A half century ago, better transistors revolutionized computer power supplies
Interestingly, the same transistors have revolutionized audio amplifiers. I&#x27;m a musician, and typically play with an amplifier. Over the years, my amp has gone from 40 pounds of steel, copper, and vacuum tubes, to a 15 pound solid state amplifier, to a 2.5 pound switchmode amp, with no loss of tone quality that I can perceive.<p>The rise of the new &quot;micro&quot; amplifiers has been driven in no small part by improved MOSFETs that can switch faster and more efficiently, at higher voltages. I can&#x27;t imagine that demand for musical equipment drove this development, but we certainly benefit from it.