Choosing The Best Audio Amplifier For Your Home Theater Selecting the right audio amplifier can

be daunting given the huge number of different types and technologies. Regardless of your use, I will describe some essential amplifiers expressions which will be handy when choosing the perfect type. Audio amplifiers are the essential connection between your source such as a DVD or Blu-Ray player and your loudspeakers. An amplifier will convert the relatively weak source audio into a signal powerful sufficient to drive your loudspeakers. Even though some audio sources have already a built-in amplifier, a separate amplifier offers you more flexibility for selecting the model that best complements your speakers. Some of today's miniature amplifier types can be hidden almost everywhere due to their small size. When selecting an amplifier, your primary concern possibly is the amplifier output wattage. You will need a high wattage if you are driving loudspeakers with a low sensitivity (expressed in dB/W), for driving speakers in big rooms or for outdoor speakers. You shouldn't utilize an amplifier with considerably higher output power than your speakers can manage. Overdriving your speakers can do irreparable harm to your speakers. However, a 20 to 50 Watt amplifier will give you more than adequate power in most situations so don't be overly concerned about the rated amplifier wattage. Amplifier output power is given in Watts rms (continuous) and Watts peak. The rms or continuous value tells you how much power the amplifier can provide continuously while the peak power figure tells the maximum wattage that the amplifier can deliver for short intervals of time. Many people will look at the rms power value when picking an amplifier. However, music signals are anything but continuous. Therefore picking an amp that has enough peak power handling is just as essential. Audio quality is just as imperative as having enough audio power and thus you ought to also look at figures such as total harmonic distortion or THD. No amplifier is ideal. There will be some amount of signal distortion which is created by the amplifier. The level of distortion is expressed in percent or dB. The amount of distortion varies between amplifier models. A smaller distortion means higher audio quality. Audiophile-grade amps will have distortion figures of at most 0.05% whilst consumer-grade amps have distortion of up to 10%. Another figure related to audio quality is called signal-to-noise ratio and describes the level of unwanted noise the amplifier will add to the signal. Consumer-grade amps will have a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of at least 80 dB. Higher-end amps will have an SNR of 100 dB or more. Audiophile amps will have an SNR of close to 120 dB. There are a number of amplifier technologies available. Modern amplifiers are for the most part Class-D amplifiers. Class-D amplifiers have a high power efficiency and waste little energy as heat. Some of todays mini amplifiers are no bigger than a deck of cards. Class-D type amplifiers frequently have higher distortion and a lower signal-to-noise ratio than Class-A or Class-AB amplifiers. Some latest digital amplifier models, on the other hand, come very close to the audio quality of analog amps. Make sure that the amp has low distortion and a high SNR if you pick a Class-D amp.