How to distinguish between home theater AV power amplifier and Hi-Fi power amplifier

How to distinguish between home theater AV power amplifier and Hi-Fi power amplifier

Now people's quality of life is gradually improving, so people pay more attention to various pursuits and enjoyments in life. In fact, there are not a few people who install home theaters now, but for all kinds of power amplifiers on the market, their basic conditions are similar, so how to find the most suitable power amplifier for you? Do you know how to distinguish between Hi-Fi amplifiers and AV amplifiers on the market? Let's continue to look at the following content.

Hi-Fi is the abbreviation of English Hight-Fidelity, literally translated as high fidelity, it requires the audio equipment to amplify and process the various indicators of the sound signal without distortion during the playback process, so as to restore the original appearance of the sound source, emphasizing the It is authentic and specially used for enjoying music: AV power amplifier, as the name implies, A (audio) means audio and sound, and V (video) means audio and image, so AV power amplifier is an audio-visual amplifier that integrates audio and video signal processing. The emphasis is on the ambiance of the sound field, which is specially used in home theaters. Due to their different emphases, these two power amplifiers are different in terms of technical indicators, sound field atmosphere, number of channels, circuit design, etc.:

1. Different technical indicators

The technical indicators of high-fidelity Hi-Fi power amplifiers mainly include output power, harmonic distortion, signal-to-noise ratio, frequency range, rated impedance and damping coefficient, etc., especially emphasizing harmonic distortion and signal-to-noise ratio; while AV power amplifiers also have these Technical indicators, but more emphasis on channel isolation, delay time range, various sound field modes (DSP system, home THX system, Dolby AC-3 system) and other indicators, in addition, the AV power amplifier has more indicators related to the video part .

2. The sound field atmosphere is different

Hi-Fi power amplifiers are mostly designed for high-fidelity in the way of sound reproduction. They pay attention to amplifying the signal from the signal source in an authentic way. They are mainly used to appreciate music and human voice, etc., and pursue the real effect of sound. The main design purpose of the AV amplifier is to create a sound field, emphasizing the sense of direction of the sound, and simulating the atmosphere of the listening environment, such as cinemas, halls, churches, stadiums, studios, etc.

3. The number of playback channels is different

Hi-Fi power amplifiers generally have two channels when playing sound, that is, amplify the signals of the left and right channels, and drive the left and right two sets of speakers to form a stereo sound field. The AV power amplifier has 4-9 channels to drive multiple speakers to form a surround sound field, for example: Dolby AC-3 requires 5.1 channels (left, center, right, left surround, right surround, subwoofer).

4. Differences in circuit design

From the point of view of circuit design or circuit composition, there is a big difference between the two power amplifiers. First of all, the high-fidelity Hi-Fi power amplifier circuit is relatively simple, and the signal processing program is less. It is also responsible for amplifying multiple signals, so it has a high degree of integration, complex circuits, and many signal processing programs. Secondly, the AV power amplifier also has a video circuit in the circuit composition.

The main differences between Hi-Fi power amplifiers and AV power amplifiers have been introduced to you. Since the narrative language is relatively professional and abstract, let me give you a detailed analysis. What are the disadvantages if AV power amplifiers are used instead of Hi-Fi power amplifiers?

1. The AV amplifier lacks confidence when playing a large signal source

This can be seen from the product manual, the output power of the AV amplifier in the two-channel state is greater than that in the four-channel state. However, some manufacturers’ manuals have the same markings. At this time, you can choose music with a large dynamic range for trial listening, but you obviously feel powerless. This is because the total power consumption of the AV power amplifier is large, and the power reserve is not sufficient, while the Hi-Fi power amplifier appears to be calm.

2. Many AV power amplifier cables affect the sound quality

The AV amplifier is equipped with a variety of video and audio ports, and is connected to multiple groups of audio and video signal sources, resulting in many and complicated signal wiring, which easily causes mutual interference of signals. In particular, the existence of distributed capacitance has the greatest impact on high-frequency audio and its harmonics, attenuating or interfering with the original rich high-frequency components of high-quality signal sources, so that the listener cannot appreciate the high-fidelity effect.

3. The fluorescent screen of the AV power amplifier will also interfere with the sound quality

The AV power amplifier pays attention to the convenient multi-functional operation. There is a large fluorescent display on the panel, which makes the operation intuitive and vivid. However, the fluorescent screen is heated by a low-voltage AC filament, and the characters are displayed under the drive of the pulse signal, which will radiate a lot of electromagnetic interference to the surroundings, which is obvious. affect the sound quality.

The difference between AV power amplifier and HI-FI power amplifier is mainly as above. Another thing to note is that although I can list many differences between AV power amplifiers and HIFI power amplifiers here, in fact, the distinction between these two power amplifiers is not so obvious. Most people can't tell the difference between these two power amplifiers at all. So JS took advantage of this and called the AV power amplifier a HIFI power amplifier to raise the price. Therefore, when buying power amplifiers, first-time enthusiasts must choose reputable merchants for transactions.

After going through the introduction here, you already have an understanding of this aspect, then when you are shopping in the market, you can easily choose the category you want, and you will not be easily fooled by others. So it's still very beneficial. Of course, for different requirements, you may want to choose different sound engineers, so you must choose the one that suits you, which is the best.