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m Amplifiers are components in several devices, such as stereos, television and computers,
which allow sound to be produced through speakers. Normally, the "amplifier" term is associated
with stereos, or musical devices, most commonly.

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m Sound is produced when there is a vibration in the atmosphere. This vibration disturbs the air,
causing air particles to bounce off other air particles, carrying the vibration throughout. We hear
these changes in air pressure by translating the change to electrical signals that the brain can
process.

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m Major components in electronic sound equipment are simply translators. This equipment uses
a signal in one form and transfers it into another. The end product in the sound signal is
translated into a physical sound wave which is its original form. There are three major steps in
sound production. First, there is a diaphragm located in a microphone that is vibrated by moving
sound waves. The vibration of the diaphragm is translated into an electrical signal. This signal
changes show rarefactions and compressions of a sound wave. Then, a recorder translates the
signal as a pattern in another form of medium, such as digital or analog tape. Lastly, a player of
some kind is introduced to read the pattern as electrical signal and transfers the electricity to
propel a speaker cone back and forth.


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m Most steps of the sound process, such as the microphone and recorder require very little
electrical current to be produced. The last step of the process, moving the speaker cone, does
require more of a boost in current for the audio signal. This boost has to preserve the same
pattern without any distortion of the original signal. The boost is created by an amplifier. The
amplifier's sole purpose to to produce a more powerful audio signal in order to be heard through
a speaker. Although amplifiers have just a simple purpose, the components that make then can be
very complex.


 


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m The actual amplification process is complex. The amplifier does its job based on several
different factors including the input signal, output signal, and power supply. For example, if the
power supply is general household electricity, alternating current, then the amplifier must
convert this to a battery type electricity, direct current. This is because in alternating current the
power produces pulses of electricity and must be returned to the source and this would not work
with a speaker and cone. The amplifier must also regulate the electrical current to ensure an even
signal reaches the speaker.
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m There are two types of circuits that the amplifier must utilize; the output and the input circuits.
The input circuit is an electrical signal that has been previously recorded by a microphone on
some type of medium. This circuit supplies the amplifier with a varying signal that the amplifier
uses to create the output signal. The output circuit is what the amplifier creates to send to the
speaker. It uses the power supply to make a new signal that will match the original input signal
but has the level of power that the speaker requires.

Read more: How Does a Stereo Amplifier Work? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-

does_4965145_stereo-amplifier-work.html#ixzz1BLVaJtwv
?

The purpose of an amplifier is to receive a small electrical signal and enlarge or amplify it. In the
case of a pre-amplifier the signal must be amplified enough to be accepted by a power amplifier.
In the case of a power amplifier, the signal must be enlarged much more, enough to power a
loudspeaker. Although amplifiers appear to be a mysterious µblack box¶, the basic operating
principles are relatively simple. Simply stated, an amplifier receives an input signal from a
source (CD player or other source) and creates an enlarged replica of the original smaller signal.
The power required to do this comes from the 110-volt wall receptacle. So, an amplifier has three
basic connections: an input from the source, an output to the speakers and a source of power
from the 110-volt wall receptacle.

The power from the 110-volts is sent to the section of the amplifier known as the power supply
where it is converted from alternating current to direct current. Direct current is like the power
found in a battery - electrons, or electricity flows in one direction only (alternating current flows
in both directions). From the µbattery¶ or power supply the electrical current is sent to a variable
resistor, also known as a transistor. The transistor is essentially a valve, like a water valve, that
varies the amount of current flowing through the circuit based on the input signal from the
source. A signal from the input source causes the transistor to reduce or lower its resistance and
allowing current to flow. The amount of current allowed to flow is based on the size of the signal
from the input source. A large signal causes more current to flow and results in more
amplification than the smaller signal. The frequency of the input signal also determines how
quickly the transistor operates. For example, a 100Hz tone from the input source causes the
transistor to open and close 100 times per second and a 1,000Hz tone from the input source
causes the transistor to open and close 1,000 times per second. So, the transistor controls level
(or amplitude) and frequency of the electrical current sent to the speaker, like a valve, and this is
how it achieves its amplifying action.

Add a potentiometer, also known as a volume control to the system and you have an amplifier.
The volume control allows the user to control the amount of current that goes to the speakers and
thus the volume level. There are different types and designs of amplifiers, but essentially they all
operate in this manner.