VIEWOF ANOTHER

RobertR.Cordell
In recent years the use of large amounts of negative feedback in audio amplifiers has become controversial. Several people have examined the time-responseproperties of feedb a c k a m p l i f i e r sa n d h a v e c o n c l u d e d t h a t a m p l i f i e r s w h i c h employ large amounts of negative feedback are prone to a form of high-frequency distortion called "transient intermod u l a t i o n d i s t o r t i o n " ( T l M ) [ 1 - 4 ] .S i m p l y p u t , t h i s d i s t o r t i o n i s s a i d t o o c c u r w h e n a s i g n a lc h a n g e st o o q u i c k l y f o r t h e a m plifier to follow it properly. The observation that a large amount of negative feedback T I M t e n d s t o r u n c o u n t e r t o t h e c o n v e n t i o n a lw i s d o m causes that increasednegative feedback generally improves a given amplifier's performance, so long as adequate stability is preserved. Several other researchershave recently questioned t h e s ef i n d i n g s a n d c o n c l u d e t h a t l a r g ea m o u n t s o f n e g a t i v e f e e d b a c kd o n o t i n c r e a s et h e p o s s i b i l i t yo f T I M a n d c a n i n f a c t i m p r o v e a m p l i f i e r p e r f o r m a n c ea s l o n g a s t h e a m p l i f i e r has an adequate slew rate [5,6]. TIM is thus a popular subject surrounded by a certain amount of controversy.lt has also become a frequently cited reasonfor degraded sound. Advertisementsindicate that sevhave been influencedby the discussions eral manufacturers as well, some proudly pointing out that they use very little negativefeedback. M u c h o f t h e m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n ga n d d i s a g r e e m e n t s u r r o u n d i n g t h e s u b j e c ts e e m st o s t e m f r o m i n a d e q u a t ec o n s i d eration of the trade-offs and constraints involved in the aoplication of negative feedback, especiallyas it relatesto cont e m p o r a r y ,r e a l - w o r l d a m p l i f i e r c i r c u i t s . T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y true of feedback compensation. For this reason,we will take t h e t i m e t o r e v i e w i m p o r t a n t n e g a t i v ef e e d b a c k p r i n c i p l e s where necessary.Given a good understanding of negative f e e d b a c ka s i t i s a p p l i e d t o a u d i o a m p l i f i e r s s , omeof the TIM issuesshould become easierto resolve. , e should point out that TlM, which is B e f o r ep r o c e e d i n g w associatedwith negative feedback and its compensation, is o n l y o n e f o r m o f h i g h - f r e q u e n c yi n t e r m o d u l a t i o nd i s t o r t i o n . The term "dynamic intermodulationdistortion" (DlM) has been used to describe the general class of intermodulation w h i c h d e p e n d o n f r e q u e n c ya s w e l l a s a m p l i t u d e . distortions T I M i s t h u s o n e f o r m o f D l M . S i n c et h e p r o d u c t o f f r e q u e n c y , nd since the maxia n d a m p l i t u d e i m p l i e s r a t e - o f - c h a n g ea t h a t a n a m p l i f i e rc a n f o l l o w i s c a l l e d i t s mum rate-of-change s l e w r a t e ,t h e t e r m " s l e w i n d u c e d d i s t o r t i o n " ( S l D ) h a s a l s o b e e n u s e d a s a l a b e l f o r D l M . T h e s ed i s t i n c t i o n sa r e , h o w e v er, relatively weak and unimportant, referring more to the mechanism than to the measured or audible effect. Because it is the source of most of the controversy, we will concent r a t e o n T I M ; h o w e v e r , o u r d i s c u s s i o nw i l l c o n s i d e r o t h e r sources of DIM as well, some of which may in practice be moreserious.

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Transient I ntermodulation Distortion let's takea lookat the popular TIMarguments to get First,
some background. What follows is a sort of composite paraphrasing of manyof the arguments which haveappeared.

F e e d b a c ka m p l i f i e r so p e r a t e o n t h e p r i n c i p l e t h a t a l a r g e p o r t i o n o f t h e i n p u t s i g n a li s c a n c e l l e db y f e e d b a c kf r o m t h e which amplifier output, leaving a small signal-plus-error d r i v e s t h e a m p l i f i e r s o a s t o p r o d u c e t h e d e s i r e do u t p u t . I n a m p l i f i e r sw i t h l a r g ea m o u n t s o f n e g a t i v ef e e d b a c k ,t h i s s i g is forced to be very small and thus, in theory, nal-plus-error l o w d i s t o r t i o n r e s u l t s .U n d e r t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s , t h e n e t g a i n g a i n ) d e p e n d sa l m o s te x c l u s i v e l y w i t h f e e d b a c k( c l o s e d - l o o p on how much of the output signal is fed back; i.e.,if onet e n t h o f i t i s f e d b a c k , t h e g a i n w i l l b e 1 0 . T h e l a r g ef e e d b a c k f a c t o r ( r a t i o o f g a i n w i t h o u t f e e d b a c kt o g a i n w i t h f e e d b a c k ) i s o b t a i n e d b y p u t t i n g a l a r g ea m o u n t o f g a i n i n t h e f o r w a r d p a t h o r o p e n - l o o p a m p l i f i e r .T h e o p e n - l o o p a m p l i f i e r i s t h u s a n d w i l l o v e r l o a d i f t h e e r r o r ,f o r s o m e r e a s o n , very sensitive g e t sa t a l l a p p r e c i a b l e . A l l a m p l i f i e r sh a v e a f i n i t e d e l a y f r o m i n p u t t o o u t p u t . l f a f e e d b a c ka m p l i f i e r i s d r i v e n w i t h a s i g n a l h a v i n g a v e r y f a s t r i s e t i m e ( l i k e t h e l e a d i n g e d g e o f a s q u a r ew a v e ) , t h e r e w i l l b e a b r i e f i n t e r v a ld u r i n g w h i c h t h e o p e n - l o o p a m p l i f i e r s e e s the full input signal, undiminished by negative feedback w h i c h h a s n ' ty e t g o t t e n b a c k t o t h e i n p u t . O v e r l o a d w i l l t h u s o c c u r a n d d i s t o r t i o n w i l l r e s u l t .T h e m o r e s e n s i t i v ei n p u t s o f a m p l i f i e r sw i t h h i g h f e e d b a c k f a c t o r s a r e t h a t m u c h m o r e proneto suchan overload. S i n c et h i s f o r m o f d i s t o r t i o n i s b r o u g h t a b o u t b y f a s t t r a n s i e n t si n t h e i n p u t s i g n a la n d b e c a u s ea n o v e r l o a d c o n d i t i o n causesintermodulation distortion, the phenomenon ts ref e r r e dt o a s t r a n s i e n ti n t e r m o d u l a t i o nd i s t o r t i o n ( T l M ) . Returningto the origins of TlM, the situation is further a g g r a v a t e db y t h e a d d i t i o n a l s l o w n e s s o f r e s p o n s e i n t r o d u c e d i n t h e o p e n - l o o p a m p l i f i e r b y n e c e s s a r yf e e d b a c k c o m p e n s a t i o n .E a c h s t a g e i n a m u l t i - s t a g ea m p l i f i e r i n t r o with frequency. Feedback duces phase shift that increases c o m p e n s a t i o n r o l l s o f f t h e o p e n - l o o p r e s p o n s es o t h a t t h e feedback factor falls below unity before enough excessphase shift accumulatesto cause instability or peaking in the c l o s e d - l o o p r e s p o n s e .T h e f r e q u e n c y w h e r e t h e f e e d b a c k factorfallsto unity is called the gain crossover f r e q u e n c y .I n order to achieve a stable gain crossoverfrequency, the 6 dB/ octave compensation roll-off must begin at some lower frequency. Amplifiers with large feedback factors (at low freq u e n c i e s )h a v e m o r e g a i n t o " g e t r i d o f " a n d m u s t s t a r t t h e i r compensationroll-off at a lower frequency, resultingin a smalleropen-loop bandwidth. An amplifier with 20 dB of feedbackneedn't start its roll-off until 100 kHz for a 1-MHz g a i n c r o s s o v e rw , hile one with 60 dB of feedbackmust start a t 1 k H z . T h e l a t t e ra m p l i f i e r ,w i t h h e a v i e rf e e d b a c kc o m p e n -

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F

.l

-20
F U -30

t o p o l o g y w i t h r e a l i s t i cc o m b i n a t i o n so f f e e d b a c k f a c t o r a n d open-loop bandwidth. Recognizing that in addition to limits o n a m p l i . t u d ea , m p l i f i e r sa r e l i m i t e d t o p r o v i d i n g a m a x i m u m rate-of-change a t t h e i r o u t p u t , m u c h a t t e n t i o nw l l l b e o a i d t o a m p l i f i e r s l e w - r a t ep e r f o r m a n c ea n d i t s r e l a t i o n s h i pt o T l M . F i n a l l y ,t e c h n i q u e sf o r m e a s u r i n ga m p l i f i e r T I M p e r f o r m a n c e will be discussed.

