D-Sonic peak current output compared to other

There are a number of things in the excerpt above that are patently false (despite the source) but are indeed widely-held opinion in the form of myth.

For example the ability to play deep effortless bass has nothing at all to do with the ability of the amplifier to double its power as impedance is halved.

If you would like an example of this, try that of a Sound Lab ESL being driven by a transistor amplifier. The tendency is for the amp to be bass-shy on that speaker while also being too bright.

What in fact is far more important is the relationship between the amp and speaker, as well as the intention of the designer of the speaker. Very closely related to this fact is the experience of seeing 'good' specs on paper, but also knowing full well that the specs will not tell you how that amp will sound in your system.

Here is an easy to read article about what is going on:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Paradigms_in_Amplifier_Design.php

Most box speakers have a woofer in that box that makes the bass. The woofer has a resonance in that box that is expressed by a peak in the impedance curve. This usually shows up in most designs right near the low frequency cutoff of the speaker itself. So you can see that the comment:

amplifiers that can continue increasing their output power as the impedance drops generally have very deep, extended, and powerful bass

is not really true at all. In fact making deep bass has nothing to do with 'tons of current', since at the resonant peak in the box, the speaker's impedance will be high, not low, forcing the amp to make *less* power, not more! Obviously something else is at play in the way amps make good bass.

It is true that lots of capacity in the power supply (which is the source of the 'amplifier' current that generated this thread) is generally associated with the better amplifiers made. But it is the relationship between the amp and the speaker that actually governs the things we hear from them. Understanding that fact is how you avoid flushing large amounts of dollars down the loo.

Whatever Robert Harley said is his experience, which becomes statistical fact. Others can agree with him or not based on their own experience, which can be totally different.

I don't think there is actually a "myth" related to the importance of current in amplifier design. The proof of that is there are actually very few amp specs (tube or solid state) that actually mention the current output. "Watts" is the myth here, I think.

Magnepan thinks amp current output is important in the context of their speakers. I would think they actually have experimented with their speakers mated with all kinds of amps to come to this conclusion.

It is impossible to come to a consensus as every designer's opinion is biased based the intricacies of their designs. Hence, what Parasound said is true and what Atma Sphere said is also true.

At the end is the music that matters. Your amps sound great, so do Parasound amps and many other amps out there with totally different designs.

At the end is the music that matters. Your amps sound great, so do Parasound amps and many other amps out there with totally different designs.

Isanchez, this quote above really says it all- and also points to the fact that current is in fact not what does it.

Here is why:

Power (watts) is created by amps and voltage. The formula is P =I x E, where P is watts, I is current and E is voltage.

What this formula tells us is that if there is no voltage, there is also no power. We can apply this in a practical fashion; if we have an 8 ohm speaker driven by 100 watts the current is going to be a function of the voltage divided by the resistance of the load (8 ohms). So if we plug in the numbers, we see that in this case the current is about 3.54 amps.

However without the voltage the current is zero. So it is indeed power (watts) that is doing the work, not current (another way of putting this is it is impossible for current to flow without voltage). What is happening here is that there is a convention, the Voltage Paradigm, which is in play. It uses commonly-used electronic terms, but in ways that are not normally used outside of the audio industry. The term 'output impedance' is an excellent example, and another one that relates more directly is the idea that speakers are 'voltage driven' when in fact such is impossible without current. This leads to all kinds of confusion when people who think they know something about electronics see these terms used but don't realize that they have a different meaning. Do you see what I mean?

The quote from Robert Harley is his opinion, but is incorrect as the math does not agree with him. But we are talking about a very commonly-held myth, and such things don't die easily, even when faced with that math! Mind you, Ohm's law and the power formula are inviolable, which is to say unlike a speed limit they can't be broken. They are basic laws of physics.

"The actual spec is the amount of current measured when the power supply is shorted out for 10 milliseconds "

However, if one ever listen to symphonic music, for example, then one must notice that the crescendo takes much longer then few milliseconds....

In Spectron, duration of our peak current of 65A is 500 msec - I believe longest in industry and if I am wrong - kindly correct me. Our thoughts on headroom effect on accurate music reproduction is on the our web site but I want to finish with exert from the e-mail I got from our new customer in Australia (Steven K.) who received our amps today:

" My first impressions are that the dynamic range is simply spectacular - makes other amps I've heard sound
anemic.

Sounds pop out of a velvet black background and then explode into the mix. It's so addicting!

There is tremendous speed across the entire spectrum, yet it manages to sound relaxed and natural "

My emphasis is on word "RELAXED" which for me indicates the absense of ear-piercing distortions, minimum ,if any, clipping etc.

Simon

Simon, Are you saying that your amplifier can produce peaks of 65Amps? Or are you saying that when shorted, your power supply can produce a peak of 65Amps for half a second?

Both are impressive specs, however the former is not credible. It suggests that your amps can make a peak power of over 4000 watts into one ohm, and over 16,000 watts if a 4 ohm speaker. So I am assuming you mean the latter?