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AV: Clearing Up The Mystery & Confusion With Amplier Power Ratings - Pro Sound Web

ClearingUpTheMystery&ConfusionWithAmplifier
PowerRatings
Thequestion"howmanywatts?canhavemanyanswers...
May14,2015,byPatBrown

Couldanything
bemore
confusingthan
apower
rating?The
questionHowmanywattscanhavemanyanswers,
dependingonwhetherwearetalkingaboutamplifiersor
loudspeakers.
Therearealsomanyvariablesregardinghowpoweris
measuredandspecified.Thenumerousvariableshave
renderedfacevaluepowerratingsvirtuallyuseless.
Whyispowersohardtoquantify?Onereasonisbecauseitistimedependentand
constantlychangingmuchlikethevalueofthestockmarket.Wecanlookatthehighs,
lows,ortheaverage,andallaredifferentnumbersthatareusefulfordifferentthings.
Anotherproblemisthatweconnectpoweramplifierstoloudspeakers.Giventhenatureof
whateachdoes(andhowitdoesit),themethodsusedtorateoneareinappropriateforthe
other.A100wattamplifiercantproduce100wattsofpowertoaloudspeakerunlessitplaysa
veryannoyingtestwaveform.Gofigure.
Evenso,soundsystemdesignersmustselectappropriateamplifiersfortheloudspeakersin
theirprojects.Thepowerratingssuppliedbyamplifiermanufacturersmustbeinterpretedand
scaledtomeettherequirementsofthedesign.
Someofusareoldenoughtorememberthepowerratingwarsofthe1970s.Anyrating
usedtosellsomethingissuspect,especiallywhentherearemanywaystotestitandmany
morewaystopresenttheresults.
But,amplifierpowerratingsdonthavetobemysteriousorconfusing.Therearesome
guidelines,assumptionsandrulesofthumbthatcansimplifytheprocessofamplifierselection
withoutsacrificingaccuracy.
AReferenceWaveform
Thedeterminationofthepowerofanamplifiercanbetriviallysimple,orverycomplicated.It
dependsonthecharacteristicsoftheaudiowaveformandtheimpedanceoftheloadthatit
drives.ThesimplestACwaveformisasinewave.
Whenappliedtoaloudspeaker,thesinewavemakesitpumpinandoutlikeapistoneasy
enoughtovisualize.Thereareseveralcommonlyusedpowerequations.Botharepretty
simplewhenusedwithsinewavesdrivingresistiveloadsonatestbench.
Poweristypicallycalculatedfromtheeffective,orRootMeanSquare(RMS)valueofthe
audiowaveform.
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Dontgetnervousthisisjustawayofaveragingthe
waveformovertimetocomeupwithavaluethatwould
equalthepower(orheat)generatedbyaconstantvalue
ofdirectcurrent.Assuch,theRMSvalueofawaveform
issometimescalleditsequivalentDCvalueorheating
value.
Thisisaveryimportantpoint.Powergenerationand
dissipationisrelatedtoheatanddependentontime.Wewillrevisitthatlater.
Anexamplewillclarifythis.Figure1showsadummyloadthatcanbeconnectedtoan
amplifier.Thisallowstheamplifiertoproducepowerwithoutmakingsound,whichisgoodfor
thepersondoingthetest.Theloadsarewaterheaterelementssubmergedinoil.
Allofthepowerisconvertedtoheat.Thetemperatureofthe
loadcanbemonitoredwiththebuiltinthermometer.
TheACwaveformthathasthehighestheatingvalueisthe
squarewave,andisequivalenttoDC.Itshallserveasour
reference.Illapply10voltsRMStotheloadandallowthe
temperaturetostabilize.
Next,Illsubstitutepinknoiseforthesquarewave.Thepink
noiseispurechaoswhencomparedtoasineorsquarewave
(asaremusicandspeech).Howdoesonegiveitavalue?
Inordertoproducethesameloadtemperatureasthesquare
wave,Ihavetoturntheamplifierupby12dB.Thisiscalled
thecrestfactorofthewaveform.Itissubtractedfromthe
squarewavevoltageleveltofindtheeffectiveorheating
valueofthepinknoise.TenvoltsRMSofpinknoiseproducesthesamepowerintotheload
resistorasa10VRMSsquarewave.
Figure2isachartofcrestfactorscommonlyencounteredinaudiowork.
TheEIAstandard(nowdefunct)measuresthepowerfrom
theamplifierusingasteady1kHzsinewave(3dBcrest
factor).
Whilenotveryrealisticwithregardtorealworldaudio
applications(unlessyouaredrivingasiren),itprovidesa
usefulreferencewattagethatcanbederatedfor
complicatedaudiowaveformslikemusicandspeech.The
EIAstandardlivesonasCEA426BR2005.
InTheRealWorld
Theidealamplifierisaconstantvoltagesource.
Thismeansthattheoutputvoltage(whichisofcourseanaudiowaveform)isnotaffectedby
theloadimpedance.
Letsfixtheoutputvoltageto30VRMS(about100wattscontinuousinto8ohms)and
considerwhathappensastheloadimpedancechanges.PleaseseeFigure3,below.
Ouridealamplifierisanunlimitedsourceofcurrent.ThinkHooverDamwithSpeakonsand
youhavetherightidea.Astheloadimpedancedrops,thecurrentincreases.Astheload
impedanceincreasesthecurrentdecreases.
Eachhalvingoftheloadimpedancedoublestheoutputcurrentandthereforetheoutput
poweroftheamplifier,solongasthevoltageremainsconstant.
So,themoreparalleledloudspeakers,themorewatts.
Realworldamplifiersbehaveasidealvoltagesourcesintotypicalsoundreinforcement
loudspeakers.Youcanloadthemwithoneormaybetwo8ohmloudspeakers,andtheoutput
voltageisnotaffected.
Liketheidealamplifier,thepowerdoublesastheloadimpedanceishalved.
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Atsomepoint,thisrelationshipnolongerholdsandthevoltage
dropsasyoudaisychainmoreloudspeakersontotheamplifier,
eventhoughtheoutputpowerincreases(Theyellowregionof
Figure3).Belowabout3ohms,thisamplifierisnolongera
constantvoltagesource.
Notethatsincethecurrentisimpedancedependent,aboxthat
canhandlealargeRMSvoltagemaynotdrawmuchpower,if
itsimpedanceishigh.ThiscanbeausefulattributeifIneedto
parallellinearrayboxesontoasinglewhichisaverycommon
practice.Imeasuredunitsashighas60ohms.

