1,500W / 4 Ohms Power Amplifier

Rod Elliott (ESP)

Introduction This project is mainly in answer to those for whom no amount of power is enough. I have lost count of the num er of times people have as!ed if it"s alright to increase the supply voltage on every circuit pu lished# and in general the answer is no $ it"s not alright. Every design on this site is optimised for the stated power. There is always some fle%i ility# ut you must e very careful to ma!e sure that transistor safe operating area (S&') is not e%ceeded. There is also a ma%imum voltage for any semiconductor# and devices must e selected to ensure they are used within their ratings. (hile (lateral) )&S*ETs offer some real advantages# they are relatively e%pensive# and difficult to o tain with voltage ratings a ove +,,-. -ertical )&S*ETs (e.g. .E/*ETs and the li!e) are a possi ility# ut suffer gross non$ linearity at very low currents. Therefore# a relatively high 0uiescent current is needed# and this ma!es heat removal that much more difficult. There are other issues as well# ut a discussion of them is outside the scope of this article. WARNING This project descri es an amplifier# power supply and tests procedures that are all inherently dangerous. 1othing descri ed in this article should even e considered unless you are fully e%perienced# !now e%actly what you are doing# and are willing to ta!e full 2,,3 responsi ility for what you do. There are aspects of the design that may re0uire analysis# fault$finding and4or modification. 5y continuing to read this article and4or commencing wor! on the project# you provide your implicit agreement that ESP shall e held harmless for any loss or damage# howsoever caused. 6ou accept all ris!s to life# lim and finances (this will e a very e%pensive underta!ing) that the project may present. ESP accepts that there may e errors and4or omissions in the te%t and diagrams that follow# and you accept that these ecome your responsi ility should you decide to uild the project. No ssist nce wh tsoe!er will "e pro!ided for this pro#ect$ If %ou s& me 'uestions "out it, the% WI(( NO) "e nswered$ 7apa le of +!( pea! and a minimum of 2.8!( continuous# it has to e said that this amplifier will low up any spea!er connected to it. Regardless of the claimed power that various drivers can handle# they can"t. To put this whole issue into perspective# ta!e the most powerful and ro ust driver you can (9 ohms)# and connect it directly to the 22,- mains (I recommend this as a "thought e%periment"# rather than actually doing it:). 22,- R)S into 9 ohms is 2#8,,(. .ow long would you e%pect the spea!er to last; )ost will e toast within perhaps <, seconds or

less: ' very few will last slightly longer# ut none will ta!e that level of a use for more than a few minutes. I stron*l% su**est th t %ou re d Power +s, -fficienc% "efore continuin*, .ave a loo! at the voicecoil of any spea!er. Imagine how hot it will get with even 2,,( of continuous power $ feel a 2,,( light ul $ 2,,( is enough to ma!e any small mass get very hot indeed# very 0uic!ly. 2#8,,( is an awesome (scary even) amount of power: =oo! at the si>e ca le needed to carry +,'# then loo! at the wire si>e used for the voicecoil. If you don"t see a real pro lem# then I suggest you a andon electronics ta!e up flower arranging as a ho y. It must e understood that this is a " rute force" approach# and that much is deli erate. 'lthough it would e possi le to use more finesse in the final design (such as using a trac!ing power supply# or a 7lass$? multi supply rail approach)# these are harder to design# and would re0uire uilding a prototype to verify performance. Since I have no need at all for this much power# I am not prepared to spend the time and money to uild and test something I"ll never need. I !now that no spea!er I have (or am li!ely to ever have) can ta!e that much power# and the amp would e a waste of money. Should someone e silly enough to pay me the '@A2+#,,, I would charge to uild a mono version of the amp# then I would happily do so. So# I am confident that it will wor! as descri ed# ut it will almost certainly never e uilt y me. I hope that my readers share my pragmatism. Should you (wisely) decide that this amp is as silly as I thin! it is# then go ac! to Project B9. The dual oard version with CD,- supplies is still capa le of destroying many drivers# ut there are loudspea!ers than can ta!e its output short term. This ma!es it ideal for su woofer duty# easily giving over 8,,( into E ohms for transient signals# or E8,( continuous (which it can do all day with a fan forced heatsin!). This is a proven design# and although not ine%pensive# it still represents fairly good value for such a high power amplifier. I).& there is no point trying for more power# as few drivers can handle more than a couple of hundred (atts without suffering severe power compression. .escription *irst# let"s loo! at the re0uirements to get 2.8!( into E ohms. (e need DD.8- R)S across the load# ut we need to have a it more# ecause the supply voltage will collapse under load# and there will always e some voltage lost across the transistors# emitter resistors# etc. The supply voltage needs to e ... - G - H 2.E2E - G DD.8 H 2.E2E G C2,I.B- F7
F7 F7 R)S

