Stupid question about amp
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Southern California
Hi all,
I know this is a very stupid question, but how exactly does an amp work? I've been searching and figured there's 2ways, 4 ways...etc. Which one is better? And also does a good/bad amp affect/effect the quality of sound? How about the wirings of speakers and woofers to the amp goes?? Is more watts always better?? Anybody please give me a intro to how it works. Thanks for helping a noob here.
Gary
I know this is a very stupid question, but how exactly does an amp work? I've been searching and figured there's 2ways, 4 ways...etc. Which one is better? And also does a good/bad amp affect/effect the quality of sound? How about the wirings of speakers and woofers to the amp goes?? Is more watts always better?? Anybody please give me a intro to how it works. Thanks for helping a noob here.
Gary
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 7,134
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From: Columbia, MD
This post could REALLY take a long time to fully answer, but I'll try to cover the bare bones stuff and let you (and others) fill in the details and ask further questions.
2-way, 4-way, etc. is telling you how many outputs the amplifier has. Notice I don't say how many speakers it can run...this is due to something called bridging which allows one speaker to be run off of several outputs for more power. Essentially, the number of "ways" tells you how many individual amplifiers are in the amp black box. Choosing between them is part individual preference, part decision on future plans. In general, the more "ways" (given the same output power per channel) the larger the box.
Amp quality and sound quality is a HUGE issue with very touchy pundits on both sides of the fence, so I'm not really going to touch on this one just yet. Suffice it to say, the better quality amp, the better quality the sound, up to a point (this point is determined by your ears' abilities and your personal preferences in music). Remember, this is a convertible, not a soundproof listening room.
You'll have to be more specific in your question about wiring. You shouldn't skimp on wire size for higher power systems, but there's also no need to overdo it.
More watts is not always better. For instance, running a 50W speaker with a 2000W amplifier is a really bad idea. For one, you take a large chance of blowing the speaker if the gain is set incorrectly. Second, heavy power amps are generally designed to run well at high loads, but can run quite poorly (i.e., sound like crap) at very low volumes.
2-way, 4-way, etc. is telling you how many outputs the amplifier has. Notice I don't say how many speakers it can run...this is due to something called bridging which allows one speaker to be run off of several outputs for more power. Essentially, the number of "ways" tells you how many individual amplifiers are in the amp black box. Choosing between them is part individual preference, part decision on future plans. In general, the more "ways" (given the same output power per channel) the larger the box.
Amp quality and sound quality is a HUGE issue with very touchy pundits on both sides of the fence, so I'm not really going to touch on this one just yet. Suffice it to say, the better quality amp, the better quality the sound, up to a point (this point is determined by your ears' abilities and your personal preferences in music). Remember, this is a convertible, not a soundproof listening room.
You'll have to be more specific in your question about wiring. You shouldn't skimp on wire size for higher power systems, but there's also no need to overdo it.
More watts is not always better. For instance, running a 50W speaker with a 2000W amplifier is a really bad idea. For one, you take a large chance of blowing the speaker if the gain is set incorrectly. Second, heavy power amps are generally designed to run well at high loads, but can run quite poorly (i.e., sound like crap) at very low volumes.
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