Now the positive post on output 2 becomes the negative post for your powerful output and the positive post on output 1 comes the positive post for the powerful mono bridged channel. Now the volume control on channel 1 comes the volume control for the entire thing and I have got that cranked all the way up since I am not using the volume knob for channel 2. I just turn that all the way down so there you have it. The audio signal usually comes from a mixing console in which it has been pre-processed or from an input device such as a CD player or computer.
An amplifier converts power into an audio signal. The audio signal used for control should only be larger but not changed otherwise. The reason for this is the complexity of the loudspeaker. A loudspeaker similar to a dynamic microphone consists of a magnet, voice coil, and a membrane. The voice coil is mounted in the magnetic field and is deflected when the current of the amplifier flows through it.
The diaphragm, which is firmly connected to the voice coil, then moves the air and generates the sound pressure. Due to the weights of diaphragm and coil and the electrical resistance of the voice coil, a lot of power is needed to generate high sound pressures. The nominal impedance of a loudspeaker is typically 4 or 8 ohms.
Due to the above-mentioned effects, the impedance is unfortunately not constant, it can range between 4 — 20 Ohm with an 8 Ohm loudspeaker. Amplifiers must, therefore, be equipped with ample reserves to cope with these fluctuations. The output power of the amplifier determines, among other things, the achievable volume.
If we now want to double the deflection of the diaphragm, we also have to double the current, i. Since the impedance of the loudspeaker is still 8 ohms, we have to apply double the voltage, i. It is therefore not surprising that large public address systems require amplifiers, some of which have an output of several kW. The power that an amplifier can deliver is limited.
For example, the voltage that an amplifier can deliver can be as high as the voltage that the power supply can deliver. If an attempt is made to exceed this power, the signal is cut off where amplifiers nowadays have protection circuits that prevent it from being exceeded.
Power supplies with higher voltages and powers are technically no problem, but increase the costs and weight of the power amplifiers. At some point, the maximum power, which can e. The minimum permissible impedance is another important parameter of the amplifier. It should be less than or equal to the impedance of the connected speakers.
The lower the impedance of the connected loudspeakers, the higher the current and therefore the power that has to be supplied by the amplifier. You should, therefore, pay special attention when connecting several loudspeakers to one amplifier channel. If the loudspeakers are connected in parallel, the impedance is considerably reduced. Two 8 Ohm loudspeakers in parallel correspond to 4 Ohm impedance, 4x 8 Ohm in parallel correspond to 2 Ohm total impedance, which is often the limit that an amplifier can achieve.
As we already know, the impedance of an 8 Ohm loudspeaker can vary between 4 and 20 Ohm depending on the frequency, 4x 4 Ohm in parallel then correspond to 1 Ohm total impedance! If the total impedance is too low, too much current flows in the output and the amplifier overheats and hopefully switches off. It is common to think that the more you power, the more volume. Watt W refers more to what a loudspeaker can withstand and how much power an amplifier is able to deliver. Power is usually indicated in amplifier specifications as continuous output power or RMS and dynamic power or peak power.
This one tells us how powerful an amplifier is. Some of the most powerful options here are the Devialet speakers , in Gold and Silver versions. The dynamic power or peak power measures the maximum power that the amplifier can take out in some circumstances which usually last milliseconds when a song requires it.
You will find that some loudspeaker manufacturers simply indicate the recommended power within a range and specify neither continuous nor dynamic. In these cases see that the continuous power of the amplifier falls within the recommended power range of the box.
This parameter is only found in the specifications of one loudspeaker. It means what volume level you hear one meter away 2. Meters are the unit of measurement here from the loudspeaker when you amplify it with 1 W of power. For example, a loudspeaker with a sensitivity of 88 dB will give a volume just at that level if you are one meter away from the loudspeaker and amplify it with 1W.
To give you an idea of what decibels measure dB , a normal conversation is usually between 30 and 50 dB, a vacuum cleaner about 65 dB, a street with a lot of traffic can reach 75 dB, a police siren, 90 dB, and within a nightclub, we can reach dB. This does not really tell you anything, but it is a way of indicating how loud a speaker sounds. At the same distance and at the same amplification power, a loudspeaker with low sensitivity e.
What you have to keep in mind is that a loudspeaker, the more sensitive it is, the less amplification power you need to make it sound like the volume you like. For practical purposes, we can divide the sensitivity of a loudspeaker into three ranges:. When you have a loudspeaker that is not very sensitive, the power of the amplifier should be close to the maximum recommended power of the loudspeaker.
If you put an amplifier whose power does not exceed much of the recommended minimum, you will always have to have the amplifier at a very high volume to sound.
On the other hand, if you have a very sensitive speaker, you can connect it to an amplifier whose continuous power is close to the recommended minimum. Another thing you might want to know about sensitivity: You have to double the amplification power to increase the sound pressure level SPL of a loudspeaker.
For example, a loudspeaker with 88dB sensitivity needs 1 W to give that dB at 1-meter distance. Well, 2 W would give 91 dB and 4W, 94 dB. It could be said in this matching amplifier to speakers guide, that impedance is the resistance provided by an electrical audio signal when passing to a particular device speaker from an audio source.
We must always choose the minimum impedance values supported by our audio source amplifier , as this way the signal would arrive with more force.
There must always be a match between the impedance of the amplifier and the impedance of the speakers. The higher the ohms, the lower the output power of the speakers. The basic idea is that the loudspeakers that we connect to the amplifier must be within the Ohms range that the amplifier supports.
Generally, amplifiers need to have connected speakers that have an impedance of at least 4 Ohm this is a reference value, which depends on each amp.
