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Understanding Class-I

So what is class-I?
Class-I (Balanced Current Amplifier, or BCA) is Crowns patented, cutting-edge technology that gets more power out
of an amplifier with less wasted power than was ever before possible. Its a switching power amplifier design that is
totally original.

Which Crown amps use class-I technology?

K Series CTs 2000, CTs 3000

I-Tech Series CE 4000

What are class-Is features? And how do they benefit me?

A class-I amp generates one-tenth the heat of conventional amplifiers. So it can be built with no fan (as in the
K2). With no fan there is no fan noise, no filter maintenance, and no contamination of the unit in normal use.
In addition, the amp is more reliable because it is not subjected to excessive heat.
A class-I amp with fans can use smaller heatsinks, making the amp smaller and lighter (as in the CTs 2000
and 3000).
A class-I amp handles reactive (inductive) speaker loads easily and gracefully. It re-uses the energy returned
from the speaker rather than dissipating it as heat or forcing the amp into premature current-limiting. This
ability makes class-I models extremely resilient especially at low, 2-ohm impedances. You can attach 2-ohm
loads without worrying whether the amp will overheat and shut down it wont!
class-I has a very high effective switching frequency which allows the use of low-pass filters with almost no
phase shift in the audio band. Result: better sound. Well explain this later.
High efficiency: High power output to the speakers, low power requirement from the wall outlet. Since the amp
needs only a little AC power to operate, youll have smaller AC power bills over the life of the amplifier. And
you can plug several class-I-type amps into a 20-amp circuit.

What is efficiency?

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Efficiency is output power divided by input power, where the output power is the power delivered to the speakers, and
the input power is the power drawn from the AC mains. The highly efficient class-I amp draws very little power from
the AC outlet.

How class-I Works

What kind of amplifier design is class-I?

class-I is a type of switch-mode power amplifier design. We think its a particularly clever and unique implementation
of a switch-mode amplifier.

Is a switch-mode power amplifier the same as an amplifier with a switch-mode power

supply?
No, they are two different things. A switch-mode power amplifier processes the signal; a switch-mode power supply
processes the AC mains power. (The terms Switch-mode and Switching are used interchangeably.) A switching
power amp is very efficient and produces little heat. A switching power supply reduces the weight and size of the
amplifier.

How does a switch-mode power amp work?

There are two basic types of power amplifiers: linear and switch-mode. In linear designs, the output power transistors
are operated in their linear region. When they amplify the incoming signal, their output is analogous to the input
signal, only stronger.

An alternative to a linear amplifier is a switching amplifier. In a switching amp,

the incoming audio signal modulates the width of an ultrasonic square wave in
the output transistors. This modulated square wave is then low-pass filtered.
The result is the amplified analog signal sent to the speakers.

This signal processing is called Pulse Width Modulation or PWM. It has been
used in power amps for decades.
PWM Sampling of an
Analog Waveform

You said that theres a square wave in the output transistors. How is that square wave
produced?

Remember that transistors can work either as amplifiers or switches. A

switching power amp uses several pairs of power output transistors,
each pair operating as switches in a push-pull arrangement. One
transistor of each pair turns on while the other is off, then they
alternate. One transistor always produces a positive voltage when it is
on; the other always produces a negative voltage when it is on. These
transistors operate at saturation: they are fully on or fully off, and they
switch at an ultrasonic frequency. That produces the square wave.

The Switching Waveforms in

the Output Transistors

How does the switching reduce heat?

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When a transistor acts as an open switch, the current through it is ideally zero. When the same transistor acts an a
closed switch, the voltage across it is ideally zero. Whether the switch is open or closed, the power dissipated as
heat current times voltage would ideally be zero. The result is less power wasted, which means improved efficiency
theoretically 100%.

Remember Ohms Law? Current times voltage equals power. If either the current or voltage is zero, so is the power.
Since the output transistors develop almost no current (when off) or no voltage (when on), they produce almost no
power wasted as heat.

Why does a linear amp produce more heat?

In a linear amplifier, there is a voltage drop across the transistors and a current flowing through the transistors most
of the time. This voltage and current dissipates power as heat, which is wasted energy that never reaches the
speakers. The efficiency of a linear amp can reach only about 30%. It needs big heat sinks and fans to keep the amp
cool.

In contrast, a switching amp needs no fansits convection cooledand its efficiency can be up to 80-90%.

Now that I know about switching amps, what makes a class-I switching amp so special?
In previous PWM designs, the switching alternates between positive and negative transistors. At the instant the
positive transistor turns off, the negative transistor must turn on. Accurate timing of the switching is absolutely critical
to keep distortion low. Also, even the slightest variation in timing can cause both the positive and negative switching
transistors to be on at the same time for an instant. This creates a high shoot-through current which can destroy the
output transistors.

