Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
I'd be worried that a bass boost in a 12W amplifier will just get you that much closer to clipping.
Watts aren’t all equal. How to measure an Amplifier’s “Grunt”?
- Thread starter strummer
- Start date
I'd be worried that a bass boost in a 12W amplifier will just get you that much closer to clipping.
Tony L
Administrator
I’d certainly try shifting the stand from under the Stingray, I thought it wrecked the sound of my EAR 834P, though by saying that I didn’t like it under my P9 too (removing it there was my first step - I preferred the sound with the deck just sitting on the floor!). In fact the only place I actually like the stuff is under an LP12! Mana somehow imparts a leanness, dryness and ‘fake fast’ sound to everything that once I dialled in on it I just couldn’t live with. You listen at the same level as me, so volume isn’t the issue here! It is well worth a try, my bet is ditching it will subtly warm things up and remove a slight edge/uncomfortableness to the sound. It certainly did for me.
martin clark
pinko bodger
Which means, Joe you would have effectively c.'3w of power' peak levels available.
Yes, that will likely be enough @ '8%' %}
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
Yup, there goes half your headroom, or more.
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
FWIW I've asked if I could check out the Loki but the response is that they're not currently interested in it being reviewed or examined. Too busy selling them - understandably! 
It is inexpensive, but I probably don't need one for my own use, so I'm not thinking of buying one. I might change my mind after testing/trying one, but will have to leave that for now. Looks interesting though, so I'll be interested in what others may find if they get one.
It is inexpensive, but I probably don't need one for my own use, so I'm not thinking of buying one. I might change my mind after testing/trying one, but will have to leave that for now. Looks interesting though, so I'll be interested in what others may find if they get one.
The adoption of dBW ratings were proposed by, inter alia, High Fidelity magazine four+ decades ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel_watt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel_watt
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-59-1180.html
This fellow provides a practical answer. I don't know if it will convince you that headroom is an important aspect of amplifiers and that rating them in dBW would provide a better way to compare different amps taking into account what listeners actually need which is sound pressure.
I wish I could provide a better explanation but your notion of "grunt" does not cut it I fear but I admit I ain't no engineer!
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
I've never liked the idea of rating in dBW... Hi Fi News used to do it some time back (maybe still do?).
As to the last sentence I don't know what you're talking about... I have no "notion of grunt"... but I am an engineer...
Obviously an amp needs some headroom but it does not need anymore than is required by the volume the user wishes to listen at and the efficiency of the speakers. Amplifiers do not get intrinsically "better" with more power and in fact the opposite is more often the case when equipment is built down to a price.
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
I wouldn't rely on someone who doesn't know the difference between speaker sensitivity and efficiency such as this contributor. A sensitivity of 87dB/W/m has an efficiency of 0.3%! However the sensitivity is measured at a specific (or several) spot frequencies and this may not be constant over the frequency range. Other factors come into play such as the change of speaker impedance and the phase angle over the frequency range so a simple calculation as in this article can only be used as an initial starting point. The same amp may drive one speaker wonderfully and yet another will sound bad. The speakers may even be rated at the same sensitivity and nominal load but the first speaker may present a benign load whilst the latter a tortuous one. Some may conclude that the latter speaker is a bad one whilst in reality it may be a better speaker but needs a more powerful amp than at first thought.
My own speakers are specified as sensitivity 89dB and nominal impedance 6 Ohm however they are a tortuous load to drive and present around 2 Ohms impedance in the treble region where the ear is at its most sensitive. So in this case we need an amp that can easily handle such a low load and some amps will struggle and not sound nice.
Cheers,
DV
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
One would hope that the specified number is an average of the sensitivity over its usable bandwidth, but I suspect that many are specified at the highest peak. Audionote and DeVore come to mind...