Pneumonic
Well-known member
Re: suitable amp for stats.
The stat panels themselves are unique in many ways but, in particular, electrically, they are unlike traditional magnetic speakers in that they present themselves as a reactive (ie capacitive) load rather than a resistive load ...... like most speakers out there. What this means is they are very temperamental about what amplifier is used to power them.
For starters, stat amps need to be stable into reactive loads. Unfortunately, most amps are designed to be stable into resistive, not reactive, loads. So, amp oscillation can be an issue.
Further, unlike more traditional speakers which love power (ie wattage), stats love voltage. Tons of it. The more voltage an amp can output the louder (and better) a stat will sound (assuming it also can output required current too). The problem is many of the (traditional) amplifiers out there are not designed to output the huge voltages that stats require ...... and many of these (traditional) amp will run out of voltage during demanding musical dynamic peaks and end up (voltage) clipping.
Further still, at high frequencies, stats impedance drops severely, oftentimes down to under 1 ohm meaning you'll need an amp which can supply enough drive current under such low impedance conditions or else it will (current) clip.
Bottom line is it can be very challenging to find an amplifier which will drive stats properly and to full effect. But when you find one, it's magical.
The stat panels themselves are unique in many ways but, in particular, electrically, they are unlike traditional magnetic speakers in that they present themselves as a reactive (ie capacitive) load rather than a resistive load ...... like most speakers out there. What this means is they are very temperamental about what amplifier is used to power them.
For starters, stat amps need to be stable into reactive loads. Unfortunately, most amps are designed to be stable into resistive, not reactive, loads. So, amp oscillation can be an issue.
Further, unlike more traditional speakers which love power (ie wattage), stats love voltage. Tons of it. The more voltage an amp can output the louder (and better) a stat will sound (assuming it also can output required current too). The problem is many of the (traditional) amplifiers out there are not designed to output the huge voltages that stats require ...... and many of these (traditional) amp will run out of voltage during demanding musical dynamic peaks and end up (voltage) clipping.
Further still, at high frequencies, stats impedance drops severely, oftentimes down to under 1 ohm meaning you'll need an amp which can supply enough drive current under such low impedance conditions or else it will (current) clip.
Bottom line is it can be very challenging to find an amplifier which will drive stats properly and to full effect. But when you find one, it's magical.
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