I will have a look at a few audio amplifiers as well as mini amplifier models and describe some essential terminology to help you choose the best amplifier for your loudspeakers

Audio amps are available in all different shapes and sizes. They use different technologies and have countless technical specs. Still, you don’t have to be a specialist to choose the best type. By following some essential rules you won’t regret your buying decision.

The most obvious parameter is the size of the amplifier. There are models that are as large as half your living room while several of the most recent mini amplifier models are as tiny as a bar of soap. Various amplifiers are rack sized. This permits them to be stacked on top of your other audio equipment.

There are various core amplifier technologies available. One technology is named “solid-state”. Solid-state amplifiers now account for the bulk of audio amplifiers. In the past, tube amps have been popular. Even today tube amplifiers are still available. Regrettably, tube amps have relatively large audio distortion which describes how much the audio signal is degraded by the amp.

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. Some 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”. While amps utilizing these technologies typically have low audio distortion, power efficiency is merely 10% to 30%. This means that the majority of the electrical power supplied to the amplifier is wasted as heat while a tiny fraction is utilized to amplify the audio signal.

Another technology is referred to as “Class-D”. This technology provides far higher power efficiency than analog amplifiers, usually around 80 to 90%. “Class-D” amps are also named “digital amplifiers”. As a result of the switching output stage, digital amps typically have larger harmonic distortion than analog amplifiers. Though, a few of the newest models are able to minimize distortion to 0.05% and less by employing 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 space. 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 short periods of time. The average value on the other hand denotes how much power the speaker can tolerate continuously without damage.

In a small listening area, you may not need to drive your speakers to their rated value. 20 to 40 Watts of power would probably be plenty. Notice though that speakers differ in their sensitivity. Usually a low-impedance loudspeaker will be easier to drive to high volume than a high-impedance loudspeaker. Not all amps can drive every speaker impedance. Find out the impedance of your speaker which is given in Ohms. Then take a look at your amplifier manual to ensure that your amplifier can drive this impedance.

Additional key parameters are the signal-to-noise ratio and frequency response which should be in the order of no less than 100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response for high-quality amps.

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