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Silver Member Username: Balls573Winona, Missouri U.S Post Number: 132 Registered: Mar-05 | what does this mean? i know its complicated but ive never understood what it actually means could someone please answer that? |
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Silver Member Username: TboltCollipark, GA Post Number: 304 Registered: Dec-04 | The more efficient an amp is the less heat it generates and the more power it produces without getting too hot. These are typically your class D amps. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8592 Registered: Dec-03 | amplifier output is measured in watts. watts (power) = amperes (current) x volts (voltage) now, nothing mechanical is 100% eficient really. if you have a 12 volt power supply and the amp draws 100 amps, you'd think the power output would be 12*100 or 1200 watts, right? The problem is that all amplifiers lose a certain amount of energy to heat. this is the loss of efficiency we discuss. with a class D amp, you lose about 20% to heat, so that 12*100 isn't going to make 1200 watts of power from a class D amp. In reality it'll make about 1000 watts. 200 watts are lost to heat. Class AB amps are worse at this, losing up to 50% to heat, but the trade off is much better sound quality. more info can be found here: http://www.wickedcases.com/caraudio/amplifiers.html |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8593 Registered: Dec-03 | PS, read the power supply and amplifier class sections. those are the ones that pertain to the topic at hand. |
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Silver Member Username: Balls573Winona, Missouri U.S Post Number: 133 Registered: Mar-05 | how can i find out how much current my amp draws? and how did you learn so much glass? |
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Gold Member Username: SubfanaticKy Post Number: 4606 Registered: Dec-04 | glass has been at this game for quite sometime. And what kind of amp is it? one of us might know, but if not, you can contact your retailier. |
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Silver Member Username: 54danny54Post Number: 744 Registered: Nov-04 | look at ya fuses...t\multiply the number of fuses by the amp ratings and thats it |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8617 Registered: Dec-03 | look at the amplifier's manual and it should give a peak current draw rating. note a 1200 watt RMS amp only makes 1200 watts at full output. At lower volumes, you draw substantially less current, and make less power as well. you could also use this formula to figure out the peak current draw yourself: find out how many watts the amp puts out (RMS) at the load you use (2 ohms? 4 ohms?) this rating is just about always easy to find. then divide that wattage by 12 (volts) take the resulting sum and if teh amp is class D, multiply by 1.2 If the amp is class AB, multiply by 1.4 the result is your peak current draw.. or very close to it. amplifiers that are mono (1 channel), advertised as "digital," or are called class T or tri-path amplifiers, are considered class D for this. If the amp is multi-channel, full range (not for subs only), and isn't otherwise labeled as class T or "pre digital," it's class AB. I learned this as an electrical engineer, and installer. |