Looking at some of the technical specs of today's power amplifiers, one cannot help but be at a loss in trying to compare different models and terms, such as "t-amp", "THD" etc. I will give a short overview of the output power spec in order to help you better understand the meaning of this term and how they relate to the performance of an amplifier.
Some of the terms which amplifier manufacturers publish often are misleading and do not necessarily give a good indication of the actual performance of the amp. Next I will explain the "wattage" spec of audio amps. This spec is one of the most basic and perhaps important specs to understand.
The output power of the amps is given as "wattage". This describes how loud your amplifier can drive your speakers. If you have a small room then you don't need much more than a few watts. If you want to set up speakers outdoors or in a concert then you will need several hundred watts of power. Please note that many amplifiers will start distorting the audio once the audio reaches higher wattage. If you want to enjoy low-distortion audio then you may want to pick an amplifier which will give you more wattage than you will actually need.
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.
Nonetheless, while the rms rating will tell you more about the amplifier's actual performance, be sure though that the amp has a peak power rating which is substantially higher than the rms rating. This is because most likely you will be using the amp to amplify music or voice. Music and voice signals by nature always fluctuate in terms of their power, i.e. the power envelope of the signal will vary over time. This is because at certain points in time the signal will have bursts of power which by far exceed the average power of the signal.
Usually the impedance of the speakers which you connect to the amp will determine how much power the amp can deliver. Speaker impedance is measured in Ohms. Typically speakers have an impedance between 4 and 8 Ohms. Amps have a limited output voltage swing due to the fixed internal supply voltage. As such the maximum output power will vary depending on the speaker impedance. The lower the speaker impedance the higher the maximum power the amp can deliver. If the maximum power is not referenced to a speaker impedance, you should contact the manufacturer. Usually a 4-Ohm speaker is used as a reference.
Some of the terms which amplifier manufacturers publish often are misleading and do not necessarily give a good indication of the actual performance of the amp. Next I will explain the "wattage" spec of audio amps. This spec is one of the most basic and perhaps important specs to understand.
The output power of the amps is given as "wattage". This describes how loud your amplifier can drive your speakers. If you have a small room then you don't need much more than a few watts. If you want to set up speakers outdoors or in a concert then you will need several hundred watts of power. Please note that many amplifiers will start distorting the audio once the audio reaches higher wattage. If you want to enjoy low-distortion audio then you may want to pick an amplifier which will give you more wattage than you will actually need.
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.
Nonetheless, while the rms rating will tell you more about the amplifier's actual performance, be sure though that the amp has a peak power rating which is substantially higher than the rms rating. This is because most likely you will be using the amp to amplify music or voice. Music and voice signals by nature always fluctuate in terms of their power, i.e. the power envelope of the signal will vary over time. This is because at certain points in time the signal will have bursts of power which by far exceed the average power of the signal.
Usually the impedance of the speakers which you connect to the amp will determine how much power the amp can deliver. Speaker impedance is measured in Ohms. Typically speakers have an impedance between 4 and 8 Ohms. Amps have a limited output voltage swing due to the fixed internal supply voltage. As such the maximum output power will vary depending on the speaker impedance. The lower the speaker impedance the higher the maximum power the amp can deliver. If the maximum power is not referenced to a speaker impedance, you should contact the manufacturer. Usually a 4-Ohm speaker is used as a reference.
About the Author:
You can find more information about modern t-amps and mini amplifier products from Amphony's website.