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Apowermindsetsaysloaditdownbecauseyougetmorewatts.Butnotethateventhough
theoutputpowerisincreasingintheyellowzone,theoutputvoltageisdecreasing.Ifyour
loudspeakersarecoveringdifferentzonesoftheaudience,addingadditionalloadsbeyond4
ohmsmaycausealeveldropinthealreadyplayingloudspeakers(Figure4).
YougetthemostSPLfromBoxAifyoudisconnecttheother
boxes.Inshort,theamplifiersbestperformanceisachieved
whenitisnotoverloaded.Theimpedanceofarealworld
loudspeakerishigherthanitsratedimpedanceovermostofits
bandwidth.
clicktoenlarge

Whilesomeamplifierscanhandle2ohmloadsitwouldberare
toeverencounteratrue2ohmloadinpracticeotherthanwitha
bankoftestresistors.

Besidesthevoltagedrop,thereareotherreasonswhyverylowimpedanceloads(i.e.2ohms)
areproblematic.Thelowertheloadimpedance,theheaviertherequiredwiregauge.Heavy
gaugespeakerwireminimizeslinelossandpreservestheamplifiersdampingfactor
(significantforsubwoofers).Cablesfor2ohmloadsmustbekeptshortortheymayget
ridiculouslyheavy.
Wewouldntdreamofputtingweightsinthetrunkofourcartomakeitproducemorepower.It
isequallysillytoloaddownanamplifiertogetmorewatts.
PowerRatings
Therearemanyexamplesofpowerratingsoutsideofaudio.
SomeexamplesincludeACgenerators,motors,lightbulbs,andhorsesandmany,many
others.Ineverycase,theratinggivenisassumedtobecontinuous,meaningasustainable,
guaranteedvalue.
Whenyoubuya5,000wattgenerator,youexpecttoget5kWcontinuous,notshortterm
peaksof5kW.
Agoodhorsecangenerateonehorsepowercontinuous(746watts)foraperiodoftimelong
enoughtocompleteatask.Thisprovidedaguidelineforreplacingitwithasteamengine.
Audioamplifierpowerratingsgotcrazyinthe1970swhensomemanufacturersbeganbasing
theirratingsonpeakorinstantaneousvaluesratherthancontinuousoutput.Thisgave
themanadvantageinthemarketplace,becausemoreisbetter.Right?
TheFederalTradeCommissionsteppedinandestablishedastandardtoleveltheplaying
field.Itplacedrequirementsonthebandwidthanddistortionleveloftheaudiosignalfromthe
amplifier.Sodidthe(nowdefunct)ElectronicsIndustriesAllianceorEIAratingmethod(now
CEA426BR2005).
Inshort,therearemanywaystotestbothamplifiersandloudspeakerstogetpowerratings.
Theoldestandmostconservativemethodforamplifiertestingistheuseofacontinuoussine
wave,withtheamplifierconnectedtoaresistiveloadandoperatedforaspecifiedperiodof
time(continuousimpliesindefinitely).
Iamabigfanofthismethod,forseveralreasons.
1)Itsasimpletest.Theresnowaytofudgeit,foolit,fakeitormisrepresentit.
2)Theratingcanbeeasilyverifiedinthefield,withsimpleinstrumentation.
3)Icaneasilydeterminetheoutputpowerwithotherwaveforms(musicorspeech)by
substitutingthecrestfactoroftheprogrammaterialforthatofthesinewave.Thisalways
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resultsinlesspowerflow.
4)Thedistortionofasinewaveismucheasiertomeasurethanthedistortionofmore
complicatedwaveforms,soitiseasytodeterminewhentheamplifierisatmaximumlevel.