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Program Characteristics l u s t a s a l l r e a l a m p l i f i e r sa r e b a n d l i m i t e d , s o a r e a l l r e a l J U -40 p r o g r a m s o u r c e s .N o p r o g r a m s o u r c e w i l l e v e r p r o d u c e a G s q u a r e w a v e w i t h r a z o r - s h a r pe d g e s . I n f a c t , n o t o n l y a r e p r o g r a m s o u r c e sb a n d l i m i t e d i n t h e s m a l l _ s i g n as l e n s e ,b u t t h e y a r e m o r e s e r i o u s l yl i m i t e d i n l a r g e - s i g n ab f andwidth, or p o w e r b a n d w i d t h . A s a n e x a m p l e ,a f i n e t i p e m a c h i n e m i g h t b e f l a t t o 2 0 k 1 z a t l o w l e v e l s ,b u t i t t y p i c a l i yc a n n o t p r o d u c e FREQUENCY-Hz a n y w h e r e n e a r f u l l o u t p u t a t 2 0 k H z . S u c h r e s t r i c t i o n sa r e u s u a l l yd u e t o e q u a l i z a t i o nw h i c h p r e - e m p h a s i z e s Fig. l-Post-RIAA spectral distribution for phonograph the high frequencies s o t h a t t h e s u b s e q u e n td e - e m p h a s i s records. at the rep[_ d u c i n g e n d w i l l r e d u c e h i g h - f r e q u e n c yn o i s e . H i g h f r e q u e n _ s a t i o n a n d a l o n g o p e n - l o o p t i m e c o n s t a n t ,i s t h u s s l o w e r i n c i e s w i l l , t h e r e f o r e ,o v e r l o a d t h e m e d i u m m o r e r e a d i l y t h a n r e s p o n d i n gt o i n p u t s i g n a l s . low frequencies. S u c h e q u a l i z a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t t ca sr e c o m _ I n r e s p o n d i n gt o a f a s t i n p u t s i g n a l ( e . g . , a s q u a r ew a v e ) , a m o n t o a t m o s te v e r y t y p e o f p r o g r a m s o u r c e ,i n c l u d i n g p h o _ l a r g e i n t e r n a l v o l t a g e o r c u r r e n t o v e r s h o o tw i l l b e p r o d u c e d n o g r a p h , F M , a n d t a p e . A s a r e s u l t ,t h e m a x i m u m h i [ L r _ f r e i n o r d e r t o q u i c k l y c h a r g e t h e c o m p e n s a t i n gc a p a c i t o ra n d quency output of each program source is constrainedto o v e r c o m e t h e e f f e c t o f t h e l o n g t i m e c o n s t a n t i t i n t r o d u c e s . r a t h e rw e l l - d e f i n e dl i m i t s . The large overshoot is produced during the interval between S i n c e s i g n a l sw i t h a l a r g e r a t e - o f - c h a n g e or ,,time derivat h e f a s t i n p u t c h a n g e a n d t h e t i m e w h e n t h e f e e d b a c k t i v e " a r e g e n e r a l l yt h e cause of TlM, we need a way of c a t c h e s u p w i t h t h e i n p u t , w h e n a l a r g e d i f f e r e n c eo r e r r o r characterizing the tendency of a given program source to s i g n a li s a p p l i e d t o t h e o p e n - l o o p a m p l i f i e r . p r o d u c e t h e m . S u c h a m e a s u r es h o u l d n o t b e a b s o l u t e ,l i k e I n s o m e c a s e st h i s o v e r s h o o t m a y b e 1 0 t o 1 0 0 t i m e s a s t i m e d e r i v a t i v e , b u t r a t h e rs h o u l d b e r e l a t i v es o t h a t i t c a n b e l a r g ea s t h e n o m i n a l s i g n a l l e v e l sa t t h a t p o i n t . U n f o r t u n a t e _ a p p l i e d e q u a l l y w e l l a t d i f f e r e n t p o i n t s i n t h e s y s t e mr e g a r d _ l y , t h e s t a g e sp r i o r t o t h e c o m p e n s a t i o np o i n t c a n n o t a l w a y s l e s so f s i g n a l l e v e l . We will thereforeuse the ratio of oeak h a n d l e s u c h .a l a r g e s i g n a l w i t h o u t n o n l i n e a r i t yo r o u t r i g h t t i m e d e r i v a t i v et o p e a k a m p l i t u d e e x p r e s s e di n , , v o l t s : D e r _ c l i p p i n g . l f t h e o v e r s h o o tc a u s e st h e s e s t a g e st o c l i p o r g e n - m i c r o s e c o n dp e r v o l t " ( V / ttsl/V, and call it the normalized e r a t e d i s t o r t i o n , T I M r e s u l t s .W h e n t h e s e o v e r s h o o t s a r e t i m e d e r i v a t i v e . T h e i n v e r s eo f t h i s q u a n t i t y i s s i m i l a rt o , b u t c l i p p e d ,t h e a m p l i f i e r i s i n t o t h e w e l l - k n o w n p h e n o m e n o no f not quite the same as large-signar l ise time. Knowing the s l e w - r a t el i m i t i n g . n o r m a l i z e dt i m e d e r i v a t i v e ,w e c a n g o t o a n y p o i n t i n t h e It can be shown mathematically t h a t i f t h e i n p u t s i g n a li s s y s t e m a n d , g i v e n t h e m a x i m u m a m p l i t u d e at that point, b a n d l i m i t e d t o a f r e q u e n c y l e s s t h a n t h e o p e n - r o o p d e t e r m i n et h e c o m m e n s u r a t e maximum time derivative. b a n d w i d t h o f t h e a m p l i f i e r , n o o v e r s h o o tc a n o c c u r , e u e n i f With the exceptionof a microphone, the best source of the input signal is a bandlimited squarewave. Thus, wide f a s t p r o g r a m s i g n a l si n t h e h o m e i s p r o b a b l v t h e o h o n o open-loop bandwidth eliminates the possibility of TIM g r a p h . H o w e v e r , i t s p e r f o r m a n c ei s w e i l - c o n s t i a i n e db y m e _ c a u s e db y o v e r s h o o t s H . a v i n gw i d e o p e n - l o o p b a n d w i d t h ,i n c h a n i c a lp r o c e s s e s u c h a s t r a c k i n g .T h e p e r f o r m a n c ei s a l s o t u r n , p l a c e sa l i m i t o n t h e f e e d b a c k f a c t o r f o r a g i v e n g a i n w e l l c h a r a c t e r i z e dI .n F i g . 1 , t h e d o t s a r e a s c a t t e r p l o t o f crossoverfrequency. For example, if we choose an open-loop m a x i m u m o b s e r v e do u t p u t l e v e l sa t v a r i o u sf r e q u e n c i e s from bandwidth ol 2O kHz and a gain crossover frequency of 1 a survey of many records. These data were taken from the M H z , t h e n w e a r e l i m i t e d t o a f e e d b a c kf a c t o r o f o n l y 3 4 d g . trackability d i a g r a mw i d e l y p u b l i s h e d b y S h u r e B r o s . {11!liar T h e a b o v e e x p l a n a t i o n o fT I M s e e m sp l a u s i b l ee n o u g h , a n d i s i n t e r m so f g r o o v ev e l o c i _ [ 7 ] W h i l e t h e u s u a lp r e s e n t a t i o n i t h a s a p p e a r e d i n v a r i o u s f o r m s i n m a n y p l a c e s .l t i s t h e t y , t h i s i n f o r m a t i o nh a s b e e n R I A A e q u a l i z e da n d n o r m a l i z e d o r i g i n o f t h e p o p u l a r b e l i e f t h a t s m a l l f e e d b a c k f a c t o r sa n d t o 2 5 c m , / Sa t 1 k H z a n d 1 V p e a k . l t s h o w s w h a t a c t u a l l vc a n w i d e o p e n - l o o p b a n d w i d t h a r e n e c e s s a r yf o r m i n i m i z i n g b e e x p e c t e da t t h e o u t p u t o f o n e , sp h o n o p r e a m p ( a ss h o w n , T l M . A l t h o u g h i t m a y a t f i r s t g l a n c e s e e m c o n v i n c i n g ,t h i i t h e d a t a a r e n o t u s e f u l f o r p o i n t s i n t h e s y s t e mp r r o r t o R I A A explanation is somewhat oversimplified and misleading. equalization, such as the phono preamp input). The data W h i l e s o m e o f t h e i s s u e sh a v e b e e n a n a l y z e di n g r e a t d e t a i l represented by the X's are spectral data for a single cymbal in technical papers,other more important considerations crash and were presented by Tomlinson Holman t8l. The have been ignored. In several respects,theproblem seems to crash is one from a Sheffield Lab direct-to-disc recording l i e w i t h n o t s e e i n gt h e f o r e s tf o r t h e t r e e s .A f e w m o r e r e c e n r w h i c h i s n o t e d f o r i t s t r a c k i n gd i f f i c u l t y . p a p e r s h a v e , h o w e v e r ,d o n e a v e r y g o o d j o b i n l e n d i n g i n _ With reference to Fig.'1w , e s e e t h a t t h e h i g h e s ta m p l i t u d e sight and perspective t o s o m e o f t h e m o r e i m p o r t a n t i s s u e s o c c u r sa t 4 k H z a n d i s 1 . 3 5 p e a k , V while the highesttime Is,6j. d e r i v a t i v eo c c u r sa t 1 0 k H z a n d i s 0 . 0 3 5V / u S . T h i s r e s u l t si n T h e a p p r o a c h t a k e n h e r e w i l l i n v o l v e l e s sd e t a i l a n d m o r e a n o r m a l i z e d t i m e d e r i v a t i v eo f o n l y 0 . 0 2 6 ( V / p S ) / V . T h u s , scope and perspective. For example, we.ll attempt to deter_ i n a s y s t e m s u b l e c t e dt o a w i d e v a r i e t y o f m a t e r i a l s u c h a s mine just how fast audio program signalsreally are. The represented b y t h e d o t s o f F i g .1 , a p o i n t i n t h e s y s t e mw h i c h length of the unavoidabletime delay ln the amplifier and must handle an amplitude of 1 V peak with low distortion h o w i t i s a f f e c t e d b y f e e d b a c k c o m p e n s a t i o ni s a n o t h e r i m m u s t h a n d l e a t i m e d e r i v a t i v eo f 0 . 0 2 6V / p S w i t h e q u a l l y p o r t a n t a r e a i n n e e d o f d i s c u s s i o nW . e w i l l a l s o e x a m i n et h e low distortion. conditions.governing o v e r l o a do f a n a m p l i f i e r , s i n t e r n a ls t a g _ Before proceeding further, we should take note of the fact e s . T h i s w i l l b e d o n e i n t h e c o n t e x t o f a p r a c t i c a la m p l i f i e r t h a t a n a d v a n c e d t r e b l ec o n t r o l w i l l t e n d t o i n c r e a s e the nor_
