Amp/Preamp Asylum

Posted by Triode_Kingdom (A) on October 18, 2021 at 12:40:57

In Reply to: RE: Current. It's All About Current These Days. posted by paul6001 on October 17, 2021 at 22:27:16

"As the owner of an Arcam A19 that puts out 50 watts into 8 ohms but only 90 watts into 4 ohms, I felt that I needed to understand the issue in order to stick up for my amplifier."

This difference likely has nothing to do with current capability. Note that the 8 ohm rating is with both channels driven; the 4 ohm rating is for one. This means the amplifier is being tasked to deliver the same total output power and current in both cases. So why doesn't it? In all likelihood, the amplifier has been derated at 4 ohms due to per-channel dissipation limitations that become the dominant factor in meeting FTC pre-conditioning requirements.

This is only a hypothesis, of course, but it can be easily verified by a bench test at any competent service center. Alternately, you could inquire regarding this matter with Arcam.

My apologies if someone else has mentioned this. I didn't read the entire thread.

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Edits: 10/18/21   10/18/21