Never forget, if you amplifier is not loud enough (and assuming you don't have daft speakers that have 0.1 Ohm impedance at some point requiring an arc welder of an amplifier) that to get significant volume increase you need to go 10x the power. so If 5W is not enough the next logical step is 50w. If 50W is not enough not much point going less than 500W
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I just don't get how anyone can judge the sound of anything from a youtube vid. You're listening to someone's source, amplifier, speaker, room microphone and ADC, filtered through your DAC, amplifier, loudspeaker and room, and somehow separate out how their amplifier is affecting the sound you hear?
It's like demonstrating how hot soup is by showing someone a photograph of it and asking them to do an interprative dance to show you its temperature.
Still, after hearing lots of different material through the same speakers, you can get some sense of what's happening at the other end. In the same vein, some people go to the other extreme, completely ignoring their gut sense that there must be something not quite right with their "clinical" system for it to be, well, clinical.
I once turned my Kenwood to full volume, and the input from the computer to full as well.
I could not stay in the room, and the sound was loud and clear 30 meters away.
STK4151, 25W/ch/8E.
That fairly modest rating was too much for me.
That said, large amps tend to lose clarity at low volume, better to use a modest amp, and really good speakers.
Room treatment also matters a lot.
I could not stay in the room, and the sound was loud and clear 30 meters away.
STK4151, 25W/ch/8E.
That fairly modest rating was too much for me.
That said, large amps tend to lose clarity at low volume, better to use a modest amp, and really good speakers.
Room treatment also matters a lot.
This video from 4:50 onwards has a sound test. Sounds typically D-class slightly metallic. The entire chain results in lower bass than normal.
Worth testing I think. I had one of these and it sounded OK but I burned it out by crossing outputs. Have to be careful.
But how will it sound - with my speakers? Are there any recommended circuits? There is one here:
https://components101.com/ics/opa2134-op-amp
Lots of good things said about it.
This is just a personal opinion.
Going too low on output power of amps for ideological reasons is just as stupid as going for too much. With no and low power amps you start to make things depend on each other, so choosing a speaker gets complicated and some music is forbidden.
For me an entry level to HIFI is something like a well made TDA3116d2, driven by maybe 20 Volt.
A good LM3886 should be able to fulfill even High End demands in a blind test.
So my basic power demand is around 25-50 clean Watt. This threshold is also right in car audio.
If you want to drive a subwoofer in a large room, there is nothing wrong about 250 Watt or more. Realistic music reproduktion needs a lot of power in the low range, even at moderate levels.
Of course, anyone can listen to an 1.2 Watt amp if he/she/it likes to and is afraid of realistic bass drums, organs and pianos. Best would be with a pair of small speakers, called head phone...
Going too low on output power of amps for ideological reasons is just as stupid as going for too much. With no and low power amps you start to make things depend on each other, so choosing a speaker gets complicated and some music is forbidden.
For me an entry level to HIFI is something like a well made TDA3116d2, driven by maybe 20 Volt.
A good LM3886 should be able to fulfill even High End demands in a blind test.
So my basic power demand is around 25-50 clean Watt. This threshold is also right in car audio.
If you want to drive a subwoofer in a large room, there is nothing wrong about 250 Watt or more. Realistic music reproduktion needs a lot of power in the low range, even at moderate levels.
Of course, anyone can listen to an 1.2 Watt amp if he/she/it likes to and is afraid of realistic bass drums, organs and pianos. Best would be with a pair of small speakers, called head phone...
The good things about opamps (i.e. audio gainblock types) are the leading specifications, mostly just the impressively ultra-low THD. It's mind-boggling to read so many leading zeros - lower distortion than you can even conceive or have any chance of hearing or measuring. But what does such undetectable distortion have to do with great sound quality anyway? With regard to common audio industry gainblocks like 2134, 072, 5532 and many more recent types - virtually nothing! You can have great sound with the crappiest and most basic of discrete amplifier designs from the 1960s or even what kids tinker with now for an internet profile. I've seen what they can do with just a handful of junk components and enough time to try every configuration of components possible. It's also mind-boggling what they can achieve that way where adults can't even get started because we pay too much heed to convention, logical process and pro. standards.
If you want great sound quality though, you do have to address what the room, speakers, source and power supply are doing to it. Fix those elements to the best of your ability and even the crudest of amplifiers can sound great - particularly those that produce an audible touch more even than odd harmonic distortion. Yes, that does imply more distortion which you may get to appreciate when the term audiophile has some real significance to you.
If you want great sound quality though, you do have to address what the room, speakers, source and power supply are doing to it. Fix those elements to the best of your ability and even the crudest of amplifiers can sound great - particularly those that produce an audible touch more even than odd harmonic distortion. Yes, that does imply more distortion which you may get to appreciate when the term audiophile has some real significance to you.
I thought it would bear repeating. 😄
I'll have to connect the oscilloscope to refresh my memory, but iirc 2.8V peak was pretty loud with speakers claiming 88dB/W efficiency in ahem, half-space, or an actual 82dB/W efficiency in free space.
If I'd had 98db speakers as a teenager, I could've had house parties with the "Matrix" on blast, powered by a 1W amplifier.
Look at a numbers approach. Many of us find cinema sound too loud and listen at around 10dB lower (75dB average). For an 85dB/w spreaker pair in a small room that's 0.2 watt average. Add 20dB for crest factor and you have 20W is perfect. If you have more efficient speakers, or exclusively listen to music with a very low crest factor then the 20W goes down.
If you want full cinema THX levels at home and sit 15 ft from the speakers then you'll need a LOT more power.
Rather the reverse, surely.
An underpowered amp will be unable to deal with music with a large dynamic range without the risk of clipping (which is the last thing you need for long hours of critical listening). Pro studios use powerful amps not to "blow the heads off" engineers and musicians, it's so that they can listen for eight hours straight without getting fatigued.
Small amps are fine for background music, music with naturally limited dynamic range, or which has been heavily compressed before it gets there. I'm looking at you, Metallica.