Quick question: are there any characteristics or types of SS amps that would be more suitable to use on a 16 ohm load. Or does it even matter?
I have such 16 ohm driver and I am thinking going active. Since I am looking at amps I would like to restrict my choices to more optimal ones.
The 16 ohms driver should be happy with ~5W or less.
thanks
I have such 16 ohm driver and I am thinking going active. Since I am looking at amps I would like to restrict my choices to more optimal ones.
The 16 ohms driver should be happy with ~5W or less.
thanks
You should be explicit about what you mean by "optimal" - could mean many things, cost, efficiency, compactness, performance, feature-set... Any amp capable of driving 4 or 8 ohms should happily drive 16 ohms without problem. Also do you mean designs for amps or commercially available amps?
If you want 5W into 16 Ohms, look for a 10W amp for 8 Ohms, or 20W into 4 Ohms. Audio amps are (usually) a voltage source so power varies 1/load impedance. And 99% will be fine with a higher impedance load. In fact, the distortion will be better because the distortion mechanisms are a function of current. The amp you want will have a total supply voltage of 25 to 30V, ie +/-15V. This also very close to the output of a bridged auto stereo. You could buy a car stereo and run it from a 12-14VDC power supply, 3A to 12A depending on the speaker impedance you use. This would provide a mp3 player, FM, Bluetooth etc. If you want vinyl, buy a phono preamp and plug it into the Aux input.
Thanks to all for the responses.
The idea is to have a little unit comprised of an active filter and amp to drive a 16 ohm compression driver. So compact, low power units that will sit next to the driver.
The idea is to have a little unit comprised of an active filter and amp to drive a 16 ohm compression driver. So compact, low power units that will sit next to the driver.
Check out neurochrome.com . Incredible high performance in 4 and 8 ohms, and even better in 16 ohms. Can be configured for lower power easily.
The Modulus 86 and LM3886 would be perfect for 20W @ 16 ohms.
Jan
The Modulus 86 and LM3886 would be perfect for 20W @ 16 ohms.
Jan
Compression driver are usually 10-20dB more sensitive than the drivers they are combined with, so in a hifi application will require very little power indeed. Which make and model is it and which horn?