Translations:

‘Linear’ could easily be designer Tom Evan’s middle name. The word already hints at what his amplifier designs are all about. So what does ‘Linear’ mean in the context of an amplifier?

Well to put it in the simplest possible terms an amplifier and loudspeaker have to work together as a team. The end result of what you hear will have a lot to do with how well they work together. One specification you will always see quoted for Loudspeakers is their ‘nominal’ impedance. Impedance, again put very simply, is the speakers resistance to the current the amplifier is attempting to drive it with. The key to understanding the advantage of Tom’s amplifiers is that other word ‘Nominal’.

The reason speaker designers quote a ‘Nominal’ impedance is that, in reality, the impedance varies with different frequencies. A typical amplifier will have an easier task driving the speaker at some frequencies than others, so some frequencies may be reproduced slightly louder than others. In other words the result will be ‘non-linear’.

Recognising that although a speaker may be quoted as having a ‘nominal’ impedance of 8ohms, it may dip to 6ohms or below at some frequencies or rise to 10ohms or more for others, Tom went about designing an amplifier that would behave exactly the same regardless of these changes of impedance with frequency. In other words it would be ‘Linear’!

Leaving the technicalities aside for a moment, this results in a coherent sound throughout the entire frequency range so that no particular instrument’s or part of an instrument’s sound will be exaggerated at the expense of others.

The Linear A and B amplifiers as well as Tom’s equally excellent Vibe pre-amplifier all fit in perfectly with our philosophy at Sound Galleries of creating systems with the most coherently natural sound possible. Visit Tom Evans Audio Design