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;
m a l i z e d t i m e d e r i v a t i v eo f t h e p r o g r a m , b u t n o t a s m u c h a s o n e m i g h t a t f i r s t t h i n k . T h e r e a s o nf o r t h i s i s f o u n d u o o n f u r t h e r e x a m i n a t i o n o f F i g . 1 . T h e p e a k t i m e d e r i v a t i v ew i l l i n c r e a s ei n p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e g r e a t e ra m p l i t u d e o f t h e h i g h f r e q u e n c y s i g n a l s .H o w e v e r , m o s t t r e b l e c o n t r o l a c t i o n o c curs between 2 kHz and-10 kHz, meaning that the overall p e a k a m p l i t u d e ( o c c u r r i n ga t 4 t o 5 k H z i n F i g . 1 ) w i l l i n c r e a s es o m e w h a t a s w e l l . B a s e d o n t h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s , we c a n c o n c l u d e t h a t 6 d B o f t r e b l e b o o s t w i l l i n c r e a s et n e n o r _ m a l i z e d t i m e d e r i v a t i v eb y p e r h a p s5 0 p e r c e n t . W h i l e t h e c y m b a l c r a s he x h i b i t ss u b s t a n t i a lu l t r a s o n i cc o n t e n t , i t s a m p l i t u d e g e n e r a l l yl i e s b e l o w t h e e n v e l o p e o f t h e o t h e r p o i n t s . N o t i c e t h a t i t s m i d - b a n d r e c o r d i n gl e v e l i s a c t u a l l y r a t h e r l o w i n c o m p a r i s o n .T a k e n a l o n e , t h e n o r m a l i z e d t i m e d e r i v a t i v ef o r t h e c y m b a l c r a s h m i g h t b e f a i r l y h i g h , b u t t h e r a t i o o f i n t e r e s tm u s t b e b a s e d u p o n t h e p e a k a m p l i t u d e for all the music. Even if the three highest points on Fig.1 are ignored,an o v e r a l l p o w e r b a n d w i d t h o f l e s st h a n 1 0 k H z i s o b t a i n e d ,a n d a m a x i m u m n o r m a l i z e dt i m e d e r i v a t i v eo f a p p r o x i m a t e l y 0.05 (V/ LtS) ,/V results. By comparison, a 2O-kHz sinusoid has a n o r m a l i z e dt i m e d e r i v a t i v eo f 0 . 1 2 6( V/ t t S ) / V . Music, of course, produces many simultaneous points w h o s e a m p l i t u d e s a n d t i m e d e r i v a t i v e sa d d i n s o m e f a s h i o n t o p r o d u c e a t o t a l a m p l i t u d e a n d a t o t a l t i m e d e r i v a t i v ef o r t h e c o m p l e t e s p e c t r u m .W e c a n g a i n f u r t h e r i n s i g h t b y r e c ognizing that for mid-band frequencies between about 500 Hz and 2 kHz, post-RIAA amplitude is directly related to recorded velocity. Above 2 kHz, post-RIAA time derivative and recorded velocity are directly related, i.e., a 50-cm/S, 10-kHz c o m p o n e n t p r o d u c e st h e s a m e t i m e d e r i v a t i v ea t t h e o u t p u t of the phono preamp as a 50-cm,/S,2O-kHzcomponent. This l a t t e r r e l a t i o n s h i pi s d u e t o t h e i n t e g r a t i n ge f f e c t o f t h e 2 - k H z RIAA high-frequencyroll-off. Knowing this, we can get a good idea of the normalized time derivative by assuming realistic v a l u e sf o r t h e m a x i m u m t o t a l m i d - b a n d v e l o c i t y a n d t h e m a x i m u m t o t a l h i g h - f r e q u e n c yv e l o c i t y . N o t i c e t h a t a smaller assumption for the maximum mid-band velocity y i e l d s a l a r g e rn o r m a l i z e d t i m e d e r i v a t i v e .K e e p i n m i n d t h a t t h e m i d - b a n d a n d h i g h - f r e q u e n c ym a x i m a n e e d n o t o c c u r simultaneously. A s a n e x a m p l e ,i f w e a s s u m ea m a x i m u m m i d - b a n d v e l o c i t y o f 2 5 c m , / Sa n d a l a r g e m a x i m u m h i g h - f r e q u e n c yv e l o c i t y of 150 cmlS (probably impossible to track), we arrive at a figure of 0.076 (V/pS) /V. Based on this figure, a 100-watt amplifier which can deliver 4O V peak with an B-ohm load m u s t c l e a n l y r e p r o d u c es i g n a l s with 3 V/ p 5 time derivatives. Fig.2-{ompensated and uncompensated power amplifier open-loop gain vs. frequency. This figure may seem very small to some people, but the term "cleanly" is the key here.We are certainlynot talking about the ultimate slew-rate capability of the amplifier, which generally occurs under nonlinear operating conditions..Clearly t h e a m p l i f i e r m u s t h a v e s o m e o p e r a t i n gm a r g i n i n o r d e r t o s a t i s f yt h e " c l e a n l y " r e q u i r e m e n t .A s w e s h a l l i e e l a t e r ,i n s o m e c a s e st h i s r e q u i r e d s l e w i n g m a r g i n c a n b e s u b s t a nt i a l . A l t h o u g h i t i s v e r y u n l i k e l y t h a t a n y m a t e r i a lw i l l a p p r o a c h the 0.076 (V/ lrS) /Y, figure, we can be even more conservative if we wish and simply say that a full-amplitude20-kHz sinusoid, 0.125 (V/ lr S) ,/V, must be handled with adequate s l e w i n g m a r g i n . R e q u i r i n gt h a t a s q u a r ew a v e b a n d l i m i t e d t o 2O kHz,0.25 (V/ p S) /V, be handled cleanly would add yet a n o t h e rf a c t o r o f t w o i n c o n s e r v a t i s m . B a s e do n t h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s , we may conclude that real a u d i o s i g n a l sa r e n o t n e a r l y a s f a s t a s s o m e w o u l d l i k e t o b e l i e v e .H o w e v e r , t h i s i s n o t c a u s e f o r c o m p l a c e n c yw i t h r e s p e c t t o T l M . l t m e r e l y g i v e s u s a m o r e r e a l i s t i cp e r s p e c t i v e f o r d e a l i n gw i t h t h e p r o b l e m . Low-Pass Filtering I t h a s o f t e n b e e n s u g g e s t e dt h a t a l o w - p a s sf i l t e r ( L p F ) b e p l a c e d a h e a d o f t h e p o w e r a m p l i f i e r t o a s s u r et h a t t h e p r o g r a m b a n d w i d t h d o e s n o t e x c e e dt h e o p e n - l o o p b a n d w i d t h o f t h e a m p l i f i e ri n o r d e r t o m i n i m i z eT I M [ 1 - 3 1 A . l t h o u g hw e w i l l s e e l a t e r t h a t s u c h a p r e c a u t i o n h a s n o b e a r i n go n T t U s u s c e p t i b i l i t y i,t i s w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t t h e L P Fw i l l p l a c e a l i m i t o n t h e p o w e r b a n d w i d t h , a n d t h u s t h e t i m e d e r i v a t i v e ,o f s i g n a l sa p p l i e d t o t h e p o w e r a m p l i f i e r . I n t h i s l a t t e r r e s p e c t , t h e L P Fc o u l d p r e v e n t T I M i f s u c h a l i m i t a t i o n w e r e n e c e s s a r y .H o w e v e r ,o u r e a r l i e rd i s c u s s i o n s showed that the power b a n d w i d t h o f r e a l a u d i o s i g n a l si s c o n s i d e r a b l yl e s s t h a n 2 0 k H z . A s s u m i n gt h a t a n L P Fc u t o f f o f l e s st h a n 4 O k 1 z i s u n a c ceptable due to frequency-response rror (-1 d8 at 20 kHz a s s u m i n gf i r s t - o r d e rc u t o f f ) , i t i s q u i t e s a f e t o s a y t h a t s u c h a filter will have no effect on TIM produced by program signals. Ticks, pops, and mistracking may, however, produce cons i d e r a b l yl a r g e rn o r m a l i z e dt i m e d e r i v a t i v e s t h a n p r o g r a m ,a t l e a s t i n t h e c a s e w h e r e w i d e b a n d m o v i n g - c o i l c a r t r i d g e sa r e employed. Values as high as 0.1 to O.2 (V/ltsl /V may be e n c o u n t e r e d .H o w e v e r ,e v e n a s t e p i n p u t w i l l o n l y b e l i m i t e d t o 0 . 2 5 ( V / 1 t S ) / Y b y a 4 O - k H z L P F .T h e f i l t e r w i l l t h u s h a v e o n l y a l i m i t e d e f f e c t o n t h e s m a l l e rn o r m a l i z e dt i m e d e r i v a t i v e o f t h e t i c k s ,p o p s , a n d m i s t r a c k i n g O . ne alsohasto wond e r h o w i m p o r t a n t T I M - f r e e r e p r o d u c t i o no f t h e s e a n n o y i n g s i g n a l sr e a l l yi s . l t i s p r o b a b l y s u f f i c i e n tt h a t s l e w - r a t el i m i t i n g n o t b e e n c o u n t e r e di n t h e s y s t e mu n d e r t h e s ec o n d i t i o n s . T h e o n l y s e n s i b l er e a s o nf o r a n L P Fs e e m st o b e i m p r o v e d i m m u n i t y t o r . f . i n t e r f e r e n c ei,f t h i s i s r e q u i r e d .

