Lets consider this amp is tested by the factory.

Question1~ WRMS before clipping(1KHz)
If the amp is tested for power output(rms) and its tested (before cliping= 0.5% T.H.D).
Will lower freq clip before higher freq?

Question2~ Distortion continuous power test(1KHz)
?what does this mean.

Question3~Channel separation(1KHz)
?what does this mean

Question4~ Power Band width(fequency responce)(1dB)
?what does this mean.

Question5~ input impedance
?

Question6~ Dampening factor
?

Question7~ S/N ratio/no filtering(1KHz)
?

Question8~ DC offset.
?

I have a fair idea of a few of these, but im assuming someone with 2000+ posts has read the tutes and wants a more in depth explanation, and a discussion on the effect each spec would have on the overall sound produced...

These questions are all answered very easily by using the Oracle of all knowledge. Google and Wikipedia
www.google.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Also, CES2006 specs specify Power to be measured at 1% THD.

1. No. On a GOOD amp.
2. With a 1kHz continous Sine wave, testing for distortion.
3. Seperation between channels, measured in dB. Only done on multi-channel amps (obviously). Easily tested by powering one channel only, and measuring the output level in the 'other' channel.
4. Its the frequency capabilities of the amplifier before applied load.
5. Its the impedance of the input..... duh. (impedance is the square root of the Reactive load squared plus the resistive load squared)
6. Its an imaginary factor, given by the load impedance divided by the source impedance (resistive load only)
7. Its the ratio of the sound by the noise produced by the amp, measured in dB
8. Its a term meaing the 'moving' of a waveforms average from zero.

As mentioned before Zion, five minutes with the Oracle and you could answer all these yourself. And I didnt need 2000+ posts to tell you that!

*EDIT* To account for some picky people.

What is "CES2007" specs? Dont you mean CEA-2006?

in more lay terms...







actually, it can. it depends upon the amp.



a high quality amp can produce at least as much power as claimed, between the frequencies of 20Hz to 20kHz. may also claim a +/- deviation.



but a lower quality amp may give only the 1kHz power output, which can look impressive. but at lower frequencies - or much higher - the power output may be much lower. so, this amp might be rated at 100WRMS @ 1kHz. but at 40Hz, it might only produce 50WRMS. trying to make the amp produce more power than this might make it clip. it partly explains why when you use a 2-channel amp, bridged, to run a sub, it sounds weak compared with a monobloc that may be rated to produce less power. the 2-channel amp cannot live up to the claimed power specs at subbass frequencies.







lower is better. though most people may not hear 5% distortion. so even though we may diss an amp with 0.1% distortion as being 'dirty', you're not going to hear it! however, it may still contribute to the overall sound quality.





higher is better. it is the 'crosstalk' between 2 channels. ideally, if you play music through only 1 channel (on a 2-channel amp), the other channel is absolutely silent. however, some of the signal will 'leak' to the other channel. 'how much' is specified by the channel separation.



it partly explains why it is better to use multiple amps, rather than say a 6-channel amp to run your entire system. utlimately, you would use only 1-channel/monoblocs for the entire system!





it is the frequency response, within the specified limits. for example, you may have 2 amps, both of which claim to be able to play from 20Hz up to 20kHz. in general, amps will struggle at the very bottom, and the very top.



if amp1 is fantastic, it would play 20Hz as loudly as 1kHz and as loudly as 20kHz. if amp2 is terrible, 20Hz might be much weaker than 1kHz, and 20kHz might also be weak. 'how weak'? if the power at 20Hz is half as much as at 1kHz, that is a 3dB difference.



so an amp might specifiy it can play 20Hz to 20kHz, -3dB. that is, all those frequencies are reproducible, and within 3dB of each other (half/double the power). an amp claiming 1dB difference would be better.



if you had amp3 claiming 50Hz to 18kHz, 1dB, this is probably better than amp4 claiming 20Hz-20kHz, 3dB.



though you can't really know unless you actually look and compare the plotted graphs.





higher is generally better. 10kOhm or higher is normal. if it's too low, or more importantly, if it is as low as the output impedence of the headunit/source, you can loose bandwidth (eg: loss of treble). physics behind it, i don't know.

the source (eg: HU) should have a low output impedence. much, much lower than the amp is best. a HU with an output impedence of 100ohm would be good.





higher is better. higher = more cone control. anything over 100 is good enough; anything over 200 is probably as much as you need.





SNR reflects how much background hiss/noise there is with the amp relative to the music signal. more is better, and anything over 70dB is acceptable. over 90dB is probably as much as you need.





i don't know how to interpret this in the scheme of things.



BUT, the specs still don't tell you how an amplifier sounds. some of the nicest/best sounding amps may, on paper, have quite average specs. whereas some that have exceptional specs may not sound like anything special. so, you need to interpret them as part of the whole package.



just like a car. you don't know how well it drives just by looking at the specs. it may be fast on paper, but it may also have terrible build quality or unlivable suspension or noise or whatever.

matt ofcourse i can google , thats not what i posted for.
Plus the (before clipping=0.5% T.H.D) is what they considered a clipped signal.........cors