4 out of 5, 5 out of 7 channels...better performance? (1 Viewer)

[George Caronan]

Hello everyone. General question that I had a need to ask. Say you have a five channel amp and you are using only four out of the five, given the fact that one channel is not active will it result in better efficiency/headroom for the remaining active channels? I've read in various places that this is indeed the case. In a receiver where you are only able to use five out the seven amps available will the same principle apply? Is it because one or two amps less used helps the strain for the transformer/power supply providing cleaner, higher output? Looking forward to opinions and answers. Cheers!

 

[MikeTz]

George:

The answer depends on the amplifier design. If the amplifier channels share a power supply and capacitor bank then unused channels result in more available energy for the used channels. On the other hand if your amplifier design is based on individual monoblock channels each having their own power supply and capacitor bank then unused channels do not provide more available energy for used channels.

MT