42

Feedback Compensation
A s m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r ,f e e d b a c k o p e r a t e so n t h e p r i n c i p l e of feedinga portion of the output back to the input for comp a r i s o n w i t h t h e i n p u t s i g n a l .T h e l o o p s o f o r m e d m a y b e unstable if the phase of the signal is incorrect.Feedback c o m p e n s a t i o ni s e m p l o y e d t o a s s u r es t a b i l i t y b y c o n t r o l l i n g t h e n e t g a i n a n d p h a s e s h i f t a s i g n a l s e e sa s i t g o e s a r o u n d the completeloop. S i n c e t h e r o l e p l a y e d b y f e e d b a c k c o m p e n s a t i o ni s c r u c i a l t o t h e T I M d i s t o r t i o n m e c h a n i s m ,a n d s i n c e i n m a n y T I M discussions i t i s n o t a d e q u a t e l yc o n s i d e r e d ,i t i s a p p r o p r i a t e a t t h i s p o i n t t o t a k e a l o o k a t f e e d b a c kc o m p e n s a t i o n . Because a l l r e a l a m p l i f i e r sh a v e f i n i t e b a n d w i d t h , t h e g a i n a n d t h u s t h e f e e d b a c kf a c t o r m u s t b e g i n t o r o l l o f f a t s o m e f r e q u e n c y .I n a m u l t i - s t a g ea m p l i f i e r ,e a c h s t a g eu s u a l l yc o n tributes one or more "poles" (6 dB/octave roll-offs) and acc o m p a n y i n g p h a s e s h i f t . l f a t s o m e h i g h f r e q u e n c yw e h a v e

AUDIO o Februarv 1980

il li
too much phase shift while we still have gain around the l o o p , w e w i l l h a v e p o s i t i v ef e e d b a c k a n d t h u s a n o s c i l l a t o r . For this reason, the frequency at which the feedback factor has decreased to unity (i.e., the gain crossoverfrequency) is v e r y i m p o r t a n t i n d e t e r m i n i n g a m p l i f i e r s t a b i l i t y .T o p r e v e n t o s c i l l a t i o n ,t h e p h a s e s h i f t a c c u m u l a t e d b e y o n d t h e f i x e d 18O-degree loop inversion must be less than 180 degrees at t h i s f r e q u e n c y .I n g e n e r a l ,g o o d e n g i n e e r i n gp r a c t i c er e q u i r e s t h a t l e s s t h a n a b o u t 1 3 5 d e g r e e sb e a c c u m u l a t e d ,l e a v i n g a p h a s e m a r g i n o f a t l e a s t 4 5 d e g r e e s .I n o r d e r t o o b t a i n t h e r e q u i r e ds t a b i l i t y ,f e e d b a c kc o m p e n s a t i o ni s e m p l o y e d t o d e liberately roll off the gain so that the feedback factor goes b e l o w u n i t y b e f o r e t o o m u c h p h a s es h i f t a c c u m u l a t e s . T h e o p e n - l o o p g a i n a s a f u n c t i o n o f f r e q u e n c yf o r a t y p i c a l p o w e r a m p l i f i e r b e f o r e a n d a f t e r f e e d b a c k c o m p e n s a t i o ni s s h o w n i n F i g . 2 . T h e c l o s e d - l o o pg a i n i s s h o w n a s a d o t t e d l i n e a t 2 6 d B , a n d t h e f e e d b a c kf a c t o r i s s i m p l y t h e d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n t h e s o l i d a n d d o t t e d c u r v e s .l t i s i m o o r t a n t t o r e m e m b e r t h a t e a c h r o l l - o f f c o n t r i b u t e s p h a s e s h i f t ( p h a s el a g o r d e l a y )w h i c h i n c r e a s e s w i t h f r e q u e n c y ,b u t w h i c h c a n n e v er exceed 90 degrees.At its 3-dB point, or "corner frequency," each roll-off generates45 degrees. The gain and phase c h a r a c t e r i s t i cf so r a s i n g l e p o l e a r e s h o w n i n F i g . 3 . N o t i c e that a single pole placed at a low frequency can create a g r e a t d e a l o f h i g h - f r e q u e n c yl o s s w i t h o u t e v e r i n t r o d u c i n g

