"High Current"


I listen with my ears, and I dont really often care about the mathmatical conclusions but I have a friend who argued with me that Current cannot increase without wattage increasing as a result. I understand the simple formula is Voltage x Current = Wattage or something to that effect, it's been awhile since I openned a book.

How then can an amplifier from say a company like SimAudio which has a nortriously high current intergrated in the i-5 be only rated at 70 watts per channel?

Is it the differences which the current, voltage and wattage measured that makes the overall impact or can you really have an Ultra High current amp at a very modest Wattage output?
lush

Showing 1 response by gs5556

The "wattage" can decrease and the current can increase. Look at your formula - if the current decreases by a factor of 10 and the voltage increases by a factor of 20, the wattage doubles. As far as the the power rating of the SimAudio i-5, it's determined by the voltage output and the current output into an 8-ohm load. If the output current is fixed to a certain maximum, then that will determine the power rating at a given load regardless of the voltage. If the voltage level is fixed, then that fixes the power rating at a given load regardless of the current available (the extra current available will give more power as the load decreases).

The term "Ultra High" current is a marketing one and there's nothing "notorious" about the amp's output current - it obeys the laws of physics to determine the power rating.