5)Largepoweramplifierscandrivedistributedloudspeakerssystemswithouttheuseofa
stepuptransformer.
Thesesystemsbasetheirratingsonthesinewave.IfIneed70voltsorhighertodrivesuch
aline,thenIneedasinewaveratingfortheamplifiertoknowwhetheritcangetthere.
Asasystemdesigner,Iwantasimple,nononsenseconservativeratingofwhattheamplifier
cando.Icanincreasethecrestfactor(deratetheamplifier)toknowthelevelproducedby
musicorspeech.
Now,beforetheletterstoeditorstartpouringin,Imsmartenoughtoknowthatitisunlikely
thattheamplifierwilleverhavetopassafullscalesinewaveintoaloadforanextended
periodoftimeunlessIintendtouseittodriveashakertableorasaregulatedelectricaloutlet
onthetestbench(seriouslygota60Hzoscillator?).
Imalsosmartenoughtoknowthatmostembellishmentstothissimpleratingmethodareto
achievehigherpowerratingsandanadvantageinthemarketplace.(The1970srevisited.Do
wereallyhavetogothroughthatagain?)
Ialsounderstandthatsomeamplifierscanproducemorethantheircontinuoussinewave
ratingifIpulsethetestsignal.Fine.Illtakeit.ItsonlyafewdB.Infact,thedecibelisthekey
tounderstandingandcomparingpowerratings.
Decibels&AudioLevels
Quick!WhatistheapproximateexpectedSPLat4metersfromaloudspeakerwithan
averagesensitivityof100dBSPL(1W/1m)drivenbya200wattpoweramplifierplayingpink
noise?Gotya,didntI?
Ifyouhadtothinkaboutthatforverylong,orevenwhipoutacalculator,thenyoureavictim
ofaverypoorratingsystemthatisusedforpoweramplifiers.TheunitisnamedforMr.Watt,
butIdoubtthatevenhewouldendorseitsuseforaudiocalculations.
Wellsolvetheproblemmentallywithsimpleadditionandsubtraction,afteralittleground
work.Youwillbeabletoperformcomplexamplifiercalculationsinyourhead,amazingyour
friendsatpartiesandpossiblyevenimprovingyourlovelife.Imanoptimist.
Sincethehumanhearingsystemperceivespowerchangesproportionally,linearunitssuchas
wattsandvoltsarenotterriblyuseful.TheAudioFathersdealtwiththisdilemmaearlyinthe
lastcenturybycreatingthedecibelsystem.
Thedecibeldescribestheproportionalchangebetweentwopowerlikequantities.Figure5
givessomecommonwattagesandtheirdecibelequivalent.Thedecibelworksjustlikethe
humanhearingsystem,assessingloudnesschangesbytheproportionalchangetoa
referencevalue.
Tocomparevariouspowerratings,IllpretendthatIhavea16,000wattiPod.Nice!Itis
connectedtoadummyloadresistorandisgeneratinga1kHzsinewave.Eachclickofthe
volumecontrolis3dB(trueinreallife),sothecharthasarangeofsevenclicks.
Eachclickgeneratestwicethepower,andslightlyhigherSPL
thantheprevious.Thisunlikelyexampleservesasareminder
thatdoublingthepowerisameagerlevelincrease,eventhough
itmayrequirealotofwatts.Thevaluesonthechartcould
representarangeofamplifiersfromamanufacturer.
Foryoumathtypes,hereistheformula:
dBW=10log(W2/W1)
whereW2istheamplifierssinewaveratinginwattsandW1is
areferencepowerof1watt(Hint:Youdonthavetoperformthe
divisionsincewearedividingby1).
TheequationsimplifiestodBW=10logW.Eachpowerlevelis
howtheamplifierwouldcompareinleveltoaonewattreference.

