Selecting a superior amplifier for your loudspeakers is not a trivial job. You wish to make certain that your amplifier matches your loudspeakers. I will describe some important amplifier language and give some pointers to assist you select the best amplifier.
There is a variety of different audio amps available that all differ in their specifications, shape and size. This makes it difficult to decide which model to choose. You don't have to be an expert. Just follow some easy rules and you should be satisfied with your amp.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good part of your living room whereas some of the latest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a deck of cards. Many models will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment.
There are various core amplifier technologies available. One technology is named "solid-state". Solid-state amps now make up for the majority of audio amps. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still obtainable. Unfortunately, tube amps have relatively large audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amp.
An audio distortion of up to 10% is characteristic for tube amps whereas solid-state amps have lower audio distortion depending on the specific technology. A few 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". Whereas amplifiers using these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. This means that most of the electrical power supplied to the amp is wasted as heat while a small fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
When picking an amp, ensure that the output power is adequate to drive your speakers. The required power will be determined by how much power your loudspeakers can tolerate as well as the size of your space where you will be listening. 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 speaker can handle continuously without damage.
In a small listening environment, you might not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will almost certainly be plenty. Low-impedance speakers usually offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Additional important 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 amps available that all differ in their specifications, shape and size. This makes it difficult to decide which model to choose. You don't have to be an expert. Just follow some easy rules and you should be satisfied with your amp.
Amplifiers differ in their size and range from models that will take up a good part of your living room whereas some of the latest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a deck of cards. Many models will be the size of a standard audio rack so that you can easily stack it on top of your audio equipment.
There are various core amplifier technologies available. One technology is named "solid-state". Solid-state amps now make up for the majority of audio amps. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still obtainable. Unfortunately, tube amps have relatively large audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amp.
An audio distortion of up to 10% is characteristic for tube amps whereas solid-state amps have lower audio distortion depending on the specific technology. A few 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". Whereas amplifiers using these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. This means that most of the electrical power supplied to the amp is wasted as heat while a small fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.
When picking an amp, ensure that the output power is adequate to drive your speakers. The required power will be determined by how much power your loudspeakers can tolerate as well as the size of your space where you will be listening. 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 speaker can handle continuously without damage.
In a small listening environment, you might not need to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will almost certainly be plenty. Low-impedance speakers usually offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance speakers. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amp can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Additional important 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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