A speaker system is made of a lot of small and big components, and each of them is equally critical in their own right. The audio amplifier is one of the most critical components of a sound system or a speaker unit, because it performs the major function of sound amplification. These amplifiers simply receive low frequency signals (In the range of 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz) and convert them to high frequency signals.
Basically, these amplifiers do the conceptually simple task of converting an input signal of few hundred megawatts to a signal of thousands of megawatts.
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Technically, these amplifiers are designed on the metrics of frequency response, gain response, noise and distortion. The gain factor is probably the most important factor amongst all of them. Increase the gain factor slightly and the noise and the distortion levels in the amplifiers could increase significantly. On the other hand, reducing the feedback ensures that the gain and the distortion levels also come down. All of this is accomplished in AB Class Amplifiers, a class of linear amplifiers.
The first audio amplifier was invented in 1909, by Lee DeForest. The first amplifier used a triode vacuum amplifier which further resulted in the inception of the AM Radio. The induction of new age audio devices like CD and DVD players has resulted in the elimination of pre-amplification, a stage that was necessary for amplification of audio signals in the olden days. This is because of the fact that the CD and the DVD players produce a flat signal.
TIM, also known as Transitory Intermodulation Distortion, was found to be a problem associated with the working of the audio amplifier. High quality modern day amplification systems work on an open loop response frequency of 20 KHZ. This eliminates the probability of having TIM effect in the amplifier. That being said, some inferior quality speakers and amplifiers still have traces of the TIM effect.
The outcome of an audio amplifier is a high frequency sound signal, much different from the low frequency sound signal provided to the amplifier unit as input. There is a lot of complex circuitry involved with the amplifier itself and not to mention, the science behind making the amplifier work. Telecommunication engineers around the world must be commended though for the work they have done and are doing in this space to present a noise free and a distortion free amplification unit.