high current vs high voltage power

[Clipped]

when i compare the actual volume level of 2 different amps...
orion 250hcca and 2150sx....the 2150 seems to be louder.

why is this?

one amp is meant for low loads and the other's meant for higher loads...the 250 is rated at 800 watts @1 ohm mono and the 2150 for 600watts @4 ohm mono.

eventhough mathematically the 250 should be louder...it isnt...the 2150 is...

is voltage opposed to current the more motive force of the two?

or is it that, the closer a trasistor gets to its maximum voltage rating the more watts it puts out?



thanx

[richie00boy]

Well if one does 800W but has to be loaded with 1R to achieve that, then assuming an ideal power supply, it will put out 400W with 2R and 200W with 4R.

So if you were listening with a 4R speaker the other amp will put out a lot more.

However, due to the supply not being perfect, it may be that with 2R it puts out 600W, and with 4R it puts out 400W. So then it would be a lot closer to the other amp.

[luka]

Hi

There is also damping factor. If you have both amps playing same level of power, the one that is driving 4 ohm speaker will sound louder, because amp has better load control on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping_factor

[richie00boy]

Nonsense. If both amps are playing the same level of power, they will sound indistinguisable. Any change in system Q due to damping factor will be very small indeed with any solid state amp.

[luka]

Hi

I don't know how those amps are made, but if one is ClassD and outher is not, there is difference

[jan.didden]

Originally posted by luka
Hi

I don't know how those amps are made, but if one is ClassD and outher is not, there is difference

If one has higher gain, it will of course also sound louder.

With the same gain and same input level, they will, by definition, sound equally loud (in the same speaker), as long as neither clips.

If you increase the input level, and one clips before the other, then the one that clips later can sound louder, if you have enough input level to drive it or if it has more gain.

Jan Didden

[Clipped]

one amp has a 1 ohm load, the other has a 4 ohm load to maximize the rated power for each...

i know better than to stick the same ohm speaker per amp.

the 250 and 2150 both use the same outputs and fets and the boards are almost identical except for small differences in the powersupply section....(originally they used the same fets, but i had to change the fets in the 2150 to weaker ones in the 2150)

i havent thoroughly checked the components in the opamp paths, because i sold the 250 a while back.

the 250 has +-22 volt rails and the 2150 has +-36 volt rails

eventhough they should put out around the same power at the optimum ohm, the 2150 is louder.

the 250 has more current but less voltage
the 2150 has less current but more voltage

the 2150 is louder....and the difference is quite distinguishable.

the 250 plays the lows better
the 2150 plays quick drum beats tighter.

there must be an explanation for this...

or could it be that, the 250 requires a better current source?

this is quite a surprise to me , because i always thought the 250 was louder...but it isnt.

come to think of it, i bet its a trade off for a specific range of frequencies for each amp...lower frequency bass requires higher current.

maybe an analogy between torque and horsepower could clarify things?

[richie00boy]

Originally posted by Clipped
one amp has a 1 ohm load, the other has a 4 ohm load to maximize the rated power for each...

The test you did was invalid if different speakers were used.

[Clipped]

i think you need to read over the specs for the old orion amps and become more acquianted with them before you come to anymore conclusions.

the 250hcca requires a 1 ohm load
the 2150sx requires a 4 ohm load

mono for both

i dont know how much clearer i can be than this.

i cant see a point in using a dummy load to test actual output
i prefer to test 'sound output'...and what it 'really' sounds like.

[luka]

Hi

But you can't compare sound if the same speaker is used for both, in your case that is impossible