Since we have not allowed for losses yet# we need to allow around <$8- for the amplifier# and an additional 2,- or so to allow for the supply voltage falling when the amp is loaded. The higher the current# the greater the IJR (resistive) losses# so 8- was used in this design. (ith a transformer rated at + % I,-# this gives an unloaded supply of C2<,- F7 (+B,- F7 total)# so the supply has to e treated with e%treme care $ it is very dangerous indeed. There is an old term used y those who wor! with high voltages ... One flash and you're ash ! ... and you would do well to remem er this. 'dd on the au%iliary supplies (ta!ing the total to +D,- F7)# and the supply is capa le of !illing you several times over# even after it is disconnected from the mains. Even the output signal to the spea!ers must e treated with care# as DD- is enough to give you a nasty shoc!. The final supply voltage will e around C2+,-# ecause even with the iggest transformer and filter capacitors# you will lose voltage. The current demand is also prodigious. (ith a pea! voltage of 22,-# the pea! supply current is +D.8' into a E ohm load. R)S spea!er current is just under +,' at full power. Everything you thought you !new a out amp uilding needs to e re$thought. P75 trac!s cannot e used for these current levels# ecause the e%tra resistance will cause current alancing pro lems with the power transistors. 'll wiring needs to e e%tremely ro ust# and must a solutely not allow any possi ility of contact (it will !ill you) or short circuits (which will !ill the amp). The supply is capa le of vaporising thin wires and P75 trac!s. 5ecause of the issues discussed a ove# ipolar transistors were selected as most appropriate for the output stage. This was primarily dictated y the supply voltage# which e%ceeds that allowed for any afforda le lateral )&S*ET. It is even a challenge for afforda le 5KTs# ut the )K28,,E48 or )K+22I<4E pairs are within ratings# so these are suggested. (hile I would normally specify a compound pair (also called a S>i!lai pair) for the output stage# in this case it is a triple stage# and the S>i!lai pair (much as I li!e it) can e prone to oscillation# primarily on the negative side. This is highly undesira le for an amp with the power of that descri ed here. Fespite reservations# the triple Farlington is more appropriate for this application. 1e%t# we need to loo! closely at the power dissipation of the devices. (orst case resistive load dissipation occurs when L the supply voltage is across oth load and transistors. This occurs at a voltage of B8- across the load (worst case)# and gives a pea! (instantaneous) power in oth load and output stage of ... P G -J 4 R G B8J 4 E G 2,8B( This is only a starting point# ecause we must have a safety margin. Remem er that the pea! dissipation into a reactive load with a E8M phase angle is almost double that calculated a ove# a out 2I,,(. If the transistors can e maintained at

+8M7 (not li!ely)# that"s fine# ut we need to add more to allow for elevated temperature. I have elected to use I output devices# with a tenth device used as a driver. This maintains worst case pea! dissipation at +2+( $ not much of a safety margin# ut it should e o! in practice $ in part ecause the supply voltage will collapse under load. 7ooling is vitally important $ this amplifier will need a very su stantial heatsin!# and fan cooling is essential. *ans should cut in at no higher than <8M7. The )K28,+E48 (or )K+22I<4E) devices are T&$< pac!ages# and are specified for +8,( dissipation at +8M7. It is worth noting that the driver in this arrangement will contri ute some of the output# ut it only reduces the main transistor"s pea! dissipation y a out 8(. T&$< devices are specified ecause they have the highest power rating of any general purpose pac!age# ecause thermal resistance is lower than any flat$pac! plastic device. The )KE<E,4<8, pre$drivers reduce the loading on the -'S (voltage amplification stage) and ensures good linearity with accepta ly low dissipation of the -'S transistor (NE) and its current source (NB). Even so# with around 2+m' through the -'S# dissipation is ,.D+(# so NE# NB# NI and N2, must have heatsin!s (or a common heatsin! that is suita le for the power dissipated). The ias servo transistor (N8) should e mounted normally (not in thermal contact with the main heatsin!)# ecause the final output stage operates in 7lass$5 as descri ed for Project B9. The protection circuit will limit the pea! transistor power to around 29,(# with a short circuit current of a out 2+'. This is slightly outside the S&' of the output transistors. 'lthough it is possi le to get the protection circuit to force the output stage to follow the S&' curve# this almost inevita ly means that ma%imum power cannot e achieved unless the protection circuit is made considera ly more comple%. *or an amp that (hopefully) will never e uilt# this was not warranted. The alternative is to add more output transistors.

/i*ure 1 0 1,5&W Power Amplifier

The circuit is completely conventional# using a long tailed pair input stage# direct coupled to the -'S. 1o current mirror was used for the =TP# as this increases open loop gain and may give rise to sta ility issues. In a very high power amp# sta ility is paramount. The amp must never oscillate under any normal load condition# ecause the heat created can cause almost instant transistor failure. 1 Note2 It is imperative that N8 (the ias servo transistor) is mounted on the heatsin!# in e%cellent thermal contact. This is ecause# unli!e most of my other designs# this amp uses conventional Farlington output configuration. It is necessary to use a Farlington arrangement (or a low power Farlington transistor as shown) for N8 to ensure that the ias remains at a safe value with temperature. This is left to the constructor# ecause as noted I will not provide technical assistance for this design. There is pro a ly good cause to model and test this aspect of the design very carefully# ecause it is so important. The arrangement as shown will reduce 0uiescent current at elevated temperatures. *or e%ample# if total I0 at +EM7 is 2B8m'# this will fall to OE,m' at D,M7. This is pro a ly fine# ecause there is some delay etween the a power "surge" and the output transistors transferring their heat to the ias servo via the heatsin!. The additional feed ac! components (RBa and 7<a# shown dotted) are optional. They may e needed to ensure sta ility. The output "fly ac!" diodes (FI and F2,) will normally only ever conduct if the protection circuit operates while the amp is driving a reactive load. The 218E,E diodes can withstand a pea! non$repetitive

current of +,,'. .igher rated components may e used if desired. The voltage rating needs to e at least E,,-. The 2,, ohm trimpot used in the =TP is used to adjust the F7 offset to minimum. (ith the component values as shown# offset should e within C+8m-# efore adjustment. The second trimpot is used to set 0uiescent current. This should e set to a value just sufficient to minimise crossover distortion. .igh 0uiescent current is not desira le# simply ecause of the power dissipation. Nuiescent current is set so that 28,m- is measured across R2I or R+,. 6ou will also note that S&' protection has een incorporated. I don"t li!e protection circuits very much# ecause they can cause very audi le sound 0uality degradation if they operate# ut in an amