Bodgy

Hey Everyone.
I'm about to buy an amp. I can get a 4x50watt for $100 aust. and a 4x150 for $150. The bigger one is definately better quality but the thing I'm worried about is power draw. I'm using a 150watt inverter.
Thats 350 vs 750 watts.

Does an amp at 1/4 volume draw 1/4 the peak figure?
I'm wondering if the big amp would consume the same amount of power as the little amp, because they will only be turned up as far as the speakers will take before distortion kicks in... in my mind im thinking this point would be a lot lower in the big amps power range than in the small one.

Does anyone follow me?

mgithens

well, the amp produces a certain wattage output based on a certain voltage signal... if you have your volume at 30%, then you are holding back on the signal - therefore the output is reduced... if you have a more powerful amp then your signal will be more attenuated, so you might only run 20% to get the same wattage output...

so we are not talking apples to apples, if these amps are in the same series and are made by the same manufacturer you can expect that consumption will be approximately equal for equal outputs even though the max output is much higher on amp #2...

a class A amp will produce more heat than a class D amp... research amp types that you are looking at...

wattage output is not a measure of how much power the amp is consuming, the amp has an output, but it also gets hot - so this is dissapated power, so a 300watt amp consumes about 330 watts if it is 90% efficient... but this is at sustained output, which is never the case, a bass amp is only consuming power when there is a bass note...

not sure the exchange rate to USD, but $100 vs $150 for 3X power never sounds like a good deal, I am betting the amp #2 is much cheaper in quality...