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1 2 Elliott Sound Products 300W Subwoofer Power Amplifier (Updated)

Rod Elliott (ESP)

Project 68

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6 PCBs are available for this project. Click the image for details. 7 The ESP heatsink extrusion is ideal for this project - click image for details 9Introduction
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0There are some important updates to this project, as shown below. Recent testing has shown that with the 1new ON Semi transistors it is possible to obtain a lot more power than previously. The original design was 2very conservative, and was initially intended to use 2SA1492 and 2SC3856 transistors (rated at 130W) - with 3200W (or 230W) devices, some of the original comments and warnings have been amended to suit.
Updates 30 Jul 2003

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- OnSemi has just released a new range of transistors, designed specifically for audio applications. These new transistors have been tested in the P68, and give excellent results. As a result, all previous recommendations for output transistors are superseded, and the new transistors should be used. The output devices are MJL4281A (NPN) and MJL4302A (PNP), and feature high bandwidth, excellent SOA (safe operating area), high linearity and high gain. Driver transistors are MJE15034 (NPN) and MJE15035 (PNP). All devices are rated at 350V, with the power transistors having a 230W dissipation and the drivers are 50W.
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new driver transistors (MJE15034/35) seem to be virtually impossible to obtain - ON Semi still has no listing for them on the website. The existing devices (well known and more than adequate) are MJE15032 (NPN) and MJE15033 (PNP), and these will substitute with no problems at all. It is also possible to use MJE340 and MJE350 as originally specified (note that the pinouts are reversed between the TO-126 and TO-220 devices). Note that some component values have been changed! The layout is the same, but the changes shown will reduce dissipation in Q7 and Q8 under light load conditions. Having built a couple of P68 amps using these transistors, I recommend them highly - the amplifier is most certainly at its very best with the high gain and linearity afforded by these devices. Note that there are a few minor changes to the circuit (shown below). With 70V supplies, the input and current source transistors must be MPSA42 or similar - the original devices shown will fail at that voltage! Note that the MPSA42 pinout is different from the BC546s originally specified. Full details of transistor pinouts are shown in the construction article (available to PCB purchasers only).

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7High power amps are not too common as projects, since they are by their nature normally difficult to build, 8and are expensive. A small error during assembly means that you start again - this can get very costly. I 9recommend that you use the PCB for this amplifier, as it will save you much grief. This is not an amp for 0beginners working with Veroboard!

1The amplifier can be assembled by a reasonably experienced hobbyist in about three hours. The metalwork 2will take somewhat longer, and this is especially true for the high continuous power variant. Even so, it is 3simple to build, compact, relatively inexpensive, and provides a level of performance that will satisfy most 4requirements.

5WARNINGS:

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This amplifier is not trivial, despite its small size and apparent simplicity. The total DC is over 110V (or as much as 140V DC!), and can kill you. The power dissipated is such that great care is needed with transistor mounting. The single board P68 is capable of full power duty into 4 Ohm loads, but only at the lower supply voltage. For operation at the higher supply voltage, you must use the dual board version. There is NO SHORT CIRCUIT PROTECTION. The amp is designed to be used within a subwoofer or other speaker enclosure, so this has not been included. A short on the output will destroy the amplifier. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AMPLIFIER AS YOUR FIRST PROJECT

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7Please note that the specification for this amp has been upgraded, and it is now recommended for continuous 8high power into 4 Ohms, but You will need to go to extremes with the heatsink (fan cooling is highly 9recommended). It was originally intended for "light" intermittent duty, suitable for an equalised subwoofer 0system (for example using the ELF principle - see the Project Page for the info on this circuit). Where 1continuous high power is required, another 4 output transistors are recommended, wired in the same way as 2Q9, Q10, Q11 and Q12, and using 0.33 ohm emitter resistors.

3Continuous power into 8 ohms is typically over 150W (250W for 70V supplies), and it can be used without 4additional transistors at full power into an 8 ohm load all day, every day. The additional transistors are only 5needed if you want to do the same thing into 4 ohms at maximum supply voltage! Do not even think about 6using supplies over 70V, and don't bother asking me if it is ok - it isn't!

7The circuit is shown in Figure 1, and it is a reasonably conventional design. Connections are provided for the 8Internal SIM (published elsewhere on the Project Pages), and filtering is provided for RF protection (R1, C2). 9The input is via a 4.7uF bipolar cap, as this provides lots of capacitance in a small size. Because of the 0impedance, little or no degradation of sound will be apparent. A polyester cap may be used if you prefer - 1uF 1with the nominal 22k input impedance will give a -3dB frequency of 7.2Hz, which is quite low enough for any 2sub.

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Figure 1 - Basic Amplifier Schematic

5The input stage is a conventional long-tailed pair, and uses a current sink (Q1) in the emitter circuit. I elected 6to use a current sink here to ensure that the amp would stabilise quickly upon application (and removal) of 7power, to eliminate the dreaded turn on "thump". The amp is actually at reasonably stable operating

8conditions with as little as +/-5 volts! Note also that there are connections for the SIM (Sound Impairment 9Monitor), which will indicate clipping better than any conventional clipping indicator circuit. See the Project 0Pages for details on making a SIM circuit. If you feel that you don't need the SIM, omit R4 and R15.

