I will take a look at a few audio amplifiers and describe some important terms to aid you pick the ideal amp for your loudspeakers
Audio amplifiers appear in all different shapes and sizes. They employ different technologies and have a lot of technical specs. By following some simple rules, you will be able to select the model that best fits your application and budget.
The most evident criterion is the size of the amp. There are models that are as large as half your living room while some of the newest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a bar of soap. Various amps are rack sized. This allows them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment. The majority of modern audio amps are based on solid-state technology whilst a small portion is based on tube technology which has been popular over a decade ago. Tube amplifiers, though, have a relatively high level of harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion describes how much the audio signal is degraded while being amplified. This expression is often used while evaluating the audio quality of amplifiers.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is often as high as 10%. Solid-state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion. However, distortion will depend on the particular audio amplifier technology. Several of the most popular 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". Audio amps which are based on these technologies typically have low harmonic distortion. Also, this technology is relatively economical. However, the downside is that the power efficiency is merely in the order of 20% 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.
In comparison, "Class-D" amplifiers which are also called "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of usually 80 to 90%. This permits the amplifier and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. The disadvantage is that digital amps regularly have larger audio distortion than analog amps. This is for the most part a consequence of the switching distortion of the output power stage. Latest digital audio amplifiers, however, employ a feedback mechanism and can reduce the audio distortion to below 0.05%.
In comparison, "Class-D" amps which are also referred to as "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 downside is that many digital amps have higher audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a number of of the latest types make use of a feedback mechanism to reduce distortion to levels of 0.05% and less. The amp should be able to deliver adequate 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 environment. Loudspeaker 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 loudspeakers can tolerate continuously.
In a small listening setting, you might not require to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will probably be enough. Low-impedance speakers usually offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance loudspeakers. Not all amplifiers can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your speaker which is given in Ohms. Then look at your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive this impedance.
Two other significant 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 amplifier covers and should be at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
Audio amplifiers appear in all different shapes and sizes. They employ different technologies and have a lot of technical specs. By following some simple rules, you will be able to select the model that best fits your application and budget.
The most evident criterion is the size of the amp. There are models that are as large as half your living room while some of the newest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a bar of soap. Various amps are rack sized. This allows them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment. The majority of modern audio amps are based on solid-state technology whilst a small portion is based on tube technology which has been popular over a decade ago. Tube amplifiers, though, have a relatively high level of harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion describes how much the audio signal is degraded while being amplified. This expression is often used while evaluating the audio quality of amplifiers.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is often as high as 10%. Solid-state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion. However, distortion will depend on the particular audio amplifier technology. Several of the most popular 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". Audio amps which are based on these technologies typically have low harmonic distortion. Also, this technology is relatively economical. However, the downside is that the power efficiency is merely in the order of 20% 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.
In comparison, "Class-D" amplifiers which are also called "digital amplifiers" have a power efficiency of usually 80 to 90%. This permits the amplifier and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. The disadvantage is that digital amps regularly have larger audio distortion than analog amps. This is for the most part a consequence of the switching distortion of the output power stage. Latest digital audio amplifiers, however, employ a feedback mechanism and can reduce the audio distortion to below 0.05%.
In comparison, "Class-D" amps which are also referred to as "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 downside is that many digital amps have higher audio distortion than analog amplifiers though a number of of the latest types make use of a feedback mechanism to reduce distortion to levels of 0.05% and less. The amp should be able to deliver adequate 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 environment. Loudspeaker 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 loudspeakers can tolerate continuously.
In a small listening setting, you might not require to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will probably be enough. Low-impedance speakers usually offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance loudspeakers. Not all amplifiers can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your speaker which is given in Ohms. Then look at your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive this impedance.
Two other significant 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 amplifier covers and should be at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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You'll find additional infos in relation to digital audio amplifiers at www.amphony.com/products/mini-amplifier.htm .
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