If my preamp has 5 watts of output and I run it into a 100 watt amp, will the 100 watt amp produce more wattage?
I have a couple setups like this but they have always run safely. I can't really say I notice a volume increase with these high output preamp setups but they surely sound fuller on the speaker end of it all.
I have a couple setups like this but they have always run safely. I can't really say I notice a volume increase with these high output preamp setups but they surely sound fuller on the speaker end of it all.
I'm not an expert on this so take my words with care, but anyway:
Preamps have 2 uses: 1. have high input impedance to reduce stress on source and low output impedance. 2. yield the same output voltage level for all sources (which in general have different output levels, compare phono pre with a cd-player for example) ; of course this includes attenuation.
So there is besides voltage amplification no amplification at all. Hence the power rating of the pre is completely pointless and leads in no way to higher power of the power amp.
The only influence I can imagine is that the output level of the pre is too high for the power amp and it starts to clip. Not a nice feature at all.
Cheers, Hannes
Preamps have 2 uses: 1. have high input impedance to reduce stress on source and low output impedance. 2. yield the same output voltage level for all sources (which in general have different output levels, compare phono pre with a cd-player for example) ; of course this includes attenuation.
So there is besides voltage amplification no amplification at all. Hence the power rating of the pre is completely pointless and leads in no way to higher power of the power amp.
The only influence I can imagine is that the output level of the pre is too high for the power amp and it starts to clip. Not a nice feature at all.
Cheers, Hannes
1400WATTSRMS+ said:
Good questions!
The preamp power will not effect amplifier power.
Preamps are designed to provide a voltage level to the amplifier, and deliver whatever power level is needed to maintain that voltage.
100 or 105 watts wouldn't make any difference to the sound anyway.
A 100 watt amplifier will not be putting 100 watts into the speaker either under normal circumstances.
It'll average closer to 3 or 4 watts.
The 100 watt rating allows you to compare similar amplifiers and their chances of distorting the sound (clipping in this case) during brief, extra loud bursts of sound (like a soundtrack 'explosion' or maybe a loud drumbeat).
I am using a very small amp that produces about 3-5 watts as a preamp into a push/pull amp that can push 90 watts RMS into an 8 ohm load.
ACD from what I understand, wattage in some circumstances can serve the same purpose as voltage well dealing with audio sourced signals.
It really enriches and just beefs up the sound. The small amp has a preamp gain and master volume. I generally never have both dials past 60-70% but on some occasions do. Has worked flawlessly this way for several years so I built the same hop up for a couple smaller amps that have yielded the same results and after a couple years of use, no problems.
I imagine I'm just reeking the benefits of very clean high gain unorthodox preamp set up. Regardless of extreme long term use results, I have no intentions to change a thing.
ACD from what I understand, wattage in some circumstances can serve the same purpose as voltage well dealing with audio sourced signals.
It really enriches and just beefs up the sound. The small amp has a preamp gain and master volume. I generally never have both dials past 60-70% but on some occasions do. Has worked flawlessly this way for several years so I built the same hop up for a couple smaller amps that have yielded the same results and after a couple years of use, no problems.
I imagine I'm just reeking the benefits of very clean high gain unorthodox preamp set up. Regardless of extreme long term use results, I have no intentions to change a thing.
They are inextricably connected but the input to an amp is generally an arbitrary fixed resistance so talking about it in the power domain (Watts), makes little sense.1400WATTSRMS+ said:
One of the characteristics of an amplifier is that generally it isolates the input from the output. How you drive the input to the 90W power amp then has almost nothing to do with its output stage driving the speaker. What can possibly be an issue is how the input to the 90W amp loads the output of the pre stage but this is a relatively problem free issue.
I agree with anatech, this almost certainly comes from the character of the first amp you use. In other words distortion, but if you like it then OK.
Dead-thread resurrection!
