amp class question

[tommymcc]

ok, i know a good deal about car audio, but one question that i haven't been able to get a good answer is what do the different class amps mean, i know that class D are mono amps, but whats the difference in class A and B? i've heard of both but never seen a reason to have a certain name

[nineteen88ga]

Class A Amps- Amplify 360degrees of a wave with 1 transistor.
get hot fairly quick, low distortion, usually used to amplify mids and highs.

Class B Amps- Amplify a little more than 1/2 a wave.

Class AB amps are more common than class A or Class B amps. Most 2 and 4 channel amps are AB AB amps ae fairly effecient, run cooler than class A or Class B amps and are usually alot Smaller,but have higher distortion rates than Class A Amps.

I don't know why they are called class "A" or "B" amps, but for as much as I know and recall...those letters don't stand for anything in particular.

The other popular type of Amp is Class D. and No the "D" dosen't stand for digital. These amps run cooler than the others, but have a very high distortion rate, but inturn are best for subs.

Another Class of Amp is Class C. Class C is used for RF modulation.


That was probably a lot of babbling, but yeah....at least I was about to use some info I learned from my mobile Electronics classes

[tommymcc]

thanks, thats some really good info, i've never heard any distortion from my d amps, or is it only high end distortion, according to rockford and cea 2006 they can only have .01% thd/1 watt at 4 ohms, that sound pretty good