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Current Questions

More and more, I see the word “current” in audio reviews. The reviewers warn me that I’ll “need lots of current” for a given speaker but they don’t explain exactly what it is I need or how many “lots” is. I’ve looked at a few “Electronics For Dummies”-type sites but I’m still confused. A few questions:

 

—What is current?

 

—When someone writes, “These speakers need a lot of current,” what do they mean? Is sensitivity involved? Impedance?

 

—On the amplifier end, what specification measures current?

 

—Are there subjective considerations at work in that spec? The number of watts doesn’t tell me everything about loud an amplifier sounds. Does the number of [whatever measures current] similarly leave things unexplained?

 

—Everyone asks, “How many watts?” No one asks, “How much current?” Is it really so important?

paul6001

Showing 1 response by mesch

mesch
3,529 posts
 

When a speaker is determined to need a lot of current it means it is not efficient at converting amplifier power to sound level.  Therefore you will need greater power than a more efficient speaker would take. This involves both sensitivity and impedance. A speaker having a true 8 ohm impedance and is 90dB sensitive at 8 ohms requires far less current than one that  has 4 ohms impedance and is less sensitive. 

Best i can do at the moment.

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