Power consumption for an integrated amp is not usually given separately for the pre- and power- sections. Preamps typically use a few 10's of mA at +/-12V or similar, and their output signal is only a few mW, so in an integrated amp this is trivially small compared to the power section. An idling power amplifier has a consumption very much dependent on the class, being small for class D, medium for class B/AB, and absolutely massive for class A.
Power consumption for an integrated amp is not usually given separately for the pre- and power- sections. Preamps typically use a few 10's of mA at +/-12V or similar, and their output signal is only a few mW, so in an integrated amp this is trivially small compared to the power section. An idling power amplifier has a consumption very much dependent on the class, being small for class D, medium for class B/AB, and absolutely massive for class A.
Put your hand on a 100 Watt incandescent lamp. Put your hand on the amplifier. Allowing for bigger size, do you think the amp sucks as much as the lamp?
"160W" in the manual may be FULL ROAR. "Worst case". As preamp-only, power amp silent or unloaded, it may be less than 20 Watts. (Compare with 25W incandescent.)
And do you care? 160 Watts at my high-typical electric rate is 3 cents an hour. How much fun can I buy for 3 cents an hour? A spoon of beer? A flake of dope?
If you truly care, the Kill-A-Watt and similar meters will give approximate power and energy consumption. I care more about whole-house consumption (averages 1KW 24/7) so I have a whole-house monitor.
Short answer to OP's question: Yes, it does.
The input circuit of a power amplifier is designed to give its maximum watts (ExI) with a certain signal level, if it is less than that specified level, there will be less power at the output, if it is much higher, there will be distortion for saturation at the entrance.
The input circuit of a power amplifier is designed to give its maximum watts (ExI) with a certain signal level, if it is less than that specified level, there will be less power at the output, if it is much higher, there will be distortion for saturation at the entrance.
Hi academia50,
Original question:
No.
Simple answer for a simple question.
Hi JonnySwitchblade,
I've seen some class A monster preamps that consume a lot of power, 60 watts or so. The amp doesn't care, you could feed it a signal from a volume control that dissipates uwatts of signal power and get the same output (within limits of course up to max output from the source), it just won't sound very good in most cases.
-Chris
Original question:
Answer:
No.
Simple answer for a simple question.
Hi JonnySwitchblade,
I've seen some class A monster preamps that consume a lot of power, 60 watts or so. The amp doesn't care, you could feed it a signal from a volume control that dissipates uwatts of signal power and get the same output (within limits of course up to max output from the source), it just won't sound very good in most cases.
-Chris
anatech
Sorry but
It is not like this.
The examples provided of the type "I once connected A with B and I did not notice any difference, they do not apply if there are no specifications for either A or B. The theoretical foundation of electronics is only one.
Why do you think that a low output moving coil cartridge (MC) does not provide the X power specified by the amplifier if you connect it to the cartdrige magnet mobile (MM ) input? It is an amplification chain and each stage (link) has its importance, each one will raise the small original signal and at the end of the chain the result will be to convert the available power of the PSU and convert it into sound, which is the last stage in the that the transducer / speaker will do the same job as the cartridge / transducer, but in reverse.
This is how things basically work in an audio system.
Cartridge> preamplifier> power amplifier> watts> sound (SPL)
Sorry but
It is not like this.
The examples provided of the type "I once connected A with B and I did not notice any difference, they do not apply if there are no specifications for either A or B. The theoretical foundation of electronics is only one.
Why do you think that a low output moving coil cartridge (MC) does not provide the X power specified by the amplifier if you connect it to the cartdrige magnet mobile (MM ) input? It is an amplification chain and each stage (link) has its importance, each one will raise the small original signal and at the end of the chain the result will be to convert the available power of the PSU and convert it into sound, which is the last stage in the that the transducer / speaker will do the same job as the cartridge / transducer, but in reverse.
This is how things basically work in an audio system.
Cartridge> preamplifier> power amplifier> watts> sound (SPL)
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