If you have paid a good amount of cash on a pair of good-quality loudspeakers, you want to be certain that you get an amplifier which will offer superb sound quality while meeting your budget. I will give a number of tips on the subject of audio amplifier devices to help you make the best purchasing decision. Audio amplifiers come in all different shapes and sizes. They use different technologies and have a lot of technical specs. On the other hand, you don't have to be an expert to select the best model. By following some key rules you won't regret your purchasing decision.
It is difficult to pick the perfect audio amplifier as a consequence of the large number of types. All of these types have different specs. They are built on different technologies and are available in all kinds of shapes and sizes. This makes it hard to decide which model to choose. You don't have to be a guru. Just follow some plain guidelines and you ought to be pleased with your amplifier.
The most evident parameter is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as large as half your living room whilst several of the newest mini amplifier models are as tiny as a bar of soap. A big number of amps are the size of a typical rack. This allows your amplifier to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment. The vast majority of today's audio amplifiers are solid state amplifiers versus more conventional tube amplifiers. Tube amps have been dominant a decade or so ago. Then again, tube amps have relatively high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded whilst passing through the amplifier and is given in percent. This value is frequently used when comparing the audio quality of amplifiers.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have less audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is used. In the past, for the most part "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were available which are also known as "analog amplifiers". While amps utilizing these technologies usually have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. This means that the majority of the electrical power provided to the amplifier is wasted as heat whereas a small fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
In comparison, "Class-D" amplifiers which are also named "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of normally 80 to 90%. This permits the amplifier and power supply to be made a good deal smaller than analog amplifiers. The disadvantage is that many digital amplifiers have higher audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a number of of the most recent types utilize a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and below.
In contrast, "Class-D" amps which are also known as "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of usually 80 to 90%. This enables the amp and power supply to be made much smaller than analog amplifiers. The downside is that digital amplifiers often have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers. This is mostly a result of the switching distortion of the output power stage. Most recent digital audio amplifiers, on the other hand, make use of a feedback mechanism and can minimize the audio distortion to below 0.05%. The amp should be able to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your loudspeakers which will depend not only on how much power your loudspeakers can handle but also on the size of your listening environment. Speaker power handling is given as peak power which denotes the maximum amount of power during short bursts whilst average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate continuously.
If your listening area is relatively small then you might not require to drive your loudspeaker to its rated power handling value. You would almost certainly be good getting an amplifier that can offer 20 to 50 Watts while your speakers might be capable to tolerate 100 Watts of power. Loudspeakers though differ in their impedance and sensitivity. As a rule of thumb loudspeakers with low impedance offer higher sensitivity. High-sensitivity speakers are less difficult to drive to high volume than low-sensitivity speakers. Be sure that your amp can drive your loudspeaker impedance. You can without problems find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Other key parameters are the signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response which should be in the order of at least 100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response for high-quality amps.
It is difficult to pick the perfect audio amplifier as a consequence of the large number of types. All of these types have different specs. They are built on different technologies and are available in all kinds of shapes and sizes. This makes it hard to decide which model to choose. You don't have to be a guru. Just follow some plain guidelines and you ought to be pleased with your amplifier.
The most evident parameter is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as large as half your living room whilst several of the newest mini amplifier models are as tiny as a bar of soap. A big number of amps are the size of a typical rack. This allows your amplifier to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment. The vast majority of today's audio amplifiers are solid state amplifiers versus more conventional tube amplifiers. Tube amps have been dominant a decade or so ago. Then again, tube amps have relatively high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded whilst passing through the amplifier and is given in percent. This value is frequently used when comparing the audio quality of amplifiers.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have less audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is used. In the past, for the most part "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were available which are also known as "analog amplifiers". While amps utilizing these technologies usually have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. This means that the majority of the electrical power provided to the amplifier is wasted as heat whereas a small fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
In comparison, "Class-D" amplifiers which are also named "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of normally 80 to 90%. This permits the amplifier and power supply to be made a good deal smaller than analog amplifiers. The disadvantage is that many digital amplifiers have higher audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a number of of the most recent types utilize a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and below.
In contrast, "Class-D" amps which are also known as "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of usually 80 to 90%. This enables the amp and power supply to be made much smaller than analog amplifiers. The downside is that digital amplifiers often have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers. This is mostly a result of the switching distortion of the output power stage. Most recent digital audio amplifiers, on the other hand, make use of a feedback mechanism and can minimize the audio distortion to below 0.05%. The amp should be able to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your loudspeakers which will depend not only on how much power your loudspeakers can handle but also on the size of your listening environment. Speaker power handling is given as peak power which denotes the maximum amount of power during short bursts whilst average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate continuously.
If your listening area is relatively small then you might not require to drive your loudspeaker to its rated power handling value. You would almost certainly be good getting an amplifier that can offer 20 to 50 Watts while your speakers might be capable to tolerate 100 Watts of power. Loudspeakers though differ in their impedance and sensitivity. As a rule of thumb loudspeakers with low impedance offer higher sensitivity. High-sensitivity speakers are less difficult to drive to high volume than low-sensitivity speakers. Be sure that your amp can drive your loudspeaker impedance. You can without problems find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Other key parameters are the signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response which should be in the order of at least 100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response for high-quality amps.
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