Looking at some of the technical specifications of recent stereo amplifiers, one cannot help but be at a loss in attempting to compare different models as well as technical jargon, such as "t-amp", "THD" et cetera. I am going to clarify the term "amplifier wattage" a bit more in this expose. "Output power" is one of the most essential terms describing amplifier performance. Nevertheless, it is often misunderstood. Several manufacturers also in history have used this term in a perplexing manner in order to conceal the real performance. Amp specs are now and then tough to decipher since they are not fully standardized. As such it can be hard to determine the actual performance of the amp only by investigating the specs. A good technique however is to do a listening test ahead of paying for your power amplifier. During this test you ideally wish to set up the amplifier in a similar environment as your application. Next I will offer several details in relation to "amplifier wattage". This spec is time and again misunderstood. It is significant to look fairly closely at how the manufacturer publishes this parameter.
"Wattage" is from time to time also called "Power" or "amplifier output power". To put it in a nutshell, "wattage" relates to how high the amp can drive your speakers. The higher this number the louder your loudspeakers. Based on your application, you may go with a miniature amplifier offering only several watts or a larger one offering several hundred watts. Most home stereos only have amplifiers that have a few watts power which typically is adequate for a small room. If you plan to shake your walls then you obviously wish to opt for an amplifier that has as much as several hundred watts. Many amplifiers will have increasing music distortion as output power increases. Therefore, you wish to choose an amp that offers more output power than you will actually need. This will assure that you will never drive the amplifier into areas of big distortion.
Wattage is either given as "Watts peak" which means the amp may create short bursts of this amount of power or "Watts rms" which describes how much power the amplifier can deliver for a longer period of time. The peak rating has been somewhat misused by manufacturers showing excessive peak audio wattage whilst their amps are in fact constructed with small power supplies unable to handle more than just several watts rms power.
Today many amps will specify rms power that gives a better indication of the amp's true performance. However, please ensure that your amp offers sufficient headroom to steer clear of clipping of the audio. The main reason is that music signals are going to have short bursts of high power which the amplifier has to deal with. Rms power is measured with a constant sine signal that hardly compares with a music signal in terms of the power envelope.
Usually the impedance of the speakers which you attach to the amp is going to determine how much power the amp may offer. Speaker impedance is measured in Ohms. Typically speakers have an impedance between 4 and 8 Ohms. Because of the limited amplifier supply voltage, the maximum output power is going to be half when you attach an 8-Ohm speaker of the peak power that the amp may deliver to a 4-Ohm loudspeaker. Consequently frequently highest output power is given for a certain loudspeaker impedance.
"Wattage" is from time to time also called "Power" or "amplifier output power". To put it in a nutshell, "wattage" relates to how high the amp can drive your speakers. The higher this number the louder your loudspeakers. Based on your application, you may go with a miniature amplifier offering only several watts or a larger one offering several hundred watts. Most home stereos only have amplifiers that have a few watts power which typically is adequate for a small room. If you plan to shake your walls then you obviously wish to opt for an amplifier that has as much as several hundred watts. Many amplifiers will have increasing music distortion as output power increases. Therefore, you wish to choose an amp that offers more output power than you will actually need. This will assure that you will never drive the amplifier into areas of big distortion.
Wattage is either given as "Watts peak" which means the amp may create short bursts of this amount of power or "Watts rms" which describes how much power the amplifier can deliver for a longer period of time. The peak rating has been somewhat misused by manufacturers showing excessive peak audio wattage whilst their amps are in fact constructed with small power supplies unable to handle more than just several watts rms power.
Today many amps will specify rms power that gives a better indication of the amp's true performance. However, please ensure that your amp offers sufficient headroom to steer clear of clipping of the audio. The main reason is that music signals are going to have short bursts of high power which the amplifier has to deal with. Rms power is measured with a constant sine signal that hardly compares with a music signal in terms of the power envelope.
Usually the impedance of the speakers which you attach to the amp is going to determine how much power the amp may offer. Speaker impedance is measured in Ohms. Typically speakers have an impedance between 4 and 8 Ohms. Because of the limited amplifier supply voltage, the maximum output power is going to be half when you attach an 8-Ohm speaker of the peak power that the amp may deliver to a 4-Ohm loudspeaker. Consequently frequently highest output power is given for a certain loudspeaker impedance.
No comments:
Post a Comment