A TypicalPowerAmplifier
To further put things into perspective, we'll now take a b r i e f l o o k a t t h e o p e r a t i o no f a p r a c t i c a lp o w e r a m p l i fi e r .T h i s s i m p l e a m p l i f i e r w i l l p r o v i d e a s e t t i n g f o r t h e e x a m p l e si l l u s trating TIM considerations i n t h e l a t e r s e c t i o n s .A s i m p l i f i e d v e r s i o no f a p o p u l a r a m p l i f i e rt o p o l o g y i s s h o w n i n F i g . 4 . Transistors Q 1 a n d Q 2 f o r m a d i f f e r e n t i a la m p l i f i e r w h i c h i s t h e f i r s t s t a g eo f t h e o p e n - l o o p a m p l i f i e r .H e r e t h e f e e d b a c k s i g n a la p p l i e d t o t h e b a s eo f Q 2 i s s u b t r a c t e df r o m t h e i n p u t signalapplied to the baseof Q1. Notice that the feedback s i g n a l i s d i v i d e d d o w n b y R 4 a n d R 3 ,w h i c h s e t t h e c l o s e d l o o p g a i n a t a b o u t 2 0 . C a p a c i t o rC 2 a l l o w s f u l l f e e d b a c k a t a s m a l lo u t p u t o f f s e tv o l t a g e . d.c.to assure The voltage difference between the basesof Q.l and Q2 is t r a n s l a t e dt o a c u r r e n t s i g n a l w h i c h i n t u r n d r i v e s t h e b a s e c i r c u i to f t h e p r e d r i v e r , Q 3 . T h e r e s u l t i n gv o l t a g es i g n a la t t h e c o l l e c t o ro f Q 3 i s d e l i v e r e dt o t h e o u t p u t w i t h a p p r o x i m a t e l y unity gain by the complementary Darlington emitter-foll o w e r o u t p u t s t a g e .T h e p r i m a r y p u r p o s eo f t h e o u t p u t s t a g e i s t o p r o v i d e c u r r e n t g a i n a n d t h u s p r e s e n ta r e l a t i v e l yh i g h i m p e d a n c e l o a d t o t h e c o l l e c t o rc i r c u i t o f Q 3 . T h e c o l l e c t o r current for Q3 is provided by a current source so that the o n l y r e a l l o a d a t Q 3 ' s c o l l e c t o r i s t h a t p r e s e n t e db y t h e o u t p u t s t a g e .T h i s a r r a n g e m e n tp r o v i d e s v e r y h i g h g a i n i n t h e p r e d r i v e r s t a g e ,e s p e c i a l l yi f t h e c u r r e n t g a i n i n t h e o u t p u t s t a g ei s h i g h . l o o p g a i n o f t h i s a m p l i f i e ri s s h o w n i n The uncompensated the top curveof Fig.2 (assuming transistor b e t a so f 5 0 ) . F e e d b a c k c o m p e n s a t i o no f t h i s a m p l i f i e r i s p r o v i d e d b y a s i n g l e c a p a c i t o rC 3 c o n n e c t e df r o m c o l l e c t o rt o t h e b a s eo f Q 3 . T h i s type of compensationis often referred to as Miller-effect compensation. At low frequencies, C3 is an open circuit and the gain is q u i t e h i g h . A t h i g h e r f r e q u e n c i e s ,C 3 ' s r e a c t a n c ed e c r e a s e s , a n d i t b e g i n s t o f o r m a t i g h t n e g a t i v ef e e d b a c k l o o p a r o u n d , l m o s t a l l o f t h e s i g n a lc u r r e n t f r o m Q 3 . A t h i g h f r e q u e n c i e sa q1 flows through C3, rather than R2 and-the base of Q3. U n d e r t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s ,w e c a n a l m o s t t h i n k o f Q 3 a s a n o p e r a t i o n a la m p l i f i e r a n d i t s b a s e n o d e a s a v i r t u a l g r o u n d . At mid- to high frequencies, t h e v o l t a g e a t t h e c o l l e c t o ro f Q 3 i s t h e n a p p r o x i m a t e l yt h e s i g n a l c u r r e n t f r o m Q 1 t i m e s the reactance o f C 3 . F u r t h e r m o r et ,h e o p e n - l o o p g a i n o f t h e amplifier will simply be the transconductance (gm) of the d i f f e r e n t i a la m p l i f i e r ( h e r e a b o u t 1 0 m A p e r v o l t ) t i m e s t h e r e a c t a n c eo f C 3 . S i n c e t h i s r e a c t a n c ei s d e c r e a s i n g with frequency at 6 dB,/octave, so will the open-loop gain of the to 20 we are at the gain a m p l i f i e r .W h e n t h i s g a i n d e c r e a s e s f r e q u e n c y ( f " ) ,s i n c e t h e f e e d b a c k p a t h e s t a b l i s h e s crossover a c l o s e d - l o o pg a i n ( C . ) o f 2 0 . T h e c h o i c e o f 8 4 p F f o r C 3 y i e l d sa r e a c t a n c e o f a b o u t 2 0 0 0o h m s a t 1 M H z , t h u s s e t t i n g t h e g a i n c r o s s o v e ra t t h a t f r e q u e n c y a n d y i e l d i n g t h e l o w e r c u r v e f o r o p e n - l o o p g a i n i n F i g .2 . E x p r e s s e id n g e n e r a lt e r m s ,

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Fig. 3---Gain and phase characteristics for a 1-kHz pole. m o r e t h a n 9 0 d e g r e e so f p h a s es h i f t . T h i s i s t h e b a s i sf o r w h a t i s c a l l e dl a gc o m p e n s a t i o n . A d e s i g n w i t h m a n y p o l e s s i t u a t e db e l o w t h e g a i n c r o s s o v e r f r e q u e n c yw i l l t e n d t o b e u n s t a b l e , while one with only a s i n g l e p o l e b e l o w t h i s f r e q u e n c yw i l l t e n d t o b e s t a b l e ,e v e n i f t h a t p o l e i s a t a v e r y l o w f r e q u e n c y .T h e u n c o m p e n s a t e d amplifier in Fig.2 crossesover at 2.4 MHz and has three poles below that frequency, while the compensated version crosses over at 1 MHz and hasonly one pole below the gain crossov e r f r e q u e n c y .A s i s t h e c a s e i n F i g . 2 , t h e c o m p e n s a t i o nn e t work usually decreases s u b s t a n t i a l l yt h e f r e q u e n c y o f o n e e x i s t i n gp o l e a n d m a y a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t l y increase the frequenc y o f a n o t h e r o n e . T h i s e f f e c t i s c a l l e d p o l e s p l i t t i n g ,a n d i t s d o u b l e b e n e f i t f u r t h e r c o n t r i b u t e st o s t a b i l i t y . T o s u m m a r i z e ,t h e o b j e c t i v e o f f e e d b a c kc o m p e n s a t i o ni s q uite simple: Establisha gain crossover frequency low e n o u g h t o a c h i e v e a n a c c e p t a b l ep h a s e m a r g i n . I n a p o w e r a m p l i f i e r ,m u c h o f t h e p h a s es h i f t a t h i g h f r e q u e n c i e s is cont r i b u t e d b y t h e o u t p u t t r a n s i s t o r sw , hich typically have ft's (current gain-bandwidth products) of about 1 to 4 MHz. Output stages will tend to contribute rapidly increasing p h a s es h i f t a b o v e t h i s f r e q u e n c y .A s a r e s u l t ,r e a s o n a b l e gain crossover frequencies for power amplifiers are generally in the range of 0.5 to 2 MHz.

C3:

(1)

N o t i c e t h a t l o w - f r e q u e n c yc o n s i d e r a t i o n ss , uch as feedback f a c t o r ,d o n o t i n f l u e n c et h e c h o i c e o f C 3 .

Delay Propagation
S o m e a u t h o r s h a v e r e a s o n e dt h a t a n a m p l i f i e r o r e s e n t e d w i t h a v e r y f a s t t r a n s i e n tw i l l b e w i t h o u t n e g a t i v ef e e d b a c k f o r a s h o r t p e r i o d o f t i m e u n t i l t h e f e e d b a c k s i g n a l ,h a v i n g s u f f e r e di n e v i t a b l ed e l a y , a r r i v e st o c a n c e l m o s t o f t h e i n p u t s i g n a l [ 1 , 3 ] .D u r i n g t h i s d e l a y t i m e , i t i s r e a s o n e d s , ome stage s i n t h e o p e n - l o o pa m p l i f i e rm a y c l i p d u e t o t h e u n u s u a l l y l a r g ei n p u t s i g n a l . Thereis little question that such a problem will occur if a square wave with a 1 nS rise time is applied to an audio a m p l i f i e r . H o w e v e r ,t o a s s e s s t h e p r a c t i c a ll i k e l i h o o d o f s u c h

AUDIO o Februarv 1980

r fi
a continuoussystemin spite of the delay,and feedbackis present100 percentof the time as long as no stagesare clipped. The feedback is, however,continuously"out of date" by a time equalto the delay.Fortunately, the feedback equations readilytakethis into accountin both the frequenc y a n dt i m ed o m a i n s . Cana full-amplitude i n p u t s i g n a ls , u c ha s a b a n d l i m i t e d square w a v e ,r i s ef a r e n o u g hi n 1 2 5n St o c a u s e a n ya m p l i f i e r stages to becomenonlinearor to overload? The integrating actionof the compensation will preventstages beyond the compensation from overloading, typicallyleavingonly the input stage beforeit to worry about (seeFig. 4). Consider as a worstcasea 2-V peaksquare wave bandlimi t e d t o 2 0 k H z .l t w i l l r i s ea b o u t6 3 m V i n 1 2 5n S ,a n d t h i s i s e n o u g ht o d r i v es o m ei n p u t s t a g e s into nonlinearity T.h i s i s particularly pair without emitterresistrue of the differential tors (local feedbackoften called emitter degeneration), as shown in the design of Fig. 4. With a 63-mV error signal g la i n i s l e s st h a n h a l f i t s n o m i n a l d r i v i n gi t , i t s s m a l l - s i g n a value.This nonlinearity would result in ,,soft,'TIM under theseconditions.However,most high-qualityamplifierdesignshaveenough local feedbackof one sort or anotherat the inputstage t o a l l o wg o o d l i n e a r i t y in handling s u c ha n error signal.As we will see momentarily, such feedbackis usually a l s oa n i m p o r t a n t i n g r e d i e nitn a c h i e v i n g highslew rate. Feedback factorand open-loopbandwidthare clearlynot relevanthere,sincedesignswith different valuesfor these parameters could easily have the same input stagedesign and propagation delay. The important criterion here is to , i n p u t s i g n a l sa h a v ea n i n p u t s t a g e t h a t c a n h a n d l el a r g e ,t least undertransient conditions. Slew Rate Realpoweramplifiers are not only limited in termsof output amplitude; they are alsolimitedwith respect to the rateof-change or timederivativo e f t h e o u t p u t .W h e n a n a m p l i f i e ri s a s k e d t o d e l i v e rm o r et h a n i t s m a x i m u m a m p l i t u d ei,t clipsand produces a constant amplitudeindependent of the i n p u ts i g n a lS . imilarly i f, a n a m p l i f i e irs c a l l e d u p o nt o d e l i v e r a greater time derivative than its slew rate,the amplifierwill go into slew-ratelimiting and produce an output rate-ofindependen t f t h e i n p u t s i g n a lA change o . swith amplitudeinduced d i s t o r t i o ns , l e w - i n d u c ed di s t o r t i o n ( S l D ) ,o r ( T l M ) , hasa gradual onset.lt is non-zerobelow the slew-rate limit and rises asthe slew-rate limit is approached. Havingdiscussed amplifierbehaviorduring the propagat i o n d e l a yi n t e r v aflo l l o w i n g a sudden i n p u tc h a n g ew , e must now determine if the amplifier can keepup with the time d e r i v a t i vc ea l l e d f o r b y t h e i n p u t s i g n aw l i t h o u t b e i n gd r i v e n into nonlinearity by internalerror signals(i.e.,overshoots). This is basically a questionof marginagainst slew-rate limiting, sinceslewingis the resultwhen the internalovershoots are so big they are clipped.Recallthat theseovershoots are generally t h e r e s u l t o f t h e c i r c u i t a t t e m p t i n gt o q u i c k l y particularly charge capacitances, the compensating capacitor. At this point it is important o emphasize that it is the magnitude of theseovershoots which is important,not percentage; many papers in the literature haveerredin emphas i z i n gt h e l a t t e r[ 1 , 2 ] . l t s h o u l db e c l e a rt h a t g o o d m a r g i n against slew-rate limitingguarantees that the overshoots will notbe large enough to cause n o n l i n e a r i ta yn d t h u sT l M . How doesfeedback factoraffectslew rate?By itself,not at all. Forexample, amplifiers with high feedback factors usually havethe extraopen-loopgain afterthe point of compensation.The most common exampleis the use of a current source collectorloadon the predriver stage, as in Fig.4. Suppose for the moment that the predriverstagehas a shunt capacitor at its input (base) for compensation (unlike Fig. ).

Fig.'l Simplified schematic of a popular power amplifier design. a p r o b l e m ,w e m u s t c o n s i d e rt h e t i m e i t t a k e sa r e a l p r o g r a m s i g n a lt o r i s e ,w h a t t h e d e l a y t i m e r e a l l yi s ( i t i s n o t t h e o p e n loop rise time as some have implied), and the overload mechanism o f o p e n - l o o p a m p l i f i e rg a i n s t a g e s . The open-loop amplifier can be modeled as a block of gain, a dominant first-ordercompensation roll-off, and a p u r e d e l a y a s s h o w n i n F i g .5 . E f f e c t s of the other nondominant poles are lumped in with the delay with little lossof a c c u r a c y .l t i s w e l l - k n o w n t h a t , f o l l o w i n g a s t e p c h a n g e a t t h e i n p u t o f a f i r s t - o r d e rR C l o w - p a s sf i l t e r ,t h e o u t p u t b e g i n s t o c h a n g e i m m e d i a t e l y ,n o m a t t e r h o w l o n g t h e R C t i m e c o n s t a n t ;o n l y t h e r a t e o f c h a n g e w i l l d e p e n d o n t h e t i m e c o n s t a n t .T h u s ,a f t e r a s u d d e n c h a n g e a t t h e a m p l i f i e r i n p u t , the output will begin to change after the above-mentioned p u r e d e l a y . T h i s i s t h e p r o p a g a t i o nd e l a y t i m e o f t h e a m p l i fier and is the delay time during which we must be conc e r n e d a b o u t o v e r l o a d i n gt h e a m p l i f i e r i n o r d e r t o d e a l w i t h the issueraisedabove. The propagation delay time can be estimated by consider-, ing the phase margin of the feedback loop. lf an amplifier h a s a p h a s e m a r g i n o f 4 5 d e g r e e sa t a 1 - M H z g a i n c r o s s o v e r , then the total forward path delay (assumning a f lat feedback path) must be 135 degrees,of which about 90 degrees is f rom t h e c o m p e n s a t i o np o l e a n d 4 5 d e g r e e si s f r o m t h e p r o p a g a t i o n d e l a y .T h i s w o r k s o u t t o 1 2 5 n S . M o s t p o w e r a m p l i f i e r s w i l l h a v ec o n s i d e r a b l y l e s sp r o p a g a t i o nd e l a y t h a n t h i s . It should be pointed out that it is incorrect to say that the amplifier is without feedback during this interval. The c l o s e d - l o o pa m p l i f i e r i s a l i n e a r s y s t e m s o l o n g a s t h e g a i n , r o l l - o f f ,a n d d e l a y e l e m e n t so f t h e m o d e l a r e l i n e a r .l t i s a l s o Fig.5-A simple model of the open-loop amplifier showing time response lo a step input. In practice, gain and delay aie distributed throughout the amplif ier.

