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6.0 PA100—100W Parallel Circuit
(Continued)
The input resistance is equal to R
.The value of R
IN-
should be high enough to eliminate any loading placed on
the previous stage (i.e. pre-amplifier). The DC blocking
input capacitor value should be calculated on the value of
Rin to be sure the correct size is used so low frequency
signals will be coupled in without severe attenuation. f
IN
=
1/(2
π
R
IN
C
IN
).
1% gain setting resistors (R
and R
) will give good results
but it is recommended 0.1% tolerance resistors be used
for setting the gain of each op amp for closer matched
7.0 BPA200–200W Bridged/Parallel Circuit
gain and equal output current and power dissipation.
The output resistors, R
, wattage rating is based on
the load impedance and the output current or maximum
output power. As the load impedance is increased or
reduced the output current is reduced or increased, re-
spectively. The wattage rating of R
should increase
as output current increases and decrease as output cur-
rent decreases. A very conservative design will use peak
output current to calculate the needed wattage rating of
R
OUT
(P = I
2
R).
As always, the better the supply bypassing, the better the
noise rejection and hence higher performance.
7.1 AUDIO TESTING
The following graphs represent the performance level attain-
able from the bridge/parallel circuit found in Figure 13 with a
well designed PCB and properly heat sinked. The testing
focused on maximum output power capabilities, amplifier
linearity and noise level.
7.1.1 Linearity Tests
The linearity of the amplifier is represented by the low
THD+N values shown in
Figures 7, 8
.
Figure 7
represents
the THD+N vs Frequency for 1W, 56W, and 200W power
levels.
Figure 8
represents the THD+N vs Output Power
Level for 20Hz, 1kHz, and 20kHz. The THD+N between
20Hz and 1 kHz is less than 0.004% from 1W to the clipping
point. The 20kHz THD+N is less than 0.02% from 1W to the
clipping point, The continuous clipping point power is around
210W while the power at 10% THD+N is 300W. These
THD+N graphs were obtained using relative THD+N units,
which indicates that the noise level for the amplifier is quite
low. Typically, the noise level becomes a significant THD+N
contributor at low power levels and shows up as a linearly
decreasing function of increasing input signal amplitude. In
Figure 8
, the THD+N decreases from 0.004% to 0.001%
from 1W to the clipping point for frequencies between 20Hz
and 1kHz. The THD+N with a 20kHz input decreases from
0.02% to 0.009% from 1W to 50W and rises thereafter up to
about 0.015%.
7.1.2 Output Power Tests
Although the amplifier was deigned based on thermal dissi-
pation capabilities using continuous sinusoidal inputs, the
output power levels attainable are significantly greater with
pulsed waveforms that more accurately reflect music mate-
rial. The continuous clipping point power and burst power
levels are shown in
Table 3
below:
TABLE 3. BPA200 Maximum Output Power Levels
Load Impedance
Continuous
Clipping Point
Power
225W
335W
Burst Clipping
Point Power
8
4
295W
450W
The burst power levels were obtained using a 20Hz
sinewave with two cycles on and twenty cycles off. The
output power capability of the BPA200 is further substanti-
ated by the power bandwidth measurement. The amplifier is
capable of producing 200W continuously into an 8
load up
to f = 90.5kHz with little change in THD+N. The graph in
Figure 9
shows the power bandwidth measurement. Also
notice that the low frequency power in the graph is not rolled
BPA200 THD+N vs Frequency
P
O
= 1W, 56W, 200W
R
L
= 8
, BW
<
80 kHz, 9/16/97
20015104
FIGURE 7. THD+N vs Frequency
BPA200 THD+N vs Output Power
f = 20Hz, 1kHz, 20kHz,
R
L
= 8
, BW
<
80kHz, 9/16/97
20015105
FIGURE 8. THD+N vs Output Power
A
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