Modern amplifiers come in all shapes and sizes. Finding the perfect model for your application can often be tricky. There is a flood of different names and terms describing audio amps, such as "Class D" or "T-amp". Also, each manufacturer publishes a large number of specifications, including "SNR", "dynamic distortion" etc. In this article, I will have a closer look at one of the most fundamental of these terms: amplifier output power. This term is also known as "amplifier wattage".
If you are looking to buy an audio amplifier to set up your home speakers, you will often be confronted with a number of strange terms describing its performance. But how do these numbers relate to how the amplifier sounds and how are these to be interpreted? Let me now go ahead and explain the wattage rating of audio amplifiers.
"Wattage" shows how loud your amp can drive your speakers. Depending on your application, you can go with a small amp delivering only a few watts or a larger one delivering several hundred watts. Most home stereos only come with amplifiers that have a few watts power which usually is enough for a small room. If you plan to shake your walls then you obviously want to opt for an amp that has up to several hundred watts. Most amplifiers will have increasing audio distortion as output power increases. Therefore, you want to pick an amp that has higher output power than you will actually need. This will assure that you will never drive the amp into areas of high distortion.
Wattage is either given as "Watts peak" which means the amp can produce short burst of this amount of power or "Watts rms" which show how much power the amp can deliver for a longer period of time. In the past, vendors have usually preferred listing the "peak power". This number is higher than the average or "rms" power. However, "peak power" can often be misleading since there is no standard showing the amount of time that the amplifier has to be able to deliver this amount of power.
Today most amps will specify rms power which gives a better indication of the amps true performance. However, please ensure that your amp has enough headroom to avoid clipping of the audio. Having enough headroom is essential since music signals differ a great deal from sine wave signals which are used to measure rms power. Short bursts of high power are often found in music signals. These bursts will drive the amp into high distortion unless the peak power is high enough.
Please note that often the peak power of the amp will depend on the impedance of your speakers which is typically between 4 and 8 Ohms. Due to the limited amplifier supply voltage, the maximum output power will be half if you connect an 8-Ohm speaker of the peak power that the amp can deliver to a 4-Ohm speaker. Usually maximum power is specified for a 4-Ohm speaker impedance. However, ideally the manufacturer will tell which speaker impedance the power rating is being referenced to. Please note that some amplifiers cannot drive speakers with very low speaker impedance.
If you are looking to buy an audio amplifier to set up your home speakers, you will often be confronted with a number of strange terms describing its performance. But how do these numbers relate to how the amplifier sounds and how are these to be interpreted? Let me now go ahead and explain the wattage rating of audio amplifiers.
"Wattage" shows how loud your amp can drive your speakers. Depending on your application, you can go with a small amp delivering only a few watts or a larger one delivering several hundred watts. Most home stereos only come with amplifiers that have a few watts power which usually is enough for a small room. If you plan to shake your walls then you obviously want to opt for an amp that has up to several hundred watts. Most amplifiers will have increasing audio distortion as output power increases. Therefore, you want to pick an amp that has higher output power than you will actually need. This will assure that you will never drive the amp into areas of high distortion.
Wattage is either given as "Watts peak" which means the amp can produce short burst of this amount of power or "Watts rms" which show how much power the amp can deliver for a longer period of time. In the past, vendors have usually preferred listing the "peak power". This number is higher than the average or "rms" power. However, "peak power" can often be misleading since there is no standard showing the amount of time that the amplifier has to be able to deliver this amount of power.
Today most amps will specify rms power which gives a better indication of the amps true performance. However, please ensure that your amp has enough headroom to avoid clipping of the audio. Having enough headroom is essential since music signals differ a great deal from sine wave signals which are used to measure rms power. Short bursts of high power are often found in music signals. These bursts will drive the amp into high distortion unless the peak power is high enough.
Please note that often the peak power of the amp will depend on the impedance of your speakers which is typically between 4 and 8 Ohms. Due to the limited amplifier supply voltage, the maximum output power will be half if you connect an 8-Ohm speaker of the peak power that the amp can deliver to a 4-Ohm speaker. Usually maximum power is specified for a 4-Ohm speaker impedance. However, ideally the manufacturer will tell which speaker impedance the power rating is being referenced to. Please note that some amplifiers cannot drive speakers with very low speaker impedance.
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You can find more information about t-ampproducts as well as small amplifiers at Amphony's website.
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