46

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DELAY I J. ENOEAGATION

1980 AUDIO o February

48

t o u s i n g a h i g h - q u a l i t yc u r r e n t s o u r c e l o a d f o r t h e p r e d r i v e r , t r i p l e D a r l i n g t o n sa r e u t i l i z e d i n t h e o u t p u t s t a g e f o r e x t r a c u r r e n t g a i n a n d h e n c e a l i g h t e r l o a d o n t h e p r e d r i v e rc o l l e c t o r n o d e . A d d i t i o n o f t h e p a i r o f d o t t e d p r e d r i v e rl o a d r e s i s ( o r s , R 1 5 a n d R 1 6 ,w i l l c o n v e r t i t t o a l o w - f e e d b a c kd e s i g n w i t h a 2 0 - k H z o p e n - l o o p b a n d w i d t h . T h e r e q u i r e dc o m p e n r e m a i n su n c h a n g e d . s a t i n gc a p a c i t a n c e FEEDBACK LOW INPUT G) _,-T h e o p e n - l o o p g a i n f o r t h e h i g h - a n d l o w - f e e d b a c kv e r WIDE OPEN-LOOP BANDWIDTH s i o n so f F i g . 7 i s s h o w n i n F i g .B . T h e g a i n c r o s s o v e f rr e q u e n c y --rFEEDBACK f o r b o t h d e s i g n s i s t h e s a m e , a n d t h e o n l y d i f f e r e n c e i s i n MODERATE MODERATE OPEN_LOOP c r e a s e dl o o p g a i n a t f r e q u e n c i e sb e l o w 2 0 k H z f o r t h e h i g h BANDWIDTH ERRoR @[ f e e d b a c kd e s i g n .T h e s l e w r a t e f o r b o t h d e s i g n si s t h e s a m e FEEDBACK LARGE f o r a s t e p i n p u t s t a r t i n ga t z e r o v o l t s . T h i s f u r t h e r i l l u s t r a t e s SMALL OPEN-LOOP t h e f a c t t h a t f e e d b a c kf a c t o r a n d o p e n - l o o p b a n d w i d t h h a v e BANDWIDTH no effect on slew rate. tig. LA model of the feedback amplifier showing the error What does affect slew rate is the design of the input stage. time response to a bandlimited step input for various F o r a g i v e n s i z e c o m p e n s a t i n gc a p a c i t o r ,a n i n p u t s t a g ew i t h combinations of feedback factor and open-loop bandwidth. a h i g h e r o u t p u t c u r r e n t c a p a b i l i t yw i l l p r o v i d e a n i n c r e a s e d Closed-loop bandwidth is held constant, and feedback is s l e w r a t e . H o w e v e r , m e r e l y i n c r e a s i n gt h e t a i l c u r r e n t o f a varied by changing only A2. Input level is assumedto be zero s i m p l e d i f f e r e n t i a l p a i r s t a g e ,a s i n F i g . 4 , w i l l n o t w o r k b e prior to the step. )y t h e s t a g eg a i n ( t r a n s c o n d u c t a n c eb c a u s et h a t w i l l i n c r e a s e t h e s a m e f a c t o r .T h i s w o u l d t h e n n e c e s s i t a t e a proportionatelf we double the gain after the compensation by some l y l a r g e rc o m p e n s a t i n g c a p a c i t o rt o r e s t o r et h e g a i n - c r o s s o v e r m e a n s ,w e m u s t d o u b l e t h e v a l u e o f t h e c o m p e n s a t i n gc a frequency, and the slew rate would be back to where it was p a c i t o rt o r e s t o r et h e g a i n c r o s s o v e r f r e q u e n c y t o i t s o r i g i n a l b e f o r e .O n e p o p u l a r s o l u t i o n i s t o u s e e m i t t e r d e g e n e r a t i o n . value. However,the added gain means that we now need F o r e x a m p l e ,w e c a n k e e p t h e t a i l c u r r e n t t h e s a m e ,u s e e m o n l y h a l f t h e t i m e d e r i v a t i v eo n t h e c a p a c i t o rt o a c h i e v et h e i t t e r d e g e n e r a t i o nt o r e d u c e t h e g a i n , a n d t h e n u s e a s m a l l e r s a m eo u t p u t t i m e d e r i v a t i v e s , o t h e m a g n i t u d eo f t h e c u r r e n t c o m p e n s a t i n g c a p a c i t o r . T h i s a p p r o a c h i s u s e d i n F i g . 7 , o v e r s h o o tc h a r g i n gt h e l a r g e rc o m p e n s a t i n gc a p a c i t o ri s u n where R2 and R3 reduce the gain by a factor of 10. This c h a n g e d . T h e p e r c e n t a g eo v e r s h o o t i s a p p r o x i m a t e l yd o u p e r m i t sa d r a m a t i c i n c r e a s e i n s l e w r a t e . L o c a le m i t t e r d e g e n bfed, however, becauseof the smaller final value as a result e r a t i o n i s a l s o d e s i r a b l e b e c a u s e i t i n c r e a s e st h e o v e r a l l of the doubled d.c. gain.This is illustrated i n F i g . 6 . E v e n linearityof the stage and permits linear operation up to a t h o u g h t h e o p e n - l o o p r o l l - o f f s t a r t so n e o c t a v e l o w e r , t h e l a r g e rp e r c e n t a g e o f t h e u l t i m a t e s l e w i n gc a p a b i l i t y . input stagedoesn't have to work any harder to achieve a I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o r e a l i z et h a t t h e e x t r a g a i n i n m o s t a m p l i g i v e ns l e w r a t e . fiers with high feedback factors is not achievedby adding T h e s i t u a t i o n i s t h e s a m e f o r a m p l i f i e r su s i n g M i l l e r - e f f e c t m o r e v o l t a g e - g a i n s t a g e sw , hich would tend to increase nonc o m p e n s a t i o na s i n F i g . 4 . H e r e , e v e n t h e c a p a c i t o rv a l u e i s l i n e a r i t ya n d p r o p a g a t i o nd e l a y . A s c a n b e s e e n l r o m F i g . 7 , unchanged as the feedback factor is raised or lowered by t h e o n l y e l e m e n t s w h i c h n e e d t o b e a d d e d t o a c h i e v ev e r y v a r y i n gt h e l o a d i m p e d a n c eo f t h e p r e d r i v e r ( Q 3 ) . T h i s i s s o h i g h g a i n a r e e m i t t e r - f o l l o w e r sT . h e s e s t a g e sa r e p r a c t i c a l l y b e c a u s et h e f e e d b a c k a c t i o n o f C 3 c o n t r o l s t h e h i g h - f r e - d e l a y l e s s a n d a c t u a l l y t e n d t o i m p r o v e l i n e a r i t yb y i s o l a t i n g q u e n c y g a i n r a t h e rt h a n t h e l o a d r e s i s t a n c e . m p l i f i e r sw h i c h A from the input nonlinearities of the next stage. drivingstages d e s i g n e dw i t h l o w f e e d b a c kf a c t o r st y p i c a l l y N o n l i n e a r i t i e s aredeliberately r e s u l t i n gf r o m t r a n s i s t o rb e t a d e p e n d e n c eo n a c h i e v et h i s b y p l a c i n g a p h y s i c a ll o a d r e s i s t a n c e from the c o l l e c t o r v o l t a g e ( E a r l ye f f e c t ) a n d c u r r e n t a n d j u n c t i o n c a c o l l e c t o ro f t h e p r e d r i v e rt o g r o u n d [ 9 ] . pacitance d e p e n d e n c eo n v o l t a g ea r e r e d u c e d i n t h i s w a y . l f w e a s s u m et h a t a l l o f t h e s i g n a l c u r r e n t f r o m t h e i n p u t I t w a s m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r t h a t a 1 O O - w a ta t molifierwould s t a g ec a n f l o w i n t o C 3 , t h e n t h e s l e w r a t e f o r t h e a m p l i f i e r i n h a v e t o c l e a n l y h a n d l e t i m e d e r i v a t i v e su p t o a b o u t 3 V / p S F i g .4 i s a b o u t ( 0 . 5m A / 8 4 p F ) : 6 V/ p S . l n p r a c t i c e , i t w i l l b e f o r w o r s t - c a s ep r o g r a m m a t e r i a l . H o w m u c h m a r g i n a g a i n s t o f s o m ec u r r e n tf l o w i n t o R 2a n d Q 3 . s o m e w h a t l e s sb e c a u s e s l e w - r a t el i m i t i n g i s r e q u i r e d f o r c l e a n , l o w - T l M o p e r a t i o n ? A n i m p r o v e d a m p l i fi e r i s s h o w n i n F i g . 7 a n d i s a n e x a m p l e T h i s d e p e n d s v e r y m u c h o n t h e p a r t i c u l a ra m p l i f i e r d e s i g n .A o f a n a m p l i f i e r w i t h a v e r y h i g h f e e d b a c kf a c t o r . I n a d d i t i o n g o o d d e s i g nw i t h p l e n t y o f l o c a l f e e d b a c ka n d a l i n e a ro p e n l o o p r e s p o n s em a y r e q u i r e a m a r g i n o f l e s s t h a n - 1 . 5 t o 1 , w h i l e a r e a l l y p o o r d e s i g n w i t h g r o s so p e n - l o o p n o n l i n e a r i t y Fig. 7-Simplified schematic of an improved power amplifier. c o u l d r e q u i r e a s m u c h a s 1 0 t o - 1 . H o w e v e r ,e v e n t h e o f t e n criticized 741 operational amplifier, when operated under c o n d i t i o n s ,r e q u i r e sl e s st h a n a m a r g i n o f 5 t o 1 . reasonable A m a r g i n o f 4 t o 1 s h o u l d b e m o r e t h a n a d e q u a t ef o r p o w e r a m p l i f i e r so f r e a s o n a b l e d e s i g n t o g u a r a n t e et h a t T I M p r o d u c e d b y i n t e r n a l o v e r s h o o t sw i l l b e c o m p l e t e l y i n a u d i b l e . B a s e do n t h i s a n d t h e p r e v i o u s l yd i s c u s s e dp r o g r a m c h a r a c t e r i s t i c st , h e 1 0 0 - w a t ta m p l i f i e r s h o u l d p r o v i d e a s l e w r a t e o f at least 12 V/ 1tS. This also gives us a 50 percent margin a g a i n s ts l e w i n g i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f a 0 . 2 ( V / p l S ) / Vf u l l - a m p l i tude pop or tick. Notice that we've paid very little attention to what happ e n s w h e n o u t r i g h t s l e w - r a t e l i m i t i n g o c c u r s ; r a t h e r ,w e ' v e outlined the conditions required to stay in a rather linear r e g i o n o f o p e r a t i o n w h e r e , a t m o s t , t h e n o n l i n e a r i t i e sa r e s o f t . T h i s i s m a i n l y b e c a u s eT I M w i l l b e c o m e a u d i b l e b e f o r e s l e w - r a t el i m i t i n g o c c u r s . H o w e v e r , i t i s w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t