1The Class-A driver is again conventional, and uses a Miller stabilisation cap. This component should be either 2a 500V ceramic or a polystyrene device for best linearity. The collector load uses the bootstrap principle 3rather than an active current sink, as this is cheaper and very reliable (besides, I like the bootstrap principle :-) All three driver transistors (Q4, 5 & 6)must be on a heatsink, and D2 and D3 should be in good thermal contact with the driver heatsink. Neglect to do this and the result will be thermal runaway, and the amp will fail. For some reason, the last statement seems to cause some people confusion - look at the photo below, and you will see the small heatsink, 3 driver transistors, and a white "blob" (just to the left of the electrolytic capacitor), which is the two diodes pressed against the heatsink with thermal grease. C11 does not exist on this schematic, so don't bother looking for it. It was "mislaid" when the schematic was prepared, and I didn't notice until someone asked me where and what it was supposed to be. Sorry about that.

4It is in the output stage that the power capability of this amp is revealed. The main output is similar to many of 5my other designs, but with a higher value than normal for the "emitter" resistors (R16, R17). The voltage 6across these resistors is then used to provide base current for the main output devices, which operate in full 7Class-B. In some respects, this is a "poor-man's" version of the famous Quad current dumping circuit, but 8without the refinements, and in principle is the same as was used in the equally famous Crown DC300A 9power amps.

0Although I have shown MJL4281A and MJL4302A output transistors, because they are new most constructors 1will find that these are not as easy to get as they should be. The alternatives are MJL3281/ MJL1302 or 2MJL21193/ MJL21194.
Note: It is no longer possible to recommend any Toshiba transistors, since they are the most commonly counterfeited of all. The 2SA1302 and 2SC3281 are now obsolete - if you do find them, they are almost certainly fakes, since Toshiba has not made these devices since around 1999~2000.

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6Use a standard green LED. Do not use high brightness or other colours, as they may have a slighty different 7forward voltage, and this will change the current sink's operation - this may be a miniature type if desired. The 8resistors are all 1/4W (preferably metal film), except for R10, R11 and R22, which are 1W carbon film types. 9All low value resistors (3.3 ohm and 0.33 ohm) are 5W wirewound types.

0Because this amp operates in "pure" Class-B (something of a contradiction of terms, I think), the high 1frequency distortion will be relatively high, and is probably unsuited to high power hi-fi. At the low frequency 2end of the spectrum, there is lots of negative feedback, and distortion is actually rather good, at about 0.04% 3up to 1kHz. My initial tests and reports from others indicate that there are no audible artefacts at high 4frequencies, but the recommendation remains.

5Power Dissipation Considerations 6I have made a lot of noise about not using this amp at 70V into 4 ohms without the extra transistors. A quick 7calculation reveals that when operated like this, the worst case peak dissipation into a resistive load is 306W 8(4&Omega/ 70V supplies). The four final transistors do most of the work, with Q7 and Q8 having a relatively 9restful time (this was the design goal originally). Peak dissipation in the 8 output devices is around 70W each.

0Since I like to be conservative, I will assume that Q7 and Q8 in the updated schematic shown contribute a 1little under 1A peak (which is about right). This means that their peak dissipation is around 18W, with the main 2O/P devices dissipating a peak of 70W each. The specified transistors are 230W, and the alternatives are 3200W, so why are the extra transistors needed?

4The problem is simple - the rated dissipation for a transistor is with a case temperature of 25C. As the amp is 5used, each internal transistor die gets hot, as does the transistor case - the standard derating curves must be 6applied. Add to this the reactive component as the loudspeaker drives current back into the amp ( doubling the 7peak dissipation), and it becomes all too easy to exceed the device limits. The only way that this amp can be

8used for continuous high power duty with 70V supplies and a 4 loudspeaker load is to keep the working 9temperature down to the absolute minimum - that means four output devices per side, a big heatsink and a 0fan!

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Figure 1a - Double Output Stage

3Figure 1A shows the doubled output stage, with Q9, Q10, Q11 and Q12 simply repeated - along with the 4emitter resistors. Each 1/2 stage has its own zobel network and bypass caps as shown, as this is the 5arrangement if the dual PCB version is built. When you have this many power transistors, the amp will happily 6drive a 4 ohm load all day from 70V - with a big enough heatsink, and forced cooling. Over 500W is 7available, more than enough to cause meltdown in many speakers!

8A Few Specs and Measurements 9The following figures are all relative to an output power of 225W into 4 ohms, or 30V RMS at 1kHz, unless 0otherwise stated. Noise and distortion figures are unweighted, and are measured at full bandwidth. 1Measurements were taken using a 300VA transformer, with 6,800uF filter caps.

