Amplifiers The main job of the amplifier is to take the weak electric signals from the receiver and enlarge(amplify) them so that they become sufficiently powerful to drive the speakers. The price of amplifiers goes up rather sharply with their power rating, and there's no point in buying extra power that you won't use. On the other hand, if your amplifier is too puny to deliver full, rich sound in the particular setting of your home your musical enjoyment will be curtailed. A rational purchase depends on your particular needs. Power : First thing that needs to be addressed to everyone here is that a lot of watts doesn't necessarily mean a lot of sound. A 100 watt amplifier, for example, doesn't play ten times as loud as a 10 watt amplifier. The audible difference in loudness between a 25 watt amp and a 50 watt amp is only 3 dB What you actually gain from the added wattage is not added volume, but clarity of sound in loud passages. Suppose your amplifier is rated at 40 watts. Ideally, it should output 40 clean, undistorted watts all the way from the top to the bottom of the tonal range. However, power measurements are made in the mid range, around 1 kHz. When the frequency nears 50 Hz, the amplifier may not be able to produce more than 5 watts without distorting the sound. On the other hand, an 80 watt amplifier would have a lot of power leftover on the low end than a 40 watt amp. The amount of power you need mostly depends on your speakers. Some speakers are more efficient than others, capable of delivering more sound per watt of amplifier power. (Menu) | (Next)