tu

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@ !,

s i g n i f i c a n t l yl o n g e r t h a n t h e t i m e i t t a k e s t h e o u t p u t t o s l e w t o t h e n e w s i g n a lv a l u e . At this point, it should be clearthat slew rate is the most important single parameter governing TIM performance, while feedback factor and open-loop bandwidth have no b e a r i n go n T l M . I n P a r t l l , w e ' l l c o n t i n u e b y l o o k i n g a t o t h e r c a u s e so f h i g h - f r e q u e n c y o r d y n a m i c i n t e r m o d u l a t i o nd i s t o r t i o n ( D l M ) , w h y a l a r g e f e e d b a c k f a c t o r i s g o o d i n s t e a do f b a d , a n d t e c h n i q u e sa v a i l a b l e for measuring TIM in the lab.7fl GAIN CROSSOVER FREQUENCY

a e40

References
1. Otala, M., "Transient Distortion in Transistorized Audio power Amplifiers,,, IEEE fransactions on Audio and Erectro-.coustics, Vol. AU-18, pp. 234-239, S e p t . ,1 9 7 0 . 2. Otala, M., and E. leinonen, "The Theory of TransientIntermodulation Distortion," IEEE fnnsactions on Acoustics. Speech end Signal processing, Vol. A S S P - 2 5N , o. 1, pp. 2-8, Fet:.,1977. 3 . L e a c h ,W . M . , " T r a n s i e n t l M D i s t o r t i o n i n P o w e r A m p l i f i e r s , ' , A u d i o , p p . 3 4 4'1,Feb., 1975. 4. Creiner, R.A., "Amp Designand Overload," Audio,pp.5O-62,Nov.,1977. 5 . I u n g , W . C . , M . L . S t e p h e n s ,a n d C . C . T o d d , , , S l e w i n g I n d u c e d D i s t o r t i o n a n d l t s E f f e c to n A u d i o A m p l i f i e r P e r f o r m a n c + W i t h C o r r e l a t e d M e a s u r e m e n t L i s t e n i n g R e s u l t s , "A E S P r e p r i n t N o . 1 2 5 2 p r e s e n t e d a t t h e 5 7 t h A t S C o n v e n tion, LosAngeles,May, 1977 . 6 . C a r d e , P . , " T r a n s i e n t D i s t o r t i o n i n F e e d b a c kA m p l i f i e r s , " l o u r . o f t h e A u d i o Engineering Sociely, Y ol. )6, No. 5, pp. 31 4-321, M ay, 1978. 7. Kogen, j., B. iacobs, and F. Karlov, "Trackability-1973," Audio, pp.-t6-22, Aug.,-197 L 8 . H o l m a n , T . , " L ) y n a m i c R a n g e R e q u i r e m e n t so f p h o n o g r a p h i c p r e a m p l i fi e r s , , , Audio, pp. 72-79, luly, 1977. 9 . L e a c h , W . M . , " B u i l d a L o w T I M A m p l i f i e r , " A u d i o , p p . 3 O - 4 6 ,F e b . ,1 9 7 6 . 1O. Leinonen, E., M. Otala, and l. Curl, "A Method for Measuring Transient f ntermodufation Distortion (IlMl," tour. of the Audio Engineering Society, 'l7O-177, Vol. 25, pp. April,1977 11. Cordell, R. R.,"4 Fully In-Band Multitone Test for TransientIntermodulat i o n D i s t o r t i o n , " A I S P r e p r i n t N o . 1 5 1 9p r e s e n t e d a t t h e f f t h A E SC o n v e n t i o n , New York. Nov.. 1979.

loo

tk

took tok FREQUENCY-Hz

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Fig.L-Open-loop gain comparison of amplifiers with high and low feedback factors and equal gain crossover frequency. The maior difference is the greater feedback in the audio band for the former case. r e c o v e r yf r o m a s l e w i n g c o n d i t i o n f o r m o s t c o n t e m p o r a r y a m p l i f i e r t o p o l o g i e si s n o t a f f e c t e d b y t h e o p e n - l o o p t i m e c o n s t a n t .T h i s w a s n o t n e c e s s a r i l t yh e c a s ei n s o m e v e r y e a r l y a m p l i f i e r d e s i g n si n w h i c h a t r a n s i s t o r transistor could satur a t e d u r i n g s l e w i n g a n d c h a r g e t h e c o m p e n s a t i n gc a p a c i t o r t o a n a b n o r m a l v o l t a g e .R e c o v e r y i n m o d e r n a m p l i fi e r s i s n o t

49

Ihe ltrneable Tonealrrn'J Ultracruft.

It always happens.You put together your dream tonearm/cartridge combination. And along comes a new "super" cartridge with parameters that iust won't work with your arm. Unless you own a tuneable Ultracraft-so adiustable you get the utmost performance from any cartridge. The Ultracraft AC-30,AC-3OO MK-II and AC-3OOO MC all use our unique ADJUSTABTE DAMPING SYSTEM, with a control that lets you regulate clearance between the damping bowl and oil cup for perfect tracking and customized frequency response. Our famed jewel-bearing UNIPIVOT DESIGN assures stylus freedom so you hear every nuance of every recording. AC-3000 MC and AC-3O0 MK-II accept interchangeable PLUG-IN ARM STEMSin straight and S-shapes, of different diameters and materials, with integral or separate headshells. Ultracraft's uniquely precise lateral balancing device, and anti-skating system (never before used on a single-point suspension arm), plus features like a 650 gram stabilizer, special litz wires and a 3-step counterbalance, cleady make Ultracraft the ultimate tonearm. Let your Osawa dealer tune one up for you. OSAWA & CO. (USA) lnc., 521Fifth Avenue, New York, New York lOOlT Distributed in Canadaby Intersound Elecffonics, Montreal, Quebec
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