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Choosing a superior amplifier for your speakers is not a trivial job. You want to ensure that your amplifier matches your speakers. I will explain some basic amplifier vocabulary and give some recommendations to aid you choose the right amplifier. There is a flood of different audio amps available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. By following some straightforward suggestions, you will be able to pick the model that best meets your application and budget.
There is a variety of different audio amplifiers available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. By following some straightforward rules, you will be able to pick the type that best fits your application and budget.
The majority of modern audio amps are based on solid-state technology while a tiny portion is based on tube technology which has been popular over a decade ago. However, tube amplifiers have rather high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded while passing through the amplifier and is given in percent. This value is often 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 used. Some of the most accepted 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 known as "analog amplifiers". This technology provides rather small audio distortion. However, the power efficiency is only 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 require rather large heat sinks because most of the power is radiated.
Another technology is named "Class-D". This technology provides much higher power efficiency than analog amplifiers, usually around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amplifiers are also referred to as "digital amplifiers". Due to the switching output stage, digital amplifiers typically have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. On the other hand, a few of the most recent models are able to minimize distortion to 0.05% and less by using a feedback mechanism.
The amp should be capable to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your speakers 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 speaker can tolerate for small periods of time. The average value on the other hand denotes how much power the loudspeaker can tolerate constantly without harm.
If you have a rather small listening area then 20 to 50 Watts of power should be plenty despite the fact that your loudspeaker might be rated for 100 Watts or higher. Low-impedance loudspeakers generally offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Be sure that your amplifier can drive your loudspeaker impedance. You can without difficulty find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Additional key parameters are the signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response which should be in the order of no less than 100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response for high-quality amps.
There is a variety of different audio amplifiers available which all differ in their specifications, shape and size. By following some straightforward rules, you will be able to pick the type that best fits your application and budget.
The majority of modern audio amps are based on solid-state technology while a tiny portion is based on tube technology which has been popular over a decade ago. However, tube amplifiers have rather high audio distortion. Audio distortion refers to how much the audio signal is being degraded while passing through the amplifier and is given in percent. This value is often 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 used. Some of the most accepted 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 known as "analog amplifiers". This technology provides rather small audio distortion. However, the power efficiency is only 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 require rather large heat sinks because most of the power is radiated.
Another technology is named "Class-D". This technology provides much higher power efficiency than analog amplifiers, usually around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amplifiers are also referred to as "digital amplifiers". Due to the switching output stage, digital amplifiers typically have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. On the other hand, a few of the most recent models are able to minimize distortion to 0.05% and less by using a feedback mechanism.
The amp should be capable to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your speakers 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 speaker can tolerate for small periods of time. The average value on the other hand denotes how much power the loudspeaker can tolerate constantly without harm.
If you have a rather small listening area then 20 to 50 Watts of power should be plenty despite the fact that your loudspeaker might be rated for 100 Watts or higher. Low-impedance loudspeakers generally offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Be sure that your amplifier can drive your loudspeaker impedance. You can without difficulty find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Additional key parameters are the signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response which should be in the order of no less than 100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response for high-quality amps.
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