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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 williewonka

williewonka
3,110 posts
 

Just reading through this thread and came across this statement

Current is like the flow of water. It is actually the flow of electrons.

I have encoutered this depiction many time in various threads - I might have been guilty of using it myself way back when - oops🙄

Here is a very good explanation...

Drift velocity, the average speed at which electrons travel in a conductor when subjected to an electric field, is about 1mm per second. It’s the electromagnetic wave rippling through the electrons that propagates at close to the speed of light. The dimensions of the wire and electrical properties like its inductance affect the exact propagation speed, but usually it will be around 90 per cent of the speed of light – about 270,000 km/s.

This clip is from the following link if you would like to read more.

With an audio (AC) signal, the electrons shuffle between electrons in the wire randomly

Regards - Steve

 

 

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