Selecting The Right Audio Amplifier For Your House

Audio amplifiers are available in a flood of diverse technologies and types. Choosing the right model for a particular application would seem to be a intimidating undertaking. I will aid you understand some of the key amplifier jargon vocabulary. This know-how will aid you select the best amplifier.

An audio amplifier will connect your audio source with your speakers by converting the rather weak source signal into a strong enough signal to drive your speakers.

Some audio sources such as surround-sound receivers already come with a built-in audio amplifier. Using a separate amplifier, though, offers some advantages. One advantage is having more flexibility and being able to pick an amplifier that is best appropriate to drive a particular speaker. Some of today’s miniature amplifier models can be hidden virtually everywhere due to their small size.

Output wattage is one of the factors that many people will consider first when choosing an amplifier since driving low-sensitivity speakers or driving speakers in large rooms or outdoors calls for fairly high wattage. Still, be careful not to overdrive your speakers. This can harm your speakers beyond repair.

Still, a 20 to 50 Watt amplifier will give you more than enough power in many situations so don’t be overly concerned about the rated amplifier wattage.

Amplifier wattage is given either as rms or continuous power which shows how much power the amplifier can deliver continuously or as maximum or peak power which shows how much power the amp can supply for small periods of time. Many people will look at the rms power value when picking an amplifier. On the other hand, music signals are anything but continuous. Therefore selecting an amp that has enough peak power handling is just as crucial.

Though, audio quality is just as imperative as having sufficient audio power. Thus be sure to also take a look at factors related to the quality of the amplifier. One of these parameters is referred to as total harmonic distortion or THD. No amplifier is completely perfect and the amplified signal will include some error components which will distort the signal to some level. THD is either expressed in percent or dB. A smaller distortion number means a lower distortion of the audio signal by the amplifier. Audiophile amplifiers will have distortion numbers of usually less than 0.05%. Consumer-grade amplifiers will have distortion figures of up to 10%.

Another figure related to audio quality is known as signal-to-noise ratio and describes the level of unwanted noise the amplifier will add to the signal. Audiophile-grade amps will have an SNR of 100 dB or higher. Consumer-grade amps will have at least 80 dB signal-to-noise ratio.

Most of modern amplifiers are so-called Class-D amplifiers which means that they have higher power efficiency than Class-A or Class-AB amplifiers and therefore waste little power as heat. High power efficiency has led to the development of very small amplifiers. Some of these most recent mini amplifiers are no bigger than a deck of cards. Many Class-D amplifiers, however, have higher distortion and a lower signal-to-noise ratio than Class-A or Class-AB amplifiers. Be certain to look closely at these numbers when selecting a Class-D type amplifier.

July 25, 2010  Tags: audio amplifier, hifi amplifier, power amplifier, stereo amplifier  Posted in: Off Topic