By following some essential rules you won't regret your purchasing decision.
The most apparent criterion is the size of the amp. There are models that are as large as half your living room while several of the latest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a bar of soap. A lot of amps are rack sized. This enables them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
An audio distortion of up to 10% is characteristic for tube amplifiers while solid-state amps have lower audio distortion depending on the specific technology. The most conventional amplifiers employ a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amps are also known as "analog amplifiers". Audio amps which are based on these technologies typically have low harmonic distortion. Moreover, this technology is fairly inexpensive. Though, the downside is that the power efficiency is only in the order of 20% to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The left over portion is wasted as heat. An amp with low power efficiency will radiate most of its power as heat.
An audio distortion of up to 10% is typical for tube amplifiers whereas solid-state amps have lower audio distortion depending on the specific technology. The most traditional amps use a "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technology. These amplifiers are also known as "analog amplifiers". Whereas amps employing these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is only 10% to 30%. This means that most of the electrical power supplied to the amplifier is wasted as heat whereas a tiny fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
The amplifier should be able to offer enough output power to sufficiently drive your loudspeakers which will depend not only on how much power your speakers can tolerate but also on the size of your listening environment. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the highest amount of power during short bursts whilst average power refers to how much power the loudspeakers can handle continuously.
If your listening environment is rather small then you may not require to drive your loudspeaker to its rated power handling value. You would most likely be good having an amp that can deliver 20 to 50 Watts while your speakers might be capable to handle 100 Watts of power. Low-impedance loudspeakers generally offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance loudspeakers. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amplifier can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Finally, be certain that your amplifier introduces little noise and has a broad enough frequency response. High-quality amps will have a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 100 dB and a frequency response of no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
0 comments:
Post a Comment