A question that HIFI enthusiasts often struggle with is when building a sound system or a home theater, should they buy an AV power amplifier or a HIFI power amplifier? To answer this question, we need to understand the different characteristics of AV power amplifiers and HIFI power amplifiers from several aspects. This issue of audio-visual Raiders will focus on the introduction of “AV power amplifier”.

Division of power amplifier types at the consumer market level

First of all, in the content introduction of the previous audio-visual guides, it was mentioned in detail that the types of power amplifiers are divided into “AB class”, “D class”, “A class” and so on. These classifications are distinguished from the signal amplification technology used by the power amplifier. From the perspective of manufacturers of power amplifier equipment, these classification methods are a bit too professional for ordinary consumers.

Therefore, you may not be able to see these detailed category information on the promotional pages of merchants and the product classifications of some e-commerce platforms, but merchants and e-commerce platforms will generally mark whether the products they sell belong to “AV amplifiers” or “AV power amplifiers”. HIFI power amplifier".

Then, understanding the difference between AV power amplifiers and HIFI power amplifiers, or what kind of people should buy which category of power amplifier products, has become a topic of concern for HIFI enthusiasts. We must first know that if we look at it from a professional or technical point of view, the boundary between AV power amplifiers and HIFI power amplifiers is not very clear. Dividing power amplifiers into AV power amplifiers and HIFI power amplifiers is more about the positioning of the consumer market. The power amplifier circuits of these two types of power amplifier products do not necessarily have essential differences in terms of technology, except for the corresponding power reserve. ability.

Therefore, we introduce the differences between these two types of power amplifiers, and also introduce the specific differences between AV power amplifiers and HIFI power amplifiers from the perspective of the consumer market or consumer demand. Let us first understand the characteristics of the audio-visual power amplifier in detail from the following aspects.

Only AV amplifiers can support multi-channel audio systems?

Usually, sales staff in offline stores will tell consumers that the number of channels supported by AV amplifiers is relatively large, and it supports surround sound systems at the same time, while the number of channels of HIFI amplifiers only supports stereo dual channels. This description is actually not very accurate. We can imagine that if there are HIFI enthusiasts who want to build a 5.1 multi-channel home theater system, can they only choose AV amplifiers? Of course not. To understand the difference between AV power amplifiers and HIFI power amplifiers accurately, we must start with the product positioning of power amplifier equipment manufacturers.

What kind of consumers does the market positioning of the AV power amplifier target?

We can understand the market positioning of products such as AV power amplifiers in this way. The consumers of the AV power amplifier are those HIFI enthusiasts who want to connect a whole home theater or audio system through a single power amplifier. The AV power amplifier provides an all-in-one, fairly simple way to build a home theater or audio system.

Generally speaking, an AV power amplifier product produced by a major manufacturer not only integrates the power amplifier circuit necessary for the power amplifier, but also integrates many other functional circuits and functional chips. The additional functions of these power amplifiers are mainly divided into two types.

The first function, which belongs to the functions previously performed by other equipment, is now integrated into the interior of the AV amplifier. For example, the DAC decoding function that HIFI enthusiasts often talk about is what we call the digital signal and analog signal conversion function. After it is integrated into the AV power amplifier, consumers do not need to purchase an additional independent decoder, and the decoding and power amplification can be completed by the AV power amplifier together. In addition, most of the functions integrated in the modern AV power amplifier are biased towards the processing function of the audio information stream. For example, automatic sound field tuning, preset EQ adjustment, FM/AM radio function, subwoofer optimization function. Among them, the automatic sound field adjustment is a more practical function. It can eliminate human intervention and fully automate the adjustment and optimization of the sound field. Just connect the microphone provided by the AV amplifier, and it will collect the playback effect of the current environment. Recursively and automatically adjust various parameters of the power amplifier to achieve the purpose of optimizing the sense of hearing.

The second function belongs to the function of expanding the capabilities of the existing audio system after learning from equipment in the non-audio field after the advancement of science and technology. For example, the early power amplifiers all supported wired connections. Both audio signal input and output only supported wired connections. Although there are many types of cables that can be connected, they still cannot escape the fate of needing a physical cable for connection. In recent years, the AV power amplifiers designed by various manufacturers have begun to have the function of wireless audio connection. After consumers purchase the corresponding AV power amplifier products, they only need to use the supporting audio output equipment to realize wireless connection. , For some high-end AV power amplifier products, the audio connection line from the power amplifier to the speaker can even be omitted, so that this section of the audio line is also replaced by a wireless signal. Furthermore, when designing the AV power amplifier, in order to simplify the connection between the audio equipment and the video equipment, the AV power amplifier will also integrate video-related electronic circuits inside the AV power amplifier, and match the corresponding video output and input interfaces. The video stream information is processed accordingly or passed through. On the AV amplifiers in recent years, we can already experience the function of standard definition video upscaling to 4K video. That is to say, once an AV power amplifier product is purchased at home, ordinary TV program signals can also be upgraded to 4K video signals through it, and then rendered by the TV to display the final effect.

The number of integrated functions of AV power amplifiers is also growing as the consumer demand in the audio field continues to grow. For example, from the early support for dual-channel upscaling to 5.1 channels, to the current support for dual-channel upscaling to 7.1 channels, and even more channels.

This integrated and highly integrated product design idea is somewhat similar to the design idea of a PC computer all-in-one machine of a fruit company. The reason for this design idea is that in the early days when audio equipment was popular, people usually thought that buying a complete audio system was a very professional thing. Many people wanted to buy it, but due to lack of knowledge, it was difficult to start.

In order to lower this threshold, audio equipment manufacturers have launched the AV power amplifier series, which integrates all functions into one device at one time, and is equipped with a specially designed remote control and a visual LCD panel in front of the power amplifier to minimize user usage. And the difficulty of building a sound system.

It is precisely because of the thinking of audio equipment manufacturers that audio systems and home theater systems have entered the homes of more HIFI enthusiasts. Therefore, AV power amplifiers have been active in the power amplifier sales market so far, and they are also a type of power amplifier products that are highly accepted by consumers.