explain efficiency of amp please

[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

can comeone please explain the efficiency of an amp and what THD% has to do with it.?

Click to read more...

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Efficiency is a pretty simple concept...simply a percentage of how much power the amp makes relative to how much power goes into it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

THD+N has nothing to do with it.

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Exactly.

 

[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

so how do you know the efficiency of an amp. particulary ly the orion 2500D and XX-hercules

 

[jeremiah 10+ year member]

what about A amp that is 105db efficient

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Use a clamp meter...look at the peak readings for the input current and the output voltage/current.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

You can't get efficiencies over 100 percent...logically speaking, that would mean it's making power on its own.

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

And you cant get 100% efficiancy either.

 

[jeremiah 10+ year member]

what does the sinal to noise ratio mean

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

what about A amp that is 105db efficient

If you are talking about SNR, then that has nothing to do with the electrical efficiency of an amplifier.

SNR

Signal To Noise Ratio. Measure of signal strength relative to background noise. For a single signal, it's simply the ratio of usable info to the amount of unusable info (undesired Noise).

Can be refered to as how "clean" an amp is/can be.

Efficiency

The result of Useful Power Output / Total Power Input.

Example: an amp has a max current draw of 80A at 12.5V with a 2 Ohm load. If 100% efficiency was obtained, this amplifier would put out 1000W. But since it puts out 650W, then we can calculate like so:

650 / 1000 = 0.65 (or 65% efficiency...very common for a Class D amp).

[EDIT] Jmac beat me to it! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Highest efficency (on paper) is currently held the class X amplifiers of MA Audio with a claim of 97%. I'd like to see what makes them tick. I'm betting it's almost identical to an A/B with a microprocessor assisting the power supply.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Highest efficency (on paper) is currently held the class X amplifiers of MA Audio with a claim of 97%. I'd like to see what makes them tick. I'm betting it's almost identical to an A/B with a microprocessor assisting the power supply.

BS flag on that one.

MAYBE on a test bench, at the ideal resistance, with the ideal power supply, at the ideal power output and the ideal frequency. Even then I seriously doubt it.

But in a car, playing music...not a chance.

Unless, of course, MA and all their chrome has just surpassed all the real companies that actually spend some money on R & D.

 

[jeremiah 10+ year member]

Pretty simple concept as well ... The ratio of the loudness of the signal relative to the loudness of the noise ...
For example, if the system is playing @ 130 dB with an amplifier with a 90 dB SNR, the noise floor would be 40 dB ...

is it the same thing as the db sensitivity

if so is the higher the batter?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

is it the same thing as the db sensitivity

Got a link to a specific example ?

Some companies label things different.

if so is the higher the batter?

For Signal to Noise Ratio.....not really.

Technically, from a pure measurement standpoint, higher is better.

But what's measureable isn't always audible. Really, most any even decent quality amplifier should have an adequate enough SNR to make it of little consequence.

 

[ex_03]

Highest efficency (on paper) is currently held the class X amplifiers of MA Audio with a claim of 97%. I'd like to see what makes them tick. I'm betting it's almost identical to an A/B with a microprocessor assisting the power supply.

Thats excactlywhat it is! shhhhhh! dont tell no one else!