AUDIO AMPLIFIER

An audio power amplifier (or power amp) is an electronic

amplifier that amplifies low-power electronic audio signals
such as the signal from radio receiver or electric guitar
pickup to a level that is high enough for driving
loudspeakers or headphones. Audio power amplifiers are
found in all manner of sound systems including sound
reinforcement, public address and home audio systems
and musical instrument amplifiers like guitar amplifiers. It
is the final electronic stage in a typical audio playback
chain before the signal is sent to the loudspeakers.

The preceding stages in such a chain are low power

audio amplifiers which perform tasks like pre-
amplification of the signal (this is particularly
associated with record turntable signals, microphone
signals and electric instrument signals from pickups,
such as the electric guitar and electric bass),
equalization (e.g., adjusting the bass and treble), tone
controls, mixing different input signals or adding
electronic effects such as reverb. The inputs can also
be any number of audio sources like record players,
CD players, digital audio players and cassette
players. Most audio power amplifiers require these
low-level inputs, which are line level.
While the input signal to an audio power amplifier,
such as the signal from an electric guitar, may
measure only a few hundred microwatts, its output
may be a few watts for small consumer electronics
devices, such as clock radios, tens or hundreds of
watts for a home stereo system, several thousand
watts for a nightclub's sound system or tens of
thousands of watts for a large rock concert sound
reinforcement system. While power amplifiers are
available in standalone units, typically aimed at the
hi-fi audiophile market (a niche market) of audio
enthusiasts and sound reinforcement system
professionals, most consumer electronics sound
products, such as clock radios, boom boxes and
televisions have relatively small power amplifiers
that are integrated inside the chassis of the main
product.
 History

The audio amplifier was invented around

1912 by Lee De Forest, made possible by his
invention of the first practical amplifying
electrical component, the triode vacuhum
tube (or "valve" in British English) in 1907.
The triode was a three terminal device with a
control grid that can modulate the flow of
electrons from the filament to the plate. The
triode vacuum amplifier was used to make the
first AM radio. Early audio power amplifiers
were based on vacuum tubes and some of
these achieved notably high audio quality. An
audio amplifier is a device used to increase
the volume of sound with low power so that it
can be used in a loudspeaker.
Audio power amplifiers based on transistors
became practical with the wide availability of
inexpensive transistors in the late 1960s.
Since the 1970s, most modern audio
amplifiers are based on solid-state transistors,
especially the bipolar junction transistor
(BJT) and the metal-oxide-semiconductor
field-effect transistor (MOSFET). Transistor-
based amplifiers are lighter in weight, more
reliable and require less maintenance than
tube amplifiers.
The MOSFET, invented by Mohamed Atalla
and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959, was
adapted into a power MOSFET for audio by
Jun-ichi Nishizawa at Tohoku University in
1974.
 Properties
. Amplifier properties are given by parameters
that include:
 Gain, the ratio between the magnitude
of output and input signals
 Bandwidth, the width of the useful
frequency range
 Efficiency, the ratio between the
power of the output and total power
consumption
 Linearity, the extent to which the
proportion between input and output
amplitude is the same for high
amplitude and low amplitude input
 Noise, a measure of undesired noise
mixed into the output
 Output dynamic range, the ratio of the
largest and the smallest useful output
levels
 Slew rate, the maximum rate of
change of the output
 Rise time, settling time, ringing and
overshoot that characterize the step
response
 Stability, the ability to avoid self-
oscillation

 Amplifiers are described according to

the properties of their inputs, their
outputs, and how they relate.[22] All
amplifiers have gain, a multiplication
factor that relates the magnitude of some
property of the output signal to a
property of the input signal. The gain
may be specified as the ratio of output
 voltage to input voltage (voltage gain),
output power to input power (power
gain), or some combination of current,
voltage, and power. In many cases the
property of the output that varies is
dependent on the same property of the
input, making the gain unitless (though
often expressed in decibels (dB)).
 Most amplifiers are designed to be
linear. That is, they provide constant
gain for any normal input level and
output signal. There are, however, cases
where variable gain is useful. Certain
signal processing applications use
exponential gain amplifiers.
 Amplifiers are usually designed to
function well in a specific application,
for example: radio and television
transmitters and receivers, high-fidelity
. Instrument amplifiers including guitar
amplifiers and electric keyboard amplifiers
also use audio power amplifiers. In some
cases, the power amplifier for an instrument
amplifier is integrated into a single amplifier
"head" which contains a preamplifier, tone
controls, and electronic effects. These
components may be mounted in a wooden .

Applications
Important applications include public
address systems, theatrical and concert
sound reinforcement systems, and domestic
systems such as a stereo or home-theatre
system speaker cabinet to create a "combo
amplifier". Musicians with unique
performance needs and/or a need for very
powerful amplification may create a custom
setup with separate rackmount preamplifiers,
equalizers, and a power amplifier mounted in
a 19" road case.
Power amplifiers are available in standalone
units, which are used by hi-fi audio
enthusiasts and designers of public address
systems (PA systems) and sound
reinforcement systems. A hi-fi user of power
amplifiers may have a stereo power amplifier
to drive left and right speakers and a
"monoblock" single channel power amplifier
to drive a subwoofer. The number of power
amplifiers used in a sound reinforcement
setting depends on the size of the venue. A
small coffeehouse may have a single power
amp driving two PA speakers. A nightclub
may have several power amps for the main
speakers, one or more power amps for the
monitor speakers (pointing towards the
band) and an additional power amp for the
subwoofer. A stadium concert may have a
large number of power amps mounted in
racks. Most consumer electronics sound
products, such as TVs, boom boxes, home
cinema sound systems, Casio and Yamaha
electronic keyboards, "combo" guitar amps
and car stereos have power amplifiers
integrated inside the chassis of the main
product.