Amplifier

Amplifier is to make sound louder. This has :

a) Pre Amplifier – To adjust sound quality (clarity)
b) Power Amplifier – To adjust sound quantity (loudness)

Amplifiers are classified as :

a) PA Amplifier – Offers poor quality loud sound.
b) Domestic Amplifier – Offers good quality Hi-Fi sound.
c) Professional Amplifier – Loud and clear sound. Good
for discotheque, concerts and live-stage shows.
Technical Terms related to Amplifiers
1) Sound Power output in wattage :
a) RMS – Root Means Square value. Correct figure.
b) P.M.P.O. – Peak, Music, Power, Output. A vague
figure used as selling factor. Not Correct.
c) Maximum – To match with speakers. Generally
RMS x2
2) Frequency Response – It changes at different
loudness.
3) Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) – The number
mentioned in % indicates distortion in sound
quality. Smaller number is better.
4) Output Impedance – Measured in Ω (ohms)
• For PA Amplifier – 8 Ω
• For Domestic and Car Stereo – 4 Ω
• For Professional – 8 Ω to 16 Ω
5) PA amplifiers provide 100 volt output to connect
several speakers in parallel. Needs 100 volt
transformer for connections.
Speakers
 Speakers deliver final output of sound. Speaker Box
contains one or more number of speaker cones.
They are classified as :
1) Full Range – Contains single speaker which delivers
every kind of sound. Frequency response around
200Hz to 10KHz.
2) Two Way Speaker – Contains two speakers. The big
one is called Woofer, which delivers low frequency
sound. The small one is called Tweeter, which delivers
high frequency sound. Total frequency response
around 50 to 18000 Hz.
3) Three Way Speakers – Contains three
speakers, as the large one (8” to 12”) is
Woofer. The very small one is Tweeter
(1” to 2”) and medium size (3” to 4”) is
called Mid-range Speaker, which
delivers faithful mid-frequencies of
speech/vocal. 3 way speaker offers total
frequency response of 30 to 20 KHz.
 Speaker Enclosure Types
1) Bass Reflex – Hollow Box with small opening to
push or pull air in the enclosure. This increases
Bass response.
2) Acoustic Suspension – Empty space inside the
box is filled with special acoustic material (such
as Glass wool) and cabinet is made out of very
thick wooden particle board, making speaker
small in size but very heavy.
 Technical Terms related to Speakers
1) Impedance (Internal resistance of voice coil) – 4 Ω, 8 Ω,
16 Ω, etc. Impedance must match with amplifier.
2) Power - wattage – Must match with amplifier. Use
200watt speaker with 100watt amplifier.
3) Polarity (+) and (-) must be correct. Incorrect polarity
destroys the sound.
4) Speakers contain strong magnet. So they should be kept
away from other electronic devices and computers.