If you have paid a good amount of money on a pair of good-quality loudspeakers, you wish to be certain that you get an amplifier which will deliver brilliant audio quality while meeting your budget. I will offer several tips regarding audio amp devices to help you make the right purchasing decision.
The most obvious criterion is the size of the amplifier. There are models that are as large as half your living room while a number of of the newest mini amplifier models are as tiny as a bar of soap. Many models will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
The most apparent criterion is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as large as half your living room while a number of of the latest mini amplifier types are as small as a bar of soap. A lot of models will be the size of a ordinary audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment. The huge majority of today's audio amps are solid state amplifiers vs more conventional tube amps. Tube amplifiers have been prevalent a decade or so ago. Unfortunately, tube amplifiers have quite large audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amplifier.
Tube amplifiers will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amps will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. 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 audio. Amplifiers based on any of these technologies are also referred to as "analog amplifiers". This technology offers rather low audio distortion. Though, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The remaining part is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate most of its power as heat.
Another technology is named "Class-D". This technology offers much higher power efficiency than analog amplifiers, normally around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amplifiers are also known as "digital amplifiers". The disadvantage is that many digital amps have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers although several of the most recent types employ a feedback mechanism to reduce distortion to levels of 0.05% and less.
Another technology is known as "Class-D". This technology provides much greater power efficiency than analog amplifiers, usually around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amps are also named "digital amplifiers". The disadvantage is that many digital amplifiers have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers though several of the latest types utilize a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and less. When picking an amp, make certain that the output power is enough to drive your speakers. The required power will be determined by how much power your loudspeakers can handle as well as the size of your space where you will be listening. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the maximum amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate constantly.
In a small listening setting, you may not need to drive your speakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will probably be sufficient. Note however that loudspeakers differ in their sensitivity. Typically a low-impedance loudspeaker will be less difficult to drive to high volume than a high-impedance loudspeaker. Be certain that your amp can drive your speaker impedance. You can easily find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Two other essential 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 introduce and should be no less than 100 dB for a high-quality amp. The frequency response shows which audio frequency range the amplifier covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
The most obvious criterion is the size of the amplifier. There are models that are as large as half your living room while a number of of the newest mini amplifier models are as tiny as a bar of soap. Many models will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
The most apparent criterion is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as large as half your living room while a number of of the latest mini amplifier types are as small as a bar of soap. A lot of models will be the size of a ordinary audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment. The huge majority of today's audio amps are solid state amplifiers vs more conventional tube amps. Tube amplifiers have been prevalent a decade or so ago. Unfortunately, tube amplifiers have quite large audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amplifier.
Tube amplifiers will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amps will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. 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 audio. Amplifiers based on any of these technologies are also referred to as "analog amplifiers". This technology offers rather low audio distortion. Though, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The remaining part is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate most of its power as heat.
Another technology is named "Class-D". This technology offers much higher power efficiency than analog amplifiers, normally around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amplifiers are also known as "digital amplifiers". The disadvantage is that many digital amps have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers although several of the most recent types employ a feedback mechanism to reduce distortion to levels of 0.05% and less.
Another technology is known as "Class-D". This technology provides much greater power efficiency than analog amplifiers, usually around 80 to 90%. "Class-D" amps are also named "digital amplifiers". The disadvantage is that many digital amplifiers have larger audio distortion than analog amplifiers though several of the latest types utilize a feedback mechanism to minimize distortion to levels of 0.05% and less. When picking an amp, make certain that the output power is enough to drive your speakers. The required power will be determined by how much power your loudspeakers can handle as well as the size of your space where you will be listening. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the maximum amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate constantly.
In a small listening setting, you may not need to drive your speakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will probably be sufficient. Note however that loudspeakers differ in their sensitivity. Typically a low-impedance loudspeaker will be less difficult to drive to high volume than a high-impedance loudspeaker. Be certain that your amp can drive your speaker impedance. You can easily find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Two other essential 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 introduce and should be no less than 100 dB for a high-quality amp. The frequency response shows which audio frequency range the amplifier covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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