Guidelines For Finding The Ideal Audio Amplifier

I will look at a few audio amplifiers as well as mini amplifier models and clarify some important expressions to assist you pick the best amplifier for your speakers

It is hard to select the right audio amp because of the large quantity of models. All of these types have different specs. They are based on different technologies and are available in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Still, you don’t need to be an expert to pick the right model. By following some key rules you won’t regret your 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 some of the latest mini amplifier models are as small as a bar of soap. A large number of amps are the size of a regular rack. This enables your amplifier to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.

Nearly all of recent audio amps are based on solid-state technology whereas a small portion is based on tube technology which has been popular over a decade ago. Regrettably, tube amplifiers have relatively high audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amplifier.

Harmonic distortion of tube amps is often as high as 10%. Solid-state amps will have lower audio distortion. Still, distortion will depend on the specific audio amplifier technology. In the past, mostly “Class-A” and “Class-AB” amps were obtainable which are also called “analog amplifiers”. Audio amps which are based on these technologies normally have low harmonic distortion. In addition, this technology is quite economical. On the other hand, the drawback is that the power efficiency is merely in the order of 20% to 30%. This means that most of the electrical power provided to the amp is wasted as heat whereas a small fraction is used to amplify the audio signal.

“Class-D” amplifiers, on the other hand, which are also known as “digital amplifiers” have a power efficiency of at the least 80% and are smaller and have a smaller power supply than similar analog amplifiers. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amps normally have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. Though, a number of of the most recent models are able to minimize distortion to 0.05% and less by using a feedback mechanism.

Your amplifier should deliver adequate power to drive your speakers. The amount of power will depend on the power handling rating of your loudspeakers. An additional factor is the size of your room. There are two values for speaker power handling: peak and average power handling. The peak value shows how much power the loudspeaker can tolerate for small periods of time. The average value on the other hand denotes how much power the speaker can tolerate continuously without harm.

In a small listening setting, you may not require to drive your loudspeakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power will most likely be enough. Low-impedance loudspeakers generally offer high sensitivity and are simpler to drive to high volume than high-impedance loudspeakers. Not all amplifiers can drive every speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your speaker which is given in Ohms. Then look at your amplifier manual to guarantee that your amplifier can drive this impedance.

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 least 100 dB and a frequency response of at least 20 Hz to 20 kHz.