Looking at some of the technical specs of recent audio amplifiers, one cannot help but be at a loss in trying to evaluate different models and technical jargon, e.g. "t-amp", "THD" and so forth. I am going to provide a brief summary of the output power specification to help you better comprehend the meaning of this specification and how it relates to the performance of an amp.
The output power of the amps is given as "wattage". This shows how loud your amplifier may drive your speakers. Based on your application, you may choose a miniature amp offering only several watts or a larger one delivering several hundred watts. Most home stereos only have amplifiers that have several watts output power which typically is sufficient for a small space. If you plan to shake your walls then you obviously want to choose an amp that offers up to a few hundred watts. For best audio quality, you may wish to go with an amplifier that offers more power than you require since many amplifiers will show growing distortion as the audio output power goes up.
Power is either given as "Watts peak" which means the amp can create short bursts of this amount of power or "Watts rms" which describes how much power the amp may provide for a longer period of time. The peak wattage spec in the past habitually led to makers listing large wattage ratings for tiny amplifiers. However, in practice these amps would not be able to sustain bigger amounts of output power for larger amounts of time.
Wattage is either shown as "Watts peak" which means the amp may create brief bursts of this level of power or "Watts rms" which shows how much power the amp may offer for a longer period of time. The peak spec has been rather misused by vendors stating enormous peak audio power whilst their amps are in reality built with tiny power supplies unable to handle more than only several watts rms power. These days most amps will specify rms power which gives a better indication of the amplifier's actual performance. However, please ensure that your amp has enough headroom to steer clear of clipping of the audio. This is because at certain moments the signal is going to show bursts of power that by far surpass the average output power of the signal.
Though, be conscious of the fact that the maximum output power also depends on what kind of speakers you are utilizing, in particular the impedance of the speakers. Loudspeakers usually have impedances between 4 and 8 Ohms. An audio amplifier which has a fixed internal supply voltage is going to have a maximum output signal swing that is limited by that supply voltage. If you are driving an 8-Ohm speaker then the amp must provide two times the output voltage than when driving a 4-Ohm speaker so as to output the same level of power. Thus often largest output power is given for a particular loudspeaker impedance.
The output power of the amps is given as "wattage". This shows how loud your amplifier may drive your speakers. Based on your application, you may choose a miniature amp offering only several watts or a larger one delivering several hundred watts. Most home stereos only have amplifiers that have several watts output power which typically is sufficient for a small space. If you plan to shake your walls then you obviously want to choose an amp that offers up to a few hundred watts. For best audio quality, you may wish to go with an amplifier that offers more power than you require since many amplifiers will show growing distortion as the audio output power goes up.
Power is either given as "Watts peak" which means the amp can create short bursts of this amount of power or "Watts rms" which describes how much power the amp may provide for a longer period of time. The peak wattage spec in the past habitually led to makers listing large wattage ratings for tiny amplifiers. However, in practice these amps would not be able to sustain bigger amounts of output power for larger amounts of time.
Wattage is either shown as "Watts peak" which means the amp may create brief bursts of this level of power or "Watts rms" which shows how much power the amp may offer for a longer period of time. The peak spec has been rather misused by vendors stating enormous peak audio power whilst their amps are in reality built with tiny power supplies unable to handle more than only several watts rms power. These days most amps will specify rms power which gives a better indication of the amplifier's actual performance. However, please ensure that your amp has enough headroom to steer clear of clipping of the audio. This is because at certain moments the signal is going to show bursts of power that by far surpass the average output power of the signal.
Though, be conscious of the fact that the maximum output power also depends on what kind of speakers you are utilizing, in particular the impedance of the speakers. Loudspeakers usually have impedances between 4 and 8 Ohms. An audio amplifier which has a fixed internal supply voltage is going to have a maximum output signal swing that is limited by that supply voltage. If you are driving an 8-Ohm speaker then the amp must provide two times the output voltage than when driving a 4-Ohm speaker so as to output the same level of power. Thus often largest output power is given for a particular loudspeaker impedance.
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