Are you looking to acquire a brand new amp for your home loudspeakers? You may be dazzled by the number of choices you have. In order to make an informed choice, it is best to familiarize yourself with frequent specs. One of these specifications is referred to as "signal-to-noise ratio" and is not often understood. I will help explain the meaning of this term.
Comparing the noise level of several amps may be done fairly simply. Just collect a couple of versions that you wish to evaluate and short circuit the inputs. Next put the amplifier gain to maximum and check the amount of hiss by listening to the loudspeaker. You are going to hear some amount of hissing and/or hum coming from the loudspeaker. This noise is created by the amp itself. Make sure that the gain of the amps is set to the same level. Otherwise you will not be able to objectively compare the level of noise between several amps. The general rule is: the lower the amount of hiss that you hear the higher the noise performance.
Comparing the noise level of different amps can be accomplished fairly easily. Just gather a number of models that you want to compare and short circuit the inputs. Afterward put the amp volume to maximum and verify the level of static by listening to the speaker. You are going to hear some amount of hissing and/or hum coming from the loudspeaker. This hiss is produced by the amp itself. Make certain that the volume of the amps is set to the same amount. Otherwise you will not be able to objectively compare the amount of static between several amplifiers. The general rule is: the smaller the level of static which you hear the better the noise performance.
In order to help you evaluate the noise performance, amp suppliers publish the signal-to-noise ratio in their amp specification sheets. Simply put, the higher the signal-to-noise ratio, the lower the level of noise the amplifier creates. One of the reasons why amps produce noise is the fact that they use components like transistors and resistors which by nature produce noise. Mostly the components which are located at the input stage of an amp will contribute most to the overall hiss. Consequently producers typically are going to pick low-noise elements whilst designing the amplifier input stage.
Producers measure the signal-to-noise ratio by means of setting the amplifier such that the full output swing may be realized and by inputting a test signal to the amplifier that is typically 60 dB below the full scale of the amp. Then, only the hiss in the range of 20 Hz and 20 kHz is considered. The noise at other frequencies is removed by a filter. Subsequently the amount of the noise energy in relation to the full-scale output wattage is calculated and shown in decibel.
One more convention in order to state the signal-to-noise ratio makes use of more subjective terms. These terms are "dBA" or "A weighted". You will spot these terms in most amplifier specification sheets. In other words, this technique tries to state how the noise is perceived by a human. Human hearing is most perceptive to signals around 1 kHz while signals below 50 Hz and higher than 14 kHz are hardly heard. An A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio weighs the noise floor in accordance to the human hearing and is normally higher than the unweighted signal-to-noise ratio.
Comparing the noise level of several amps may be done fairly simply. Just collect a couple of versions that you wish to evaluate and short circuit the inputs. Next put the amplifier gain to maximum and check the amount of hiss by listening to the loudspeaker. You are going to hear some amount of hissing and/or hum coming from the loudspeaker. This noise is created by the amp itself. Make sure that the gain of the amps is set to the same level. Otherwise you will not be able to objectively compare the level of noise between several amps. The general rule is: the lower the amount of hiss that you hear the higher the noise performance.
Comparing the noise level of different amps can be accomplished fairly easily. Just gather a number of models that you want to compare and short circuit the inputs. Afterward put the amp volume to maximum and verify the level of static by listening to the speaker. You are going to hear some amount of hissing and/or hum coming from the loudspeaker. This hiss is produced by the amp itself. Make certain that the volume of the amps is set to the same amount. Otherwise you will not be able to objectively compare the amount of static between several amplifiers. The general rule is: the smaller the level of static which you hear the better the noise performance.
In order to help you evaluate the noise performance, amp suppliers publish the signal-to-noise ratio in their amp specification sheets. Simply put, the higher the signal-to-noise ratio, the lower the level of noise the amplifier creates. One of the reasons why amps produce noise is the fact that they use components like transistors and resistors which by nature produce noise. Mostly the components which are located at the input stage of an amp will contribute most to the overall hiss. Consequently producers typically are going to pick low-noise elements whilst designing the amplifier input stage.
Producers measure the signal-to-noise ratio by means of setting the amplifier such that the full output swing may be realized and by inputting a test signal to the amplifier that is typically 60 dB below the full scale of the amp. Then, only the hiss in the range of 20 Hz and 20 kHz is considered. The noise at other frequencies is removed by a filter. Subsequently the amount of the noise energy in relation to the full-scale output wattage is calculated and shown in decibel.
One more convention in order to state the signal-to-noise ratio makes use of more subjective terms. These terms are "dBA" or "A weighted". You will spot these terms in most amplifier specification sheets. In other words, this technique tries to state how the noise is perceived by a human. Human hearing is most perceptive to signals around 1 kHz while signals below 50 Hz and higher than 14 kHz are hardly heard. An A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio weighs the noise floor in accordance to the human hearing and is normally higher than the unweighted signal-to-noise ratio.
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