In other words, the two switches operate first one on and then the
other, in strict time alternation. If the switches have any dead time (no
switch on) between their activation, large amounts of distortion will
form. If they overlap, the circuitry would self-destruct with large
amounts of shoot-through current. For decades, power amps have
been designed around this paradigm.

The Switching Waveforms in

the Output Transistors

With the new class-I paradigm, the push-pull switches activate at the same time instead of alternating. The center
time of the positive pulse and the negative pulse is the same. That is, both the positive and negative switch pulses
remain centered on each other or balanced in time. As a result, the class-I output stage produces very little
distortion, and no shoot-through current.

Since the positive and negative pulses are interleaved (rather than alternating), a class-I amp is called Class I (thats
the letter I).

More detail, please?

Lets describe how pulse width modulation is done in a class-I amplifier. Well consider a signal in three stages: zero
voltage, positive voltage, and negative voltage:

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When there is no signal applied, or when the signal

voltage is at a zero-crossing between positive and
negative voltage, the power switching transistors are
made to turn on and off simultaneously with a 50% duty
cycle. That means, each transistor of the pair is on 50%
of the time. When the positive switch is on, so is the
negative switch. They produce equal and opposite
currents that cancel out in their summing circuit,
producing no output current. In other words, the positive
and negative currents are balanced (equal in level and
duration)hence the name Balanced Current Amplifier. class-I Switches, Signal at Zero Amplitude

Its like two horses facing in opposite directions, pulling the same bucket of water. The bucket of water does not
moveno current is produced.

To produce a positive output signal, the output of

the positive switching transistor is increased in
duty cycle while the negative switching transistor
is decreased by the same amount. In other
words, the positive pulse widens and the
negative pulse narrows. When the incoming
signal is going positive, the positive pulse is
stretching, and the negative pulse is contracting.
Those two pulses are added and filtered, and the
result is a positive output signal. In our horses
analogy, one horse is pulling for a longer time
than the other horse, so the bucket of water
(current) moves in a positive direction. class-I Switches, Positive Signal

Likewise, to produce a negative output signal,

the output of the negative switching device is
increased in duty cycle (pulse width) while the
positive switching device is decreased by the
same amount. When those two pulses are
added and filtered, the result is a negative output
signal.

class-I Switches, Negative Signal

You said that class-Is simultaneous switching results in lower distortion and no
dangerous shoot-through current. Any other benefits?
Yes better sound quality. Lets explain.

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No matter how wide or narrow the pulses are, both

pulses remain centered on each other or balanced
in time. When they are added together, they
generate a new wave with twice the frequency of the
individual switches.

Adding the Two Switch Waveforms

Doubles the Effective Frequency

So if the switches operate at 250 kHz, this makes an output signal (before filtering) of 500 kHz. This is twice the
frequency of any known previous design. When 2-channel class-I amps are used in Bridge Mono, the output
frequency is doubled again!

For each pulse, both the turn-on time and turn-off time are controlled by the modulator. A 250 kHz Crown class-I
design thus has one million switch decisions made each second. This is what is required for full bandwidth audio
operation. So the Crown amps using class-I technology have a flat, extended frequency response (crystal clear
highs).

Also, compared to a 250 kHz output signal, the 500 kHz output signal requires less low-pass filtering to eliminate the
switching signal from the output. This results in less phase shift in the audio band a smoother high end.

The residue of the ultrasonic switching signal in the filtered output is called ripple currents. As ripple currents
increase in frequency, they decrease in amplitude, so the filtering requirements in class-I amps are doubly relaxed.
Total ripple rejection always occurs at zero signal.

class-I amps also have higher efficiency by operating the switches at 250 kHz instead of 500 kHz, which is required
in other designs.

Now that I understand something about how class-I works, would you repeat the
benefits?
Smooth, open highs with low phase shift.
Ability to have a closed chassis that is convection cooled, as in the K2. No fans, no fan noise, no filter
cleaning. Immune to dust, smoke, stage fog and spilled liquids. Maintenance-free.
A class-I amp with fans can use smaller heatsinks, making the amp smaller and lighter (as in the CTs 2000
and 3000).
Handles any load easily even 2-ohm and reactive loads.
Very reliable unlikely to overheat.
Lower AC power bills.
More amps can be plugged into a single 20-amp AC circuit, reducing installation costs.

Where can I learn more about class-I circuit theory?

For a simpler, one-page overview, read this "Tech Made Simple" article:
Class-I (BCA)

For an in-depth technical explanation, read the a white paper by the inventor of Class-I, Crown Senior Vice President
of Research & Development Gerald Stanley:
"Reinventing the Power Amplifier - BCA".

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