Tagged: amplifier matching

The synergy tax explained: why pairing mismatched hi-fi components quietly costs more than buying modest, well-matched gear.

Bridging two channels of a cheap Class D amp into mono can double your power for not much cash — but it halves your load impedance too. Here's how to do it without cooking anything.

DSP room correction and app-based EQ can't undo an amp-speaker impedance mismatch. Here's the actual engineering, and where correction genuinely helps.

At the top end, matching an amplifier to a speaker is about current, impedance behaviour and damping, not the number on the spec sheet.

Class D amps now beat valve and solid-state on power, size and price. So why do some still sound flat? Dave Okafor explains what the spec sheet doesn't show.

Sofia Laurent maps the real curve of price versus performance in hi-fi, and where your next dollar actually stops improving the sound.

Impedance dips scare buyers more than they should. Here's how to read a speaker's impedance curve and match it to an amp that won't run out of puff.

Where should a serious hi-fi budget go first? Sofia Laurent on the spending order that actually matters, and the one most buyers get backwards.

Sensitivity ratings and amp wattage look simple but interact in ways that catch out serious buyers. Here's the actual maths, in plain terms.

Damping factor gets thrown around a lot, but it only matters in specific, measurable situations. Here's when it actually changes what you hear.

The old "spend equal on amp and speakers" rule breaks down at the high end. Here's when to ignore it and where the money actually needs to go instead.

A speaker's nominal 8-ohm rating hides impedance dips that punish some amp topologies more than others. Here's what the graph actually shows.

Why the watts-per-channel number on the box tells you almost nothing useful, and how to actually match an amplifier to a speaker without overspending.

Speaker cable gauge and length can measurably shift frequency response over long runs. Here's the maths, the thresholds that matter, and where to stop spending.

A large floorstander in a small room doesn't deliver more — it delivers worse. Sofia Laurent explains when to walk away from the flagship and why.

Sensitivity ratings, room volume and amplifier watts are all connected by maths, not magic. Here's how to work out what you actually need.

Standmount vs floorstander: how room size, bass modes and amplifier power decide which speaker format suits your room, explained by Marcus Vale.