odigg
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2008
- Posts
- 868
- Likes
- 26
I don't know if this is a DIY question, but there are people here with the technical background here that can answer this.
I'm going to use an analogy to regular speakers to ask this. Let's say I buy a pair of speakers capable of handling 100W rms. Then Let's say I purchase two amplifiers with identical sound, but one has a 20W rms output and the other has a 100W rms output. Both amplifiers are capable are providing that power across the whole frequency range.
Is the only difference between the sound from the two amps the potential loudness? If I listen to the 100W speakers with the 20W amp, will there be a "sound quality" difference compared to when I listen to the same volume with the 100W amp? Isn't this basically what a volume knob does, changing the power output?
So my question now follows about headphones. Will an amp that provides 100 ma equally across the frequency range sound the same at the same volume as an amp that can provide 300ma consistently across the frequency range?
My understanding of why a weak amplifier can't power power hungry headphones is that the power delivery is not equal across frequencies. Some amps distort or collapse under the load's power requirement at certain frequencies. This is why we change caps to improve bass response.
So, when we compare a weak amp (not able to provide even power across all frequencies) vs a powerful amp (able to provide even power across all frequencies), that is what causes a difference is sound quality.
Am I thinking along the right lines here?
I'm going to use an analogy to regular speakers to ask this. Let's say I buy a pair of speakers capable of handling 100W rms. Then Let's say I purchase two amplifiers with identical sound, but one has a 20W rms output and the other has a 100W rms output. Both amplifiers are capable are providing that power across the whole frequency range.
Is the only difference between the sound from the two amps the potential loudness? If I listen to the 100W speakers with the 20W amp, will there be a "sound quality" difference compared to when I listen to the same volume with the 100W amp? Isn't this basically what a volume knob does, changing the power output?
So my question now follows about headphones. Will an amp that provides 100 ma equally across the frequency range sound the same at the same volume as an amp that can provide 300ma consistently across the frequency range?
My understanding of why a weak amplifier can't power power hungry headphones is that the power delivery is not equal across frequencies. Some amps distort or collapse under the load's power requirement at certain frequencies. This is why we change caps to improve bass response.
So, when we compare a weak amp (not able to provide even power across all frequencies) vs a powerful amp (able to provide even power across all frequencies), that is what causes a difference is sound quality.
Am I thinking along the right lines here?