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Ifyoujustmemorizethechart,youwontevenneedacalculator.Onenicethingaboutpower
amplifiercalculationsisthatyouonlyneedtogetclose.
Thesearetypicallysinewaveratings,butcanbescaledtopinknoiseratings(whichare
morelikemusic)bysimplysubtracting10toaccountforthehighercrestfactorofpinknoise
ascomparedtoasinewave.(Thesinewavehasa3dBcrestfactor,andpinknoiseisabout
12dB,or9dBhigherthanthesinewave.10dBiscloseenoughandiseasytoworkwith).
TheresultantlevelindBWcanbeaddedtotheloudspeakersaveragesensitivitytodetermine
theSPLat1meter.The1meterSPLcanbeextrapolatedtoagreaterdistancebysimply
halvingitforeverydoublingofdistance,whichistheinversesquarelawrateoflevelchange.
Howaboutanexample?
Loudspeaker:KillSound5000
Sensitivity:100dBSPLAverage(1W/1m)
Amplifier:KiloBlaster1000
PowerRating:1000Wcontinuousat1kHzinto8ohms
1.dBW=10log1000=30dBW
2.PinkNoisePower=30dBW10dB=20dBW
3.LoudspeakerSPL:100dBSPL+20dB=120dBSPLat1meter
4.Levelat4m:120dBSPL66=108dBSPL
So,practicesubtracting10andsubtracting6(repeatedly)fromyourstartingvaluesandyou
canquicklyestimatetheSPLfromanyloudspeakerwithanyamplifieratanydistance.
MeaningfulRepresentation
Thedecibelhasdoneexactlywhatitwasdesignedtodomakeaudiosimpler,moreintuitive,
andmostofall,provideameaningfulrepresentationofthelevelchangethatresultsfrom
changingthepower.AmplifiersshouldberatedindBW,notwatts,forthesereasons.
Now,ImnotnaiveenoughtothinkthatamplifiermanufacturerswillactuallypublishdBW
insteadofwatts.Alargepercentageoftheircustomerswouldnotunderstandtheirspecs,and
theirtechsupportphonecallswouldgothroughtheroof(andmaybetheirsalesthroughthe
floor!).
Youwillhavetomaketheconversionyourselfwiththechart.Youwillhavethetypicalamplifier
sizesmemorizedinnotime.Inlightofthesefacts,cananamplifierhaveahigherpowerrating
thantheoutletfromwhichitispowered,assomemodernamplifiersclaimto?Arethese
legitimateratingsorisitthe1970srevisited?
Pat&BrendaBrownleadSynAudCon,conductingaudioseminarsandworkshopsonline
andaroundtheworld.Formoreinformationgotowww.prosoundtraining.com.

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