If you have paid a good amount of money on a pair of good-quality speakers, you wish to be confident that you get an amplifier which will deliver superb audio quality while meeting your budget. I will present some pointers on the subject of audio amplifier products to help you make the right buying decision.
The most apparent criterion is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as big as half your living room whilst several of the latest mini amplifier models are as small as a bar of soap. A big number of amplifiers are the size of a typical rack. This permits your amplifier to be stacked on top of your other audio devices.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good part of your living room whilst a few of the most recent mini amplifier models are as tiny as a deck of cards. A large number of amplifiers are the size of a regular rack. This permits your amp to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
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 utilized. In the past, typically "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were obtainable which are also referred to as "analog amplifiers". This technology provides rather low audio distortion. Though, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. This means that the majority of the electrical power supplied to the amp is wasted as heat while a tiny fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
In comparison, "Class-D" amps which are also called "digital amplifiers" offer a power efficiency of generally 80 to 90%. This enables the amp and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amplifiers normally have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. However, a few of the newest types are capable to reduce distortion to 0.05% and lower by utilizing a feedback mechanism.
The amplifier should be able to offer 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. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the utmost amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate constantly.
If you have a fairly small listening area then 20 to 50 Watts of power should be enough even though your loudspeaker might be rated for 100 Watts or higher. Notice though that speakers vary 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 without problems find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Last but not least, be certain that your amplifier introduces little noise and has a broad enough frequency response. High-quality amps will have a signal-to-noise ratio of at the very least 100 dB and a frequency response of no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
The most apparent criterion is the size of the amplifier. There are types that are as big as half your living room whilst several of the latest mini amplifier models are as small as a bar of soap. A big number of amplifiers are the size of a typical rack. This permits your amplifier to be stacked on top of your other audio devices.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good part of your living room whilst a few of the most recent mini amplifier models are as tiny as a deck of cards. A large number of amplifiers are the size of a regular rack. This permits your amp to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.
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 utilized. In the past, typically "Class-A" and "Class-AB" amps were obtainable which are also referred to as "analog amplifiers". This technology provides rather low audio distortion. Though, the power efficiency is only 10 to 30%. This means that the majority of the electrical power supplied to the amp is wasted as heat while a tiny fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
In comparison, "Class-D" amps which are also called "digital amplifiers" offer a power efficiency of generally 80 to 90%. This enables the amp and power supply to be made a great deal smaller than analog amplifiers. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amplifiers normally have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. However, a few of the newest types are capable to reduce distortion to 0.05% and lower by utilizing a feedback mechanism.
The amplifier should be able to offer 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. Loudspeaker power handling is given as peak power which describes the utmost amount of power during short bursts whereas average power refers to how much power the speakers can tolerate constantly.
If you have a fairly small listening area then 20 to 50 Watts of power should be enough even though your loudspeaker might be rated for 100 Watts or higher. Notice though that speakers vary 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 without problems find the rated speaker impedance range in your amplifier's user manual.
Last but not least, be certain that your amplifier introduces little noise and has a broad enough frequency response. High-quality amps will have a signal-to-noise ratio of at the very least 100 dB and a frequency response of no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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