Hi! I was wondering if there were any golden rules of thumb to be kept in mind for synergy previous to purchasing amplifier for loudspeakers or vice versa.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Hi! I was wondering if there were any golden rules of thumb to be kept in mind for synergy previous to purchasing amplifier for loudspeakers or vice versa.
Thanks!
Hi! I was wondering if there were any golden rules of thumb to be kept in mind for synergy previous to purchasing amplifier for loudspeakers or vice versa.
Thanks!
I can think of the following rules - with several exceptions of course:
1. Impedance match: If you have autoformers - one of the outputs should match the loudspeakers impedance - and the impedance swings should not be more than +- 1 impedance in order to avoid hights rolling off. Hence, the there are some limitations for selecting the loudspeakers. There are, of course, exceptions..
2. If you have very transparent speakers, like Martin Logans, expect the loudspeakers to reveal all the good and all the bad sounds from the record. You probably should have some "smoothing" out gear (tubes in the pre-amp for instance). You may also have a tube main amplifier, which is a contradiction to rule nr.1
3. If you have a dynamic speakers which is not very transparent you may consider more analytical amplifier, such as Hegel for instance.
4. An SS amp should double the effect/W from 8 to 4 ohms, and the same from 4 to 2 ohms if you speaker has impedance swings like ML. This is not crucial if you have a stable impedance for you speakers.
5. Try to avoid several stages in the loudspeaker that is hampering the signal to reach the loudspeakers. A lot of gear have autoformers - both on the amp side and on the loudspeakers side. Try to minimize all these steps (again - I can think of several exceptions)
6. Avoid "harsh" loudspeakers on "harsh" amplifiers and vice versa.
7. Decide if you want the best hi-fi detailed gear or a musical gear
8. Listen to the amplifiers and the loudspeakers first.
Hola Chicos...but Julian, the final judge are your ears, no matter what, right? There are a lot of brands on the market today with outstanding performance and sound quality. You do not need to know their specs, to suite your liking. If an amplifier is not good for your speakers, then your ears will tell right away. If you do like a lot what you are listening, and your feet is moving along with the music, then you are with the right gear, no matter if the amp type is tube, SS or D. You have a lot of information through the non profit reviewers, or better say, the ones that say the truth about the product that they are reviewing, you can see pics of the printed circuit boards inside, and the quality built, and you can use the common sense as a guide for your decision. Some designs for amplifiers do not like the impedance of the electrostatic panels of Martin Logan...you can tell when they are not driving the panels right, you get distortion or roll of the highs...easy thing to tell. On others, will show you the stage, (your ears working here), is it a wide stage and has depth 3D?, the size of the instruments (your ears working here), do you have the size of a violin versus the size of a piano, playing together? the air between the instruments (your ears working here), are the instrument(s) played with air between them or do you have a mess and trouble to tell? the dynamics of the overall sound (your ears working here), is it fun to listen the percussion instruments? what about the wind instruments, like a sax or a trumpet?, the glare at the voice(s) (your ears working here) are you listening a clear voice or a sored throat that sounds like a frog singing? Is the timbre of the instrument(s) right?, can you tell the difference between a viola and a violin?... These, and of course are more, are the questions that you should ask yourself when you are evaluating an amplifier or any other audio component for your system.. specs are a guides, but will not tell you if the amp will drive your speakers with your sounding needs. Trust your ears! They are final judge. Happy listening.
I can think of the following rules - with several exceptions of course:
1. Impedance match: If you have autoformers - one of the outputs should match the loudspeakers impedance - and the impedance swings should not be more than +- 1 impedance in order to avoid hights rolling off. Hence, the there are some limitations for selecting the loudspeakers. There are, of course, exceptions..
2. If you have very transparent speakers, like Martin Logans, expect the loudspeakers to reveal all the good and all the bad sounds from the record. You probably should have some "smoothing" out gear (tubes in the pre-amp for instance). You may also have a tube main amplifier, which is a contradiction to rule nr.1
3. If you have a dynamic speakers which is not very transparent you may consider more analytical amplifier, such as Hegel for instance.
4. An SS amp should double the effect/W from 8 to 4 ohms, and the same from 4 to 2 ohms if you speaker has impedance swings like ML. This is not crucial if you have a stable impedance for you speakers.
5. Try to avoid several stages in the loudspeaker that is hampering the signal to reach the loudspeakers. A lot of gear have autoformers - both on the amp side and on the loudspeakers side. Try to minimize all these steps (again - I can think of several exceptions)
6. Avoid "harsh" loudspeakers on "harsh" amplifiers and vice versa.
7. Decide if you want the best hi-fi detailed gear or a musical gear
8. Listen to the amplifiers and the loudspeakers first.
^ Typically a speaker will output 85-100dB with 1W power from amplifier, this is called sensitivity.
Sometimes manufacturers prefer to give a reading for voltage sensitivity which indicates how loud a speaker will play at certain voltage level, typically 2,83VAC which is same as 1W to 8ohm load. Actual power will then depend on speaker impedance 1W@8ohms, 2W@4ohms...
Doubling of output power will produce 3dB increase in SPL so 90dB/1W speaker will play at 100dB/10W, 110dB/100W and 120dB/1000W if it could
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