samedi 22 mars 2014

Don't Be Deceived By The Manufacturer Specs Of Modern Audio Amplifiers

By Marta McBrian


When purchasing a brand new amp, you probably are going to take a look at the technical specs. An often found parameter is the frequency response. This parameter although significant isn't going to tell the entire story pertaining to how well the amplifier will sound. I am going to make clear the meaning of this expression and additionally offer some suggestions on how to interpret it whilst searching for an amplifier. An amp is designed to amplify a music signal enough in order to drive some audio speakers to medium or higher volume level. Suppliers typically show the frequency range over which the amplifier functions. If the frequency range is 20 Hz to 20 kHz for instance, the amplifier could amplify all signals with a frequency higher than 20 Hz and less than 20 kHz. It might seem the greater the frequency response the better the amplifier. That, however, might not necessarily be the case. You need to go through the specs a lot more meticulously to be able to correctly understand these.

An amplifier will amplify an audio signal that is inside the frequency response range. If the frequency range is 20 Hz to 20 kHz for instance, the amplifier could amplify any signals with a frequency higher than 20 Hz and lower than 20 kHz. You may be tempted to go with an amp that offers the biggest frequency response. Yet, there's a lot more to comprehending an amplifier's overall performance than merely understanding this simple range. In fact, an amp that has a frequency response from 10 Hz to 30 kHz may actually have much poorer audio quality than an amp that provides a frequency response from 20 Hz to 15 kHz. Different manufacturers appear to employ various methods to establish frequency response. Usually, the frequency response displays the normal working range of the amplifier. Inside this range, the amp gain is largely constant. At the lower and upper cutoff frequencies the gain will drop by no more than 3 decibels.

Yet, the frequency response often is used in order to misinform shoppers by stretching the frequency range far past the range where the amplifier still functions effectively and in addition covers up the reality that the amplifier may not be linear. A complete frequency response graph, on the other hand, will show whether or not there are any kind of peaks and valleys and in addition show how the frequency response is to be understood. Peaks and also valleys could potentially cause colorization of the audio. Preferably the gain of the amplifier ought to be linear through the entire working range. In order to better understand the frequency response behavior of a specific type, you should attempt to find out under which conditions the response was calculated. You will probably find this information in the data sheet of the amp. Then again, many suppliers will not publish those in which case you ought to contact the maker directly. One condition which can effect the frequency response is the impedance of the loudspeaker connected to the amp. Normal speaker impedances range from 2 to 16 Ohms. The lower the loudspeaker impedance the greater the strain for the amplifier.

This change is most obvious with most digital amps, often known as Class-D amps. Class-D amps employ a lowpass filter in their output as a way to suppress the switching components which are created from the internal power FETs. The lowpass filter characteristic, however, greatly varies according to the attached load.

Some amplifiers incorporate feedback as a way to compensate for changes in gain resulting from different attached loads. Different amplifiers use transformers and offer outputs for different loudspeaker loads. Apart from improving the frequency response of the amplifier, this approach typically additionally improves the amplifier efficiency.




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