The range of impedances allowed is usually indicated on the back, where the cables connecting the amplifier and loudspeaker are located. Several outputs may appear for 4, 8 or 16 Ohm these are the most common values , or a single output indicating the allowed impedances. The value indicated on the back of the amplifier is the total impedance of what we connect.
This means that we can connect more than one loudspeaker, as long as we respect the indicated values. When more than one speaker is connected, the total impedance depends on the impedance of each speaker, but also on how the speakers are connected together.
It is not the same to connect the speakers in parallel or in series. It is common to connect the same speakers, all of which have the same impedance. In a series connection, the total impedance is calculated simply by adding the impedance values of each of the loudspeakers. In a parallel connection, things change. In practice, if the speakers have the same impedance, the calculation is greatly simplified: the total impedance will be half the impedance of one of the speakers.
You will see the impedance in both the amplifier and speaker specifications. The loudspeakers are normally between 4 and 8 ohms and the amplifiers normally give a range of between 4 and 16 ohms. Please note, however, that the specifications of the amplifiers indicate the output power according to impedance.
For example, an amplifier can give 80 W per channel in 8 ohms and 4 ohms, but power peaks of 80 W in 8 ohms and W in 4 ohms. Higher impedance speakers can usually be connected to an amplifier but not the other way around. For example, do not connect 4-ohm speakers to an 8-ohm amplifier.
Anyway, the most common thing nowadays is to find amplifiers and loudspeakers with a wide range of impedances, so what we have just told you does not usually need to be looked at very much. If one of your components is quite old, you might have to look at it. When it reaches that point, you should turn the amplifier down.
On the other hand, choosing an underpowered amp that struggles to supply enough power to the speaker is actually more likely to cause damage. You might have the tendency to keep turning up the signal again and again. But at a certain point, that will only cause clipping of the system. Any combination of equipment you get could lead to damage if improper gain structure is used. My recommendation is to choose an amplifier that is capable of providing about twice the continuous power rating of the speaker.
Remember, a doubling of power is only a three decibel change. This will allow the amplifier to provide adequate power to the speaker while maintaining some extra headroom to avoid the tendency to overdrive the input of the amplifier. The best way to prevent damage and get the best sound quality possible is to choose speakers that are designed to provide adequate sound pressure level for the application at hand. Just let me know where you want me to send it. First Name. If you got value out of this post, please share it with someone who would also find it valuable!
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Do you want to know what the most common email we get it? There are thousands and thousands of different products out there. Modern equipment is very forgiving and most of it is very well built. Finding that sound is kind of up to you! OK — there are some ways in which you can streamline this process. Buying an amplifier and speakers from the same company is usually a good start, as the hard work of making them play nice together has been done for you. But do you want to know what will make a much bigger difference?
Your listening environment. Too often people don't account for the impact their room will have on their setup, and we don't want you to do that. So, let's put these factors into practice. A large room could require larger speakers or more powerful amps than you anticipated getting. Where the speakers will be located, as well as where you'll be seated, are big considerations. Keep in mind that you'll sacrifice sound quality if your speakers and listening position aren't planned correctly.
We generally recommend spacing speakers one-and-a-half times as far away from you as from each other, angled slightly inward, at the same height, and with the tweeters as even with your ears as possible. And always avoid obstructing your speakers with furniture and placing them in corners or too close to walls unless the speaker manufacturer advises otherwise. You should figure out how far you plan to sit from your speakers. Second, get an idea for how loud you want them to sound.
These two figures are essential in determining the speaker sensitivity and amp power ranges you need to work within. If you happen to already have a speaker in mind, Crown Audio has a really handy calculator that you can plug distance, desired SPL, and speaker sensitivity figures into to calculate just how much Continuous Power you need out of an amp.
Then all you need to check on is if that power rating is within your speaker's safe operating range. Obviously, speaker sensitivity plays a bigger role than a lot of people think it might, and you can use this calculator to see how big of an impact it makes.
Point being, if you need watts of power to get your 85dB speakers singing at the volume you want from your listening chair that's three meters away from your speakers, but your speakers are only rated to handle watts of Continuous Power, well, you're outta luck and you've got no synergy. Start looking for a different speaker—or sit a whole lot closer to it.
Ask a dozen audio experts about how much amplification a speaker needs given its power handling rating and you'll get a dozen different opinions. We've seen recommendations for ten percent more Continuous Power over a speaker's comparable power handling capabilities. We've also seen recommendations for doubling a speaker's Continuous Power rating.
These recommendations likely spawn out of the belief that too little power is what damages speakers rather than too much.
It actually goes both ways. There are two very common and unfortunate causes of blown speakers and amps that we want you to avoid at all costs. First is connecting speakers to an amp with a Continuous Power rating that's way too much for your speakers to handle. What often happens here is that the speaker can't efficiently dissipate the heat energy from the amp, which then burns up the speaker's voice coil and suspension, meaning you may as well have lit your hard-earned money on fire instead.
Second is running an amp that is far too weak for the speakers connected to it. It's not that the lower power is bad, but it gets bad when you keep cranking up the volume knob in search of a suitable listening level that likely doesn't exist; instead your amp will start burning itself up because you're demanding more power than it can create.
This causes the amp to overheat and start clipping the signal being sent to the speakers, creating excessive distortion and high frequency energy that can, and likely will, waste your speakers away. Then you'll have a burnt-up amp and speakers. So, let's not do that. Our recommendation for the ultimate safeguard against smoking your system is to carefully look at the maximum power handling capabilities of your speakers and amp, and, based on the listening room specs we talked about, choose an amp that outputs the correct Continuous Power for the volume level you seek , and a speaker that can gobble up twice that amount of power.
So, if you need watts out of your amp at 8 ohms, pump it into an 8-ohm speaker that can handle watts of Continuous Power.
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