Tagged: impedance

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.

Why sensitivity, not power output, decides whether a valve amp and speaker pair actually works together — and how to read a spec sheet properly.

Forget the tribal warfare. Here's how to actually match valve, solid-state and Class D amps to your speakers, your room and your budget.

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

Pairing a valve amp with the wrong speaker kills more good systems than any cable or footer. Here's how to actually match them in an Australian lounge room.

A 15-watt valve amp and a 60-watt solid-state amp aren't playing the same game. Here's what actually happens at clipping, and why the number on the box misleads you.

Not every pair of headphones needs a dedicated amp. Here's how to tell whether you're actually current-starved or just chasing a placebo.

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.

Watts on a spec sheet don't predict how a headphone amp will actually drive your cans. Here's the impedance and output-impedance story that does.

Sensitivity specs look simple until your new standmounts clip the amp at moderate volume. Marcus Vale explains what the numbers really mean and how to use them.

The DAC chip is only half the story. What the output stage does to that signal — and how it interacts with your amp — matters just as much.

Valve amps are unforgiving of a bad speaker match. Priya Anand explains the real rules — impedance, sensitivity, topology — for getting the pairing right.

Sensitivity and impedance numbers look simple until your expensive headphones sound terrible from a phone. Priya Anand explains what the specs actually mean.

Speaker amplifier matching comes down to sensitivity, impedance and power. Here's how to read the numbers on the spec sheet before you spend your money.