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CHAPTER 4 – AMPLIFIER RECOMMENDATIONS
No single type of amplifier is
specified for use with the S4800
system. The speakers are highly
efficient and will operate ade-
quately with an amplifier or
receiver of 70–100 watts.
However, the transient response
a
nd audio definition of a high-end
system such as the S4800 will pick
up all inefficiencies and distortion
in an amplifier system. For full-
range operation, the S4800 system
can be used with an amplifier/
receiver of as little as 30 watts.
Amplifiers/receivers of 100–300
watts will ensure optimum system
performance.
There is no effective limit to the
power handling capabilities of the
S4800 loudspeakers when driven
by consumer audio amplifiers. No
damage will occur when used with
high-powered components. Source
impedance is an important criterion
in selecting an appropriate unit; the
selected amplifier(s) should have a
very high current capacity and
must be capable of driving a low
impedance load.
For bi-wiring applications, four iden-
tical amplifiers or two dual-channel
units may be used, although spe-
cialized low-frequency and high-
frequency amplifiers offer clear
advantages.
N
OTE
:
When using separate high-
and low-frequency amplifiers with
d
ual wires to each speaker, the
amplifiers must have exactly the
same gain structure, or one of them
must have a level control to adjust
the gain between the two ampli-
fiers. If four amplifier channels are
used, the high-frequency amplifier
may be up to 6dB less powerful
than the low-frequency amplifier.
Due to the
power versus frequency
distribution of the music, the low-
frequency section requires approxi-
mately four times the power of the
high-frequency section.
JBL specialist dealers can recom-
mend amplification to best suit
individual needs. In all cases, the
left and right amplifiers for each
section must be identical. Make
sure that the input sensitivity of
the two amplifiers is equal or that
input level controls are provided
to maintain the proper low to
mid/high balance. If two identical
stereo amplifiers are chosen,
each amplifier may be located
near a loudspeaker and drive low-
frequency and high-frequency
sections through short wire runs.
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S4800 OM 10/11/05 1:51 PM Page 9