2Mains voltage was about 4% low when I did the tests, so power output will normally be slightly higher than shown here 3if the mains are at the correct nominal voltage. Figures shown are measured with 56V nominal, with the figure in 4(brackets) estimated for 70V supplies. 8 27dB 153W (240W) 185W (250W) 185W (272W) 1.3V (2.0V) RMS -63dBV (ref. 1V) 92dB 0.4% 0.04% (1 Khz) 0.07% (10 kHz) > 3V/us 4 27dB 240W (470W) 344W (512W) 370W (540W) 1.3V (2.0V) RMS -63dBV (ref. 1V) 92dB 0.4% 0.04% (1 Khz) 0.07% (10 kHz) > 3V/us

Voltage Gain Power (Continuous) Peak Power - 10 ms Peak Power - 5 ms Input Voltage Noise * S/N Ratio * Distortion Distortion (@ 4W) Distortion (@ 4W) Slew Rate

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6These figures are quite respectable, especially considering the design intent for this amp. While (IMO) it 7would not be really suitable for normal hi-fi, even there it is doubtful that any deficiencies would be readily

8apparent, except perhaps at frequencies above 10kHz. While the amp is certainly fast enough (and yes, 93V/us actually is fast enough - response extends to at least 30kHz, but not at full power), the distortion may 0be a bit too high.

1Note that the "peak power" ratings represent the maximum power before the filter caps discharge and the 2supply voltage collapses. I measured these at 5 milliseconds and 10 milliseconds. Performance into 4 ohm 3loads is not quite as good, as the caps discharge faster. The supply voltage with zero power measured 4exactly 56V, and collapsed to 50.7V at full power into 8 ohms, and 47.5V at full power into 4 ohms.

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Photo of Completed Prototype

7The photo does not show the silk screened component overlay, since this is the prototype board. The final 8boards have the overlay (as do all my other boards). The observant reader will also see that the 5W resistor 9values are different from those recommended - this was an early prototype using 130W transistors.

0As can be seen, this is the single board version. The driver transistors are in a row, so that a single sheet 1aluminium heatsink can be used for all three. Holes are provided on the board so the driver heatsink can be 2mounted firmly, to prevent the transistor leads breaking due to vibration. This is especially important if the 3amp is used for a powered subwoofer, but will probably not be needed for a chassis mounted system.

4The driver and main heatsinks shown are adequate for up to 200W into 4 ohms with normal program material. 5The power transistors are all mounted underneath the board, and the mounting screw heads can be seen on 6the top of the board.

7Deceptively simple, isn't it?


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9Power Supply WARNING: Mains wiring must be performed by a qualified electrician - Do not attempt the power supply unless suitably qualified. Faulty or incorrect mains wiring may result in death or serious injury.

0The basic power supply is shown in Figure 2. It is completely conventional in all respects. Use a 40-0-40 V 1transformer, rated at 300VA for normal use. For maximum continuous power, a 50-0-50V (500VA or more) 2transformer will be needed. This will give a continuous power of about 450W, and peak power of over 500W is 3possible with a good transformer. Remember my warnings about using the amp in this way, and the need for 4the additional output transistors, big heatsink and fan.

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Figure 2 - Basic Power Supply Circuit

7For 115V countries, the fuse should be 6A, and in all cases a slow blow fuse is required because of the inrush 8current of the transformer. For anything above 300VA, a soft-start circuit is highly recommended (see Project 939).

0The supply voltage can be expected to be higher than that quoted at no load, and less at full load. This is 1entirely normal, and is due to the regulation of the transformer. In some cases, it will not be possible to obtain 2the rated power if the transformer is not adequately rated.

3Bridge rectifiers should be 35A types, and filter capacitors must be rated at a minimum of 63V (or 75V if you 4use 70V supplies). Wiring needs to be heavy gauge, and the DC must be taken from the capacitors - not from 5the bridge rectifier.

6Although shown with 4,700uF filter capacitors, larger ones may be used. Anything beyond 10,000uF is too 7expensive, and will not improve performance to any worthwhile degree. Probably the best is to use two 84,700uF caps per side (four in all). This will actually work better than a single 10,000uF device, and will be 9cheaper as well.

0NOTE: It is essential that fuses are used for the power supply. While they will not stop the amp from failing (no 1fuse ever does), they will prevent catastrophic damage that would result from not protecting the circuit from 2over-current conditions. Fuses can be mounted in fuseholders or can be inline types. The latter are preferred, 3as the supply leads can be kept as short as possible. Access from outside the chassis is not needed - if the 4fuses blow, the amplifier is almost certainly damaged.
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Copyright Notice. This article, including but not limited to all text and diagrams, is the intellectual property of Rod Elliott, and is Copyright 2000. Reproduction or re-publication by any means whatsoever, whether electronic, mechanical or electro- mechanical, is strictly prohibited under International Copyright laws. The author (Rod Elliott) grants the reader the right to use this information for personal use only, and further allows that one (1) copy may be made for reference while constructing the project. Commercial use is prohibited without express written authorisation from Rod Elliott.
Rod Elliott 25 Sept 2000./ 06 May - added photo of amp.

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