"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
. net...
| Mike Rieves wrote:
| "Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
| . com...
| Mike Rieves wrote:
| "rumble" wrote in message
| ups.com...
| can anyone tell me where to find specs or an owner's manual for a:
|
| YAMAHA NATURAL SOUND STEREO POWER AMP (M-50)
|
| thanks
|
| Yamaha is decent sound reinforcement stuff, amp power is usually
| underrated, they put out more than the specs say, but it isn't
| studio quality, if that's what you're looking for. .
|
|
| OK, I'll bite. Just what exactly makes a stereo amp of "studio
| quality" better than an otherwise excellent stereo amp?
|
| I would concede the Yamaha consumer power amp is not "professional"
| in terms of ruggedness etc, also in studio applications I can see
| that balanced inputs might be necessary, but for the purpose of
| reproducing stereo sound, as opposed to reinforcing it, I cannot
| think of any qualities that would make a "studio" amp preferable in
| terms of sound quality.
|
|
|
| Nope, the differences would be in flat response, slew rate, THD, IMD,
| damping, etc, along with other differences not shown in the published
| specs. Just like studio monitor speakers, studio monitor amps have
| different requirements than do sound reinforcement systems, or even
| living room stereo systems. I've used Yamaha sound reinforcement
| equipment will good results in the past, and I have nothing against
| them in this respect. However, Yamaha sound reinforcement and
| consumer home equipment isn't designed for the studio, any more than
| any other company's SR or home equipment is.
|
|
| You've not really answered the question. THD, IM, slew, etc are ordinary
| specs which were quoted for consumer stuff as well.
|
| "other differences not shown in the published specs."
|
| Doesn't make it on a technical group. If someone else used that line on you,
| you'd probably hammer them, yes?
|
| I'm not disagreeing about the desirability of a studio monitoring amp for
| studio monitoring applications, I'm just not sold on the sonic reasons,
| except possibly the exceedingly minor sonic differences from using balanced
| inputs, etc. I'm thinking that in a studio environment the primary reason
| for balanced inputs is mainly for hum rejection, not sound quality as such.
|
| Then there are issues of reliability. Many of Yamaha's consumer amps were
| somewhat flammable. I think it's reasonable to assume that a professional
| amp would tend to be more reliable, since the internal parts used , the
| construction and (hopefully) electrical design are done in a much less
| cost-conscious manner than consumer gear.
|
| Once again - not necessarily any sound-quality related reasons, just
| practical stuff for the professionals.
|
If the frequency response at 20khz is reasonably flat (preferably +-0db, but no
more than say 2db down), then the slew rate is perfectly adequate for quality
sound.

THD and IM are typically measured at a small percentage of the amps output ...
but then reasonable listening volumes are also at a small percentage of rated
output. As long as they are below 3% at your intended listening levels, you
probably will never be able to hear any effect.

The IM and THD specs of your speakers will entirely dwarf the specs of your amp,
so your choice of speakers and the quality of your room will have more effect on
the quality of sound reproduction than the specs of your amplifier.

Peak current is probably far more important than the typical (often stellar)
specs of a good home amplifier, but chances are very good that you'll never tax
your amps current abilities unless you intend to listen VERY loud. Driving
moderately efficient speakers at 5 watts will fill your environment with enough
sound that you'll have to yell at someone sitting next to you in order for them
to unserstand what you're saying. Assuming your amp is capable of 50W continuous
per channel this gives you over 9 db of headroom before you reach the continuous
limits. Some amps are ready to handle transients beyond continuous rating for
those rare circumstances. So the question of peak current really comes down to
how loud you intend to monitor, the louder, the more wattage you'll want for
headroom. If you're worried about your amp bursting into flames, you'll want
more continuous headroom, since higher wattage implies heftier heat sinking
ability. If you get a high enough wattage amp with vents in the top, you may be
able to make toast for snacking during those long sessions.

You'll probably want to make sure that your speaker outs can handle the speaker
load. IE if your outs are 8 ohm only, you'll want to make sure that you're not
going to be driving 4 ohm speakers. Also 4 ohm speakers will knock 3db off of
your headroom.

Damping can also be important, but it's very interactive with your speakers, and
beyond my tiny understanding to discuss ... there's lots of sharp guys here who
may be able to describe the implications.


--
CWC
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It's not that nice guys finish last,
They have a whole different notion
where the finish line is.
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