Stereo Amplifiers

Stereo Amplifiers (as distinct from Surround Sound Amplifiers/Receivers) are making a comeback to the market as more people discover the joys of sitting and just listening to music in its purest form. A good amplifier shouldn't add, or indeed subtract, anything from the original sound. The problem with this is that there are several popular amplifier designs and they all react differently with different speakers (due to variations in impedance loading, crossovers, sensitivity etc.). That means that one can't really recommend a particular amplifier as being the best, only one that is the best for the rest of the equipment associated with the audio system in question. Power generally isn't an issue as with any decent speaker with a sensitivity of 89dB or above, a 40 Watt amplifier would be more than would ever be necessary in a standard sized room. More power is always nice however to allow for extra dynamic range and those times where the alcohol is flowing and the extra volume is a sensory "hit". As volume vs. power is a logarithmic relationship, double the power doesn't mean double the volume so the difference between a 50 Watt amplifier and a 100 Watt amplifier is really not that great.

Specifications, unfortunately, won't tell you much about the amplifier at all as various companies use different methods of rating (especially when it comes to power output). The other oft misunderstood rating is that of distortion, specifically THD (total harmonic distortion). The uninformed tend to think that the less distortion the better whereas in truth, anything less than 0.5% THD is generally moot and the majority of speakers can't differentiate anything less (not to mention the human ear). When in doubt, just talk to your local HiFi specialist and, if he (or she) is honest, they'll put you on the straight and narrow! Beware the dreaded "Audiophile"store however where they speak a totally different language, as soon as they start talking things like 0.0005% THD run a mile (Ooops, just don't trip over that $1000 per metre 0.000001% oxygen free copper speaker wire).