201753 Amplificadordepotnciadealtaqualidadede60watts

ElliottSoundProdutos Projeto03
60WattInto8OhmsAmplificadordePotncia
RodElliottESPAtualizadoem
06Feb2000
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Nota:PCBsestodisponveisparaaversoatualizadadesteprojeto(P3A)

Introduo

Esteamplificadornoreivindicaser"estadodaarte"e,defacto,odesenhodebaseremontaao
anode1970.umamplificadorsimplesparaconstruir,usapartescomumentedisponveise
estveleconfivel.Odesignapresentadoumaligeiramodificaodeumamplificador
originalmentedesenhadohmuitosanos,dosquaiscentenasforamconstrudos.Amaioriaeram
operadoscomopequenosamplificadoresdePAoudeinstrumentos,masmuitostambm
encontraramocaminhoparasistemashomehifi.Oamplificadorcapazdeconduzir4Ohms,
masestcomeandoaempurraroslimitesdostransistores,noentanto,mesmoquandousado
em4Ohms,muitopoucasfalhasforamencontradas.

Porfavor,notequeeunorecomendoquevocconstruaestaversodoamplificador.Projeto3A
aversodestinadaparaaconstruo,eumamplificadormuitomelhoremgeral.

Noteque,emboraMJE2955eMJE3055transistoressomostrados,osamplificadoresoriginais
utilizadoumaversodestestransistoresquehmuitofoiinterrompido.Osmodernosvmemum
pacoteTO220,esoseveramentelimitadosemquasetodososaspectos,emcomparaocom
aquelesutilizadosnadcadade1970.OstransistoresrecomendadoshojesooTIP35Ceo
TIP36C,quesomelhoresdoquequalqueroutrodispositivoTO220.

Fotodooriginal(obsoletolongo)MJE2955/3055Transistor

Forabitofhistory,thephotoaboveshowsthetransistorsthatwereusedwhenhundredsofthese
ampswerebuilt.ThesedeviceswereconsiderablybetterthanthemodernTO220versions,but
thereisnodataontheNetbecausetheyaresoold.Atthetimetheywere'premium'Motorola
devices(notethegoldplatedleads),andtheywereremarkablyrugged.ThepackageisTO127
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whichisnolongerusedbymostmanufacturers.Ihaveseensimilardevicesofferedonanauction
website,buttherewerenodetails.Aswithanythingonanyauctionsite,bewareoffakes.

TheCircuit

Notethatthereisnooutputshortcircuitprotection,soifspeakerleadsareshortedwhiletheampis
working(withsignal),thereisaveryrealriskofthetransistorsbeingdestroyed.Sincethisamp
wasbuiltcommercially,thesavingswereworththeriskmostoftheseampswereinstalledinthe
speakerbox,soshortingwasnotlikely(unlesstheloudspeakervoicecoilshortedashappeneda
fewtimes).Becauseofthecostofthedevicesused(minimal),itisacheapamptofixevenifyou
domanagetoblowitup.

Figure160WPowerAmplifierOriginalCircuitDiagram(Don'tUseThisCircuit!)

Basicspecsontheampareasfollows...

Inputsensitivityfor60Woutputjustunder1V(1Vgives66W)
Gain27dB
Frequencyresponse(3dB)10Hzto23kHz@1W
Harmonicdistortion@1kHz0.05%(maximumtypical)
OpenLoopGain125dB(noload),80dB(8Ohmload)
InputImpedance22kOhm
DCOffsetLessthan100mV(<20mVtypical**)
Noise<2mVatoutput(80dBref50Wunweighted)

Changesmadefromtheoriginaldesignare...

ReducedthevalueoftheClassAbaseresistorto560Ohm**
Increasedthevalueofthebootstrapcapacitorto100uF
Reducedstabilisationcapsto100pF(theyusedtobe220pF)
Addedtheoutputinductoranddampingresistor(seeUPDATES)

**Itisconceivablethatwithsometransistors,thevalueof560Ohmsmaynotbecorrect.Ifthisis
found,youmightneedto'tweak'thisresistortoobtainminimumDCoffset.Ifyoureallywantedto,
youcouldevenuseatrimpot(2k),andadjustthisforminimumDCoffset.Besttowaituntilthe
temperaturehasstabilisedfirst,butitwon'tchangeverymuchanyway.

Apartfromthesechanges,theampisprettymuchoriginal,andwithanominal35Vsupplyas
shown,willprovidearound70Winto8Ohmsquitehappily.Initslifetime,manyofthemods
mentionedaboveweremadeanyway,sinceIcouldneverfindthecircuitdiagramwhenIneededit,
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sooftenmadeitupasIwentalong!Itisafairtestamenttotheampthatallsortsofresistorand
capacitorsubstitutionscanbemade,anditstillworksfine.

