Choosing a high-quality amplifier for your loudspeakers is not a trivial task. You wish to guarantee that your amp matches your speakers. I will explain some main amplifier vocabulary and give some advice to aid you choose the perfect amplifier. It is hard to choose the right audio amplifier as a consequence of the large number of models. All of these models have different specs. They are based on different technologies and come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. However, you don't need to be a guru to choose the best model. By following some basic rules you won't regret your purchasing decision.
The most obvious parameter is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as large as half your living room whilst several of the most recent mini amplifier models are as small as a bar of soap. A lot of models will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from types that will take up a good portion of your living room whilst a number of of the newest mini amplifier models are as small as a deck of cards. A lot of amplifiers are rack sized. This permits them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
There are various core amplifier technologies available. One technology is called "solid-state". Solid-state amplifiers now account for the greater part of audio amplifiers. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still available. Regrettably, tube amplifiers have relatively large audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amplifier.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amps will have less audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is employed. In the past, mostly "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were obtainable which are also referred to as "analog amplifiers". Audio amplifiers which are based on these technologies normally have low harmonic distortion. Furthermore, this technology is quite economical. On the other hand, the disadvantage 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 the majority of its power as heat.
When picking an amp, ensure that the output power is sufficient to drive your speakers. The needed power will be determined by how much power your speakers can handle as well as the size of your room where you will be listening. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the utmost amount of power during short bursts whilst average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate constantly.
If your listening environment is fairly small then you may not need to drive your loudspeaker to its rated power handling value. You would probably be ok getting an amp that can deliver 20 to 50 Watts even though your speakers may be capable to handle 100 Watts of power. Loudspeakers though differ in their impedance and sensitivity. As a rule of thumb speakers with low impedance offer higher sensitivity. High-sensitivity speakers are simpler to drive to high volume than low-sensitivity speakers. Not all amplifiers can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your loudspeaker which is given in Ohms. Then look at your amplifier manual to make certain that your amplifier can drive this impedance.
Lastly, ensure that your amplifier introduces little noise and has a broad enough frequency response. High-quality amps will have a signal-to-noise ratio of no less than 100 dB and a frequency response of at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
The most obvious parameter is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as large as half your living room whilst several of the most recent mini amplifier models are as small as a bar of soap. A lot of models will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from types that will take up a good portion of your living room whilst a number of of the newest mini amplifier models are as small as a deck of cards. A lot of amplifiers are rack sized. This permits them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
There are various core amplifier technologies available. One technology is called "solid-state". Solid-state amplifiers now account for the greater part of audio amplifiers. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still available. Regrettably, tube amplifiers have relatively large audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amplifier.
Tube amps will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amps will have less audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is employed. In the past, mostly "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were obtainable which are also referred to as "analog amplifiers". Audio amplifiers which are based on these technologies normally have low harmonic distortion. Furthermore, this technology is quite economical. On the other hand, the disadvantage 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 the majority of its power as heat.
When picking an amp, ensure that the output power is sufficient to drive your speakers. The needed power will be determined by how much power your speakers can handle as well as the size of your room where you will be listening. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the utmost amount of power during short bursts whilst average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate constantly.
If your listening environment is fairly small then you may not need to drive your loudspeaker to its rated power handling value. You would probably be ok getting an amp that can deliver 20 to 50 Watts even though your speakers may be capable to handle 100 Watts of power. Loudspeakers though differ in their impedance and sensitivity. As a rule of thumb speakers with low impedance offer higher sensitivity. High-sensitivity speakers are simpler to drive to high volume than low-sensitivity speakers. Not all amplifiers can drive any speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your loudspeaker which is given in Ohms. Then look at your amplifier manual to make certain that your amplifier can drive this impedance.
Lastly, ensure that your amplifier introduces little noise and has a broad enough frequency response. High-quality amps will have a signal-to-noise ratio of no less than 100 dB and a frequency response of at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.