5 Power amplifiers
5.0 Introduction
A power amplifier is in essence an AC to AC power converter. It draws power from the wall socket with a fixed voltage and frequency, and converts it to a variable voltage with variable frequency, exactly mimicing the input signal (to a certain extent). In theory, only the power level will have increased.
Audio amplification is a mature technology. There's no magic involved. On a technical level, it's fairly easy to design and produce an amplifier with excellent specifications and a high power rating. With the advent of "digital amplifiers" which utilize switch mode power circuits, power ratings have increased even more, and with even this technology maturing, specifications are excellent as well.
![](pagestyle/left.gif)
![](pagestyle/right.gif)
© Joris van den Heuvel 2001-2009