I will take a look at some audio amplifiers and explain some basic terms to help you choose the best amp for your loudspeakers
The most obvious criterion is the size of the amp. There are types that are as large as half your living room whilst several of the newest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a bar of soap. Numerous models will be the size of a ordinary audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
The largest part of modern audio amplifiers 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 amps have quite high audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amp.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is often as high as 10%. Solid-state amps will have less audio distortion. Still, distortion will depend on the particular audio amplifier technology. Several of the most accepted 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 called "analog amplifiers". While amps using these technologies normally have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is utilized to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amplifiers with low power efficiency will need fairly big heat sinks because the majority of the power is radiated.
Tube amplifiers will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. Several of the most accepted technologies in the past have been "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technologies. These technologies use different arrangements to amplify the audio. Amps based on any of these technologies are also called "analog amplifiers". Whereas amplifiers employing these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The left over part is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate the majority of its power as heat.
The amp should be capable to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your speakers which will depend not only on how much power your speakers can tolerate but also on the size of your listening area. Loudspeaker power handling capability is specified as peak power and average power. The peak power value refers to how much power the speaker can handle for a short period of time while the average power handling value describes how much power you can drive the loudspeaker at continuously without damage.
If you have a fairly small listening area then 20 to 50 Watts of power should be enough despite the fact that your speaker might be rated for 100 Watts or higher. Notice however that loudspeakers vary in their sensitivity. Usually a low-impedance loudspeaker will be simpler to drive to high volume than a high-impedance speaker. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amplifier can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Two other key parameters to look at when picking an amplifier are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio describes how much noise the amplifier will generate and should be at least 100 dB for a high-quality amplifier. The frequency response indicates which audio frequency range the amplifier covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
The most obvious criterion is the size of the amp. There are types that are as large as half your living room whilst several of the newest mini amplifier types are as tiny as a bar of soap. Numerous models will be the size of a ordinary audio rack so that you can simply stack it on top of your audio equipment.
The largest part of modern audio amplifiers 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 amps have quite high audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amp.
Harmonic distortion of tube amps is often as high as 10%. Solid-state amps will have less audio distortion. Still, distortion will depend on the particular audio amplifier technology. Several of the most accepted 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 called "analog amplifiers". While amps using these technologies normally have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency describes how much of the electrical power is utilized to amplify the audio versus being wasted as heat. Amplifiers with low power efficiency will need fairly big heat sinks because the majority of the power is radiated.
Tube amplifiers will have audio distortion of up to 10%. Solid state amplifiers will have lower audio distortion depending on the amplifier technology that is utilized. Several of the most accepted technologies in the past have been "Class-A" and "Class-AB" technologies. These technologies use different arrangements to amplify the audio. Amps based on any of these technologies are also called "analog amplifiers". Whereas amplifiers employing these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. Power efficiency refers to how much of the electrical power is actually used to amplify the signal. The left over part is wasted as heat. An amplifier with low power efficiency will radiate the majority of its power as heat.
The amp should be capable to deliver enough output power to sufficiently drive your speakers which will depend not only on how much power your speakers can tolerate but also on the size of your listening area. Loudspeaker power handling capability is specified as peak power and average power. The peak power value refers to how much power the speaker can handle for a short period of time while the average power handling value describes how much power you can drive the loudspeaker at continuously without damage.
If you have a fairly small listening area then 20 to 50 Watts of power should be enough despite the fact that your speaker might be rated for 100 Watts or higher. Notice however that loudspeakers vary in their sensitivity. Usually a low-impedance loudspeaker will be simpler to drive to high volume than a high-impedance speaker. Check your amplifier manual to make certain that your amplifier can drive your loudspeaker impedance.
Two other key parameters to look at when picking an amplifier are signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response. Signal-to-noise ratio describes how much noise the amplifier will generate and should be at least 100 dB for a high-quality amplifier. The frequency response indicates which audio frequency range the amplifier covers and should be no less than 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
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