Thenoiseanddistortionfiguresaresomewhatpessimisticthereissolittledistortionat1V(or20V
forthatmatter)thatmydistortionsethasgreatdifficultyingettingareadablemeasurement.The
oscilloscopeoutputindicatesthatmostofwhatIseeisnoiseevenintegratingtheoutput(my
'scopecandothat)toeliminatethenoiserevealsverylittleatall.

Dec1999Update

Ihavehadafewconstructorscommentonthequiescentcurrent,whichissomewhathigherthan
theyexpected.Indeed,mytestamp(photobelow)runs(ran)withaquiescentofabout350mA.
Thisrequiresafairlyheftyheatsinktokeepitcool,butmineisfineaslongasitisnotlyingonthe
benchtop.Withlittleornoairflow,itgetshot.

Ihavecarriedoutafewmoreexperiments,andhaveafewvaluesforyou.Theampisintendedto
use0.22Ohmemitterresistorsintheoutputstage.Withthese,Iq(quiescentcurrent)isabout
350mAat+/35Vsupply.

IncreasingtheemitterresistancewillreduceIq,andwith0.5Ohmresistorsitdropstoabout
150mA.Althoughthisreducesoutputpowerbyaverysmallamount,thereductionisworthwhile
fromathermalperspective.Measureddistortionandothercharacteristicsareunchanged.Atiny
increaseinoutputimpedancemightoccur,butIdidnottestforthis,anditwillbefarlessthanthat
ofspeakerleadsanyway.

Ialsoincludedabiasservo,usingapotandtransistor.Thiswasnotmountedontheheatsink,
sincethiswouldcauseaninstantnegativethermalcoefficientastheampgetshotter,Iqwillfall,
potentiallysofarthatcrossoverdistortionwilloccur.Thisisnotagoodthing,andIdonot
recommendit.ThebiasservoIusedwasdoneforconvenienceIhada20ktrimpottohand(well,
abagfullactually),andthetransistorisastandardBC549.Iknowitsnotelegant,andthevalues
arenotworkedoutproperly,and...,and,...etc,butitworks.

IthentestedtheampwithIqfromzeromA(crossoverdistortionwasveryevident)rightuptothe
newmaximumof150mAIleftthe0.5Ohmresistorsincircuit.Thecircuitforthebiasservo
(actuallythewholeamp,withsomeoftheothermodsIhavementionedelsewhere)isshownin
Figure1anoticethatIleftthediodesincircuitasafailsafe,sincetheservoIusedwillgoopen
circuitifthepotwiperbecomesdisconnected(Istronglysuggestthatyoudothesame).Inpractice
thisworksextremelywell,andIcansetbiascurrenttoanythingIlike.

Figure1aModifiedVersionOf60WPowerAmp
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ChangesfromFigure1

Zenerremoved,2k2and4k7resistorschangedtosingle12k
Removedinductorandbypassresistorfromoutput
Addedbiasservotransistorandpot
Increasedemitterresistorsfrom0.22to0.5Ohms

Overall,thesechangeseffectquiescentcurrentandsimplifythecircuitalittle.Thereareno
discernibleperformancechangesfromtheoriginal.ThevariationsIwasabletochronicleareas
follows:

IfoundthatthecrossoverdistortionisverylowwithonlyafewmA,andallbutdisappearsatabout
40mA,leavingabarelyvisible'glitch'ontheoscilloscopechannelmonitoringtheoutputofthe
distortionmeter.(Ialwaysuseonechannelfortheoutputsignal,andtheotherisprettymuch
permanentlyconnectedtothedistortionmeasuringset.)FurtherincreasesinIqmadeverylittle
difference,butoverallIfoundthatatabout100mA,theampseemshappiest(ormaybethatwas
meseeminghappiest,thatis).

VariationsinsupplyvoltagewillhaveaneffectonIqaswell.Ihadn'tactuallyconsideredthismuch
(Ihaveneverhadoneoftheseampsselfdestruct,andnormallydon'tevenbothermeasuringthe
quiescentcurrent).ThevariationiscausedbecausetheClassAdrivercurrentisnotderivedfrom
atruecurrentsource,butisasimplebootstrappedcircuit.Sincethecurrentmustchangewith
voltage,somustthevoltageacrossthediodes(orbiasservo).Atabout25degreesC,IsetIqto
20mAwithasupplyvoltageof35V....

SupplyVoltage QuiescentCurrent
35V 20mA
40V* 53mA
45V* 78mA
*Nosignal!

Biascurrentalsochangeswithtemperature,soastheampheatsup,Iqwillincrease.Thisisnot
serious,andwillonlyevercausegriefiftheheatsinkistoosmall.Griefwillensueanywayifyou
attempttouseasupplyvoltagegreaterthan35V,regardlessofwhetherthebiascurrentisstable
ornot.

PleaseNote:Oneofthethingsyouwillreadaboutonvariouswebpages,isthat
distortionmeasurementsareinvalid,sincetheydonotusuallytakeintoaccount
thevery'spiky'natureofcrossoverdistortion,andsimplyaverageitsoitlooks(on
paper)muchbetterthanitsounds.Thisdenouncingactivityismostcommon
amongstClassAenthusiasts.Icannotspeakforothers,butwhenImeasure
distortionIlookattheresidualsignalfrommymeteronanoscilloscope.There
arenodistortionspikesevidentinthisdesignthedistortionisasmooth
waveformwithnopartofthesignalabletobemisinterpretedbyhumanor
instrument.

Construction

Idonotproposetoprovideconstructionaldetailsforthisversionoftheamp.Ifyouwanttobuildit,
seeP3A,whichincludesPCBsandfurtherrefinementstothecircuit.Layoutisnotespecially
critical,andinfactifthecomponentsarelaidoutonaboardmuchastheyareseeninthediagram,
youshouldhavenoproblems.3Ampfusesshouldbefittedtoeachsupplyrailthesewillnot
preventoutputtransistorsfromfailingwithashortedspeakerlead,buttheywillpreventfurther
damage(wiringmelting,transformerburningout,PCBcatchingonfire,etc).

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100uF50Vbypasscapacitorsshouldbeinstalledontheboard,ascloseaspossibletothedriver
circuits.Thesemayoptionallybebypassedusing100nFpolyestercaps.Asanindicationofthe
stabilityofthisamp,Ihaveuseditwith1metrepowersupplyleadswithnoonboardbypasscaps
whatsoever.Powerisreducedbecauseoftheinstantaneouspeakcurrentscausingvoltagedrop
ontheleads,buttheampremainscompletelystable.(Don'tdothis,becausealthoughtheampwill
workfine,toomuchpowerislostintheleads.)

Theinputcapacitorshouldbeapolyestertype.Ifanelectrolyticistobeused,thepositiveend
goestotheamplifier(thereisabout+230mVonthebasesofthelongtailedpairtransistors).

Whenwiring,ensurethatthefeedbackconnectionistakenfromthespeakeroutputterminal,
immediatelybeforetheinductor.Anytrackwhichiscarryinghalfwaveaudiofromoneortheother
powertransistorresistorswillcausedistortionofthefeedbacksignal,degradingsoundquality.

Thephotoshowsoneofmytestamps(builtonaPCBIdesignedmany,manyyearsagofora
bridge/stereoversionthesearetheonesthathundredsofweremade).Thisistheampallthe
testswereconductedon,anditwillbenotedthatthereisnooutputinductor.

TheCompleteAmp(MyTestUnit)

PowerSupply

AsuitablepowersupplyispresentedintheProjectPages.Thiswillalsobequitesuitedtoany
otherpowerampofsimilarspecifications(suchasthe'NewImproved'versionofthisone,P3A).
Thepowertransformershouldhave25025Vsecondaries,andnomore!ThisgivesanominalDC
voltageof35V.

PassiveComponents

Theresistorvaluesarenottoocritical,butif1/2Wmetalfilmresistorsareusedthroughout,
thiswillhelptoreducenoise.
The0.5Ohmresistorsneedtobe5Wwirewoundtypes.
Isuggestthatyoudonotuseaninductorintheoutput.Ifyouchoosetodoso,windabout20
turnsof1mmdiameterenamelledcopperwireona20mmdiameterformer.Thisshouldbe
flatwoundifalayeredcoilisused,reducethenumberofturnstoabout12.Youmay
choosetoleavetheinductoroutofthecircuitaltogethernonewereusedwhentheseamps
wereinproduction.(Seeupdates)
Ifyouinstallacoil,usea1to4.7Ohmwirewoundresistorfortheinductordampingresistor
5Wshouldbefine.

Transistors
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Input(longtailedpair)BC559orsimilar(lownoise,PNP,40Vcollectoremittervoltage
rating)
BiasServoBC549orequivalent
ClassAdriverBD139orMJE340
DriversNPNBD139orMJE340
DriversPNPBD140orMJE350
PowerNPNMJE3055,TIP3055or2N3055(TO3),TIP35C
PowerPNPMJE2955,TIP2955orMJ2955(TO3),TIP36C
Biasingdiodes1N4001asshown(donotusesignaldiodes,theirvoltagedropistoohigh,
whichwillincreasequiescentcurrenttoanunacceptablyhighvalue.)

Onlytheoutputtransistorsmustbeonaheatsink,whichshouldhaveathermalratingofnomore
than0.5C/Wattfor'normal'homelistening,orhalfthatiftheampisgoingtobepushedhard(PA
orinstrumentamp,forexample).Ifyoureallywantto,asmall'flag'typeheatsinkcanbeusedfor
thedrivers,butthisisnotnecessary.TheClassAdriverdissipatesonlyabout1/4Watt,whilethe
powerdriversvary.Ihaveneverusedaheatsinkonanyofthem.

TheTIP2955/3055andTIP35C/36ChavealowerthermalresistancethantheMJEtypes,andare
preferredforthisreason.Otherpowertransistorsmaybesubstituted,butitisuptoyouto
determinetheirsuitability.AimfordeviceswithahighfT(gaintransitionfrequency),lowthermal
resistance,andgoodpowerratings.Iamusing200WTO3casedevicesinmyownbiamp
system.TheTIP35C/36Cdevicesarerecommendedoverall2955/3055devices.

Figure2OutputTransistorsinParallel

Ifyouwish,additionaloutputtransistorsmaybeconnectedinparalleltoprovidebettergainathigh
current(reducing''gaindroop'),andhigheroutputcurrentcapacity.Thiswillalsoprovidelower
transistordieoperatingtemperatures,becauseoftheeffectivedoublingofcasetoheatsinkcontact
area.Figure2showsthearrangement(onesideonly,theotherisamirrorimage).

Notethatiftransistorsareparalleled,theemitterresistorsmustbeusedasshowntoforcecurrent
sharing.Iftheseareignored,onetransistorwillprovidemostofthecurrentwhiletheotherdoes
littleornothing.Youmaythenbelulledintoafalsesenseofsecurityuntiltheoutputstageblows
up.

NOTE:AlthoughthesiliconepadsavailablearealessmessyalternativetomicaorKapton
washersandthermalgrease,Istronglyrecommendthatyoudonotusethem.Manytestsover
manyyearshavedemonstratedthatcommonsiliconewashersarefarlesseffectivethangreased
micaorKapton.Ifyoudousesilicone,when/iftransistorsarereplaced,replacethewashersas
well,orthethermalresistancewillbetoohighiftheoldonesarereused.

PoweringUp

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IfyoudonothaveadualoutputbenchpowersupplyBeforepowerisfirstapplied,temporarily
install22Ohm5Wwirewound'safety'resistorsinplaceofthefuses.Donotconnecttheloadat
thistime!Whenpowerisapplied,checkthattheDCvoltageattheoutputislessthan1V,and
measureeachsupplyrail.Theywillbedifferent,becauseofthezenerdiodefeedresistance,but
bothshouldbenolessthanabout20V.Ifwidelydifferentfromtheabove,checkalltransistorsfor
heatingifanydeviceishot,turnoffthepowerimmediately,thencorrectthemistake.

IfyoudohaveasuitablebenchsupplyThisismucheasier!Slowlyadvancethevoltageuntilyou
haveabout+/20V,watchingthesupplycurrent.Ifcurrentsuddenlystartstoclimbrapidly,and
voltagestopsincreasingthensomethingiswrong,otherwise,continuewithtesting.(Note:asthe
supplyvoltageisincreased,theoutputvoltagewillincreaseuptoabout6V,thenquicklydropto
near0V.Thisisnormal.)

Onceallappearstobewell,connectaspeakerloadandsignalsource(stillwiththesafety
resistorsinstalled),andcheckthatsuitablenoises(suchasmusicortone)issueforthkeepthe
volumelow,ortheampwilldistortbadlywiththeresistorsstillthereifyoutrytogettoomuch
poweroutofit.

Iftheamphaspassedthesetests,removethesafetyresistorsandreinstallthefuses.Disconnect
thespeakerload,andturntheampbackon.VerifythattheDCvoltageatthespeakerterminal
doesnotexceed100mV,andperformanother'heattest'onalltransistorsandresistors.Turnoff
thepower,andreconnectspeakerandmusicsource.

Thisampisfairlywellbehavedforturnon,andshouldissue(atworst)thesmallestclickaspower
isapplied.Whenpowerisremoved,afterabout5secondsorso,therewillnormallybealowlevel
thumpthisisnotdangeroustospeakers,unlessusedintriampanddirectlyconnectedtothe
tweetersDONOTDOTHISnotwithanyamp.Alwaysuseacapacitorinserieswithtweeters
(seeBiAmplification,SomethoughtsonTriAmping).

Ifyougotthisfar,happylistening.

UPDATES:

03Apr1999thequiescentcurrentofmy'benchtest'versionofthisampisabout300mA,
whichisquitehighhigherthanIrememberedsotheampwillgetfairlywarmjustsitting
therewiththefullsupplyvoltage.Also,ifyoursupplyis+/40Vunloaded,expecttoseeabout
6Vdroppedacrosseachsafetyresistor(22Ohm)wheninitiallypoweringup.
Ialsocheckedthedistortionmorethoroughly(whichishard,becauseitssolow).Thereisno
signatanypowerlevelofthetraditional'spikes'createdbycrossoverdistortion,justa
70dBsmoothlooking3rdharmoniccontent.(WhenIsay70dB,I'mguessingabit,because
thelevelsaretoolowtomeasureaccurately).Interestingly,thereisalmostnochangewhen
theloadisconnectedordisconnected,whichsurprisedmemorethanjustabitalot,
actually!IwassosuspiciousthatIshortedoutoneofthebiasdiodesbehold,nasty
crossoverspikesinstantlyaboundedasexpected.Ihavetoconcludethatdistortionispretty
lowthen!
05April1999TheBizarreDept.Ialsoperformedsomeadditionaltestswiththeoutputinductor
inplaceveryinteresting!Althoughthedistortionisbarelymeasurablewithoutit,assoonas
itisconnected,crossoverdistortionbecomesevidentIdon'tunderstandthis,sinceitcan
onlybeseenatthespeakersideoftheinductor,andremainsquitenormalattheampside.
Anysuggestionsastowhythiswouldhappenaremorethanwelcome,becauseitcertainly
doesn'tmakeanysensetome!(nortoanyoneelsewhohastriedtofigurethisout)
27April1999IhadathinkabouthowInormallymeasuredistortion,andrealisedthatIcan
actuallyusemyoscilloscopeinsteadofthemeterthismeansthatIcanusetheaveraging
featuretogetridofthenoisecomponent.Althoughitwasdifficulttokeepstable(my
distortionmeterhasalittledrift,normallythisdoesnotcauseaproblem),Imanagedto
measurethedistortiondownto0.0025%andno,thatisnotamisprint.Mostofthisisfrom
myoscillator.

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IhaveexperimentedsomewiththeMiller(dominantpole)capacitor,andsubstituteda100pF
polystyrenefortheceramicthatwastherebefore.Ihavenoideaifitmakesanyreal
difference,butitsoundslikeagreatidea,especiallywhenyouconsideritsimportanceinthe
circuit.
Alsodidsometeststoseehowwelltheampbehavesatlowervoltages,anditworksfine
downto+/12V,althoughitisabituselessatthisvoltagebecauseofthelimitedpower
about8Watts.ThisbringsintoquestionwhyIeverbotheredtousethezenerdiode(the
originalideawastopreventsupplyhumfrombeinginjectedintotheLTPemittercircuit).Even
atsupplyvoltagessolowthatthezenerhasnoeffect,thereisnosupplyhuminjectedinto
thesignal,sofeelfreetoleaveitoutofthecircuit.Youmustadjusttheseriesresistanceof
the'tail'toget3mA,sowitha+/35Vsupply,thisworksoutat12k.
07Dec1999Fairlymajorupdate,andisincludedindetailabove.
06Feb2000Madeafewsmallcorrectionstothetext,andaddedinfoonhigherpowered
transistors.

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CopyrightNotice.Thisarticle,includingbutnotlimitedtoalltextanddiagrams,istheintellectualpropertyofRod
Elliott,andisCopyright1999,allrightsreserved.Reproductionorrepublicationbyanymeanswhatsoever,whether
electronic,mechanicalorelectromechanical,isstrictlyprohibitedunderInternationalCopyrightlaws.Theauthor(Rod
Elliott)grantsthereadertherighttousethisinformationforpersonaluseonly,andfurtherallowsthatone(1)copymay
bemadeforreferencewhileconstructingtheproject.Commercialuseisprohibitedwithoutexpresswritten
authorisationfromRodElliott.
Atualizaes:Comoacima,mais18denovembrode1999corrigiuumerro(driverdeClasseAfoidescritonotextocomopolaridadeincorreta)

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