To help you decide on an audio amplifier, I will clarify the term "signal-to-noise ratio" that is frequently used in order to express the performance of audio amplifiers.
A technique in order to perform a simple test of the noise performance of an amplifier is to short circuit the amplifier input and then to crank up the amp to its utmost. After that listen to the loudspeaker which you have connected. The hiss which you hear is created by the amplifier itself. After that compare different amplifiers according to the next rule: the smaller the amount of noise, the better the noise performance of the amp. Yet, keep in mind that you have to put all amplifiers to amplify by the same level in order to evaluate several amps.
To help you evaluate the noise performance, amp makers show the signal-to-noise ratio in their amplifier spec sheets. Simply put, the larger the signal-to-noise ratio, the smaller the amount of noise the amplifier creates. Noise is created due to several reasons. One reason is that today's amplifiers all use elements such as transistors in addition to resistors. These elements will generate some amount of noise. Mostly the components which are located at the input stage of an amplifier will contribute most to the overall hiss. Thus manufacturers generally are going to choose low-noise components whilst designing the amplifier input stage.
The majority of of latest amps are based on a digital switching topology. They are known as "class-D" or "class-T" amps. Switching amps include a power stage which is constantly switched at a frequency of approximately 400 kHz. This switching noise can cause some amount of speaker distortion yet is typically not included in the the signal-to-noise ratio which merely considers noise between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.
The most widespread method for measuring the signal-to-noise ratio is to set the amp to a gain that permits the maximum output swing. Then a test tone is input to the amp. The frequency of this tone is generally 1 kHz. The amplitude of this signal is 60 dB underneath the full scale signal. Then, the noise floor between 20 Hz and 20 kHz is calculated and the ratio to the full-scale signal calculated. The noise signal at different frequencies is eliminated by a bandpass filter during this measurement.
Often you are going to discover the term "dBA" or "a-weighted" in your amp parameter sheet. A weighting is a technique of expressing the noise floor in a more subjective way. In other words, this method attempts to express how the noise is perceived by a person. Human hearing is most perceptive to signals around 1 kHz while signals below 50 Hz and above 14 kHz are hardly heard. The A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio is typically higher than the unweighted ratio and is shown in the majority of amplifier parameter sheets.
A technique in order to perform a simple test of the noise performance of an amplifier is to short circuit the amplifier input and then to crank up the amp to its utmost. After that listen to the loudspeaker which you have connected. The hiss which you hear is created by the amplifier itself. After that compare different amplifiers according to the next rule: the smaller the amount of noise, the better the noise performance of the amp. Yet, keep in mind that you have to put all amplifiers to amplify by the same level in order to evaluate several amps.
To help you evaluate the noise performance, amp makers show the signal-to-noise ratio in their amplifier spec sheets. Simply put, the larger the signal-to-noise ratio, the smaller the amount of noise the amplifier creates. Noise is created due to several reasons. One reason is that today's amplifiers all use elements such as transistors in addition to resistors. These elements will generate some amount of noise. Mostly the components which are located at the input stage of an amplifier will contribute most to the overall hiss. Thus manufacturers generally are going to choose low-noise components whilst designing the amplifier input stage.
The majority of of latest amps are based on a digital switching topology. They are known as "class-D" or "class-T" amps. Switching amps include a power stage which is constantly switched at a frequency of approximately 400 kHz. This switching noise can cause some amount of speaker distortion yet is typically not included in the the signal-to-noise ratio which merely considers noise between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.
The most widespread method for measuring the signal-to-noise ratio is to set the amp to a gain that permits the maximum output swing. Then a test tone is input to the amp. The frequency of this tone is generally 1 kHz. The amplitude of this signal is 60 dB underneath the full scale signal. Then, the noise floor between 20 Hz and 20 kHz is calculated and the ratio to the full-scale signal calculated. The noise signal at different frequencies is eliminated by a bandpass filter during this measurement.
Often you are going to discover the term "dBA" or "a-weighted" in your amp parameter sheet. A weighting is a technique of expressing the noise floor in a more subjective way. In other words, this method attempts to express how the noise is perceived by a person. Human hearing is most perceptive to signals around 1 kHz while signals below 50 Hz and above 14 kHz are hardly heard. The A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio is typically higher than the unweighted ratio and is shown in the majority of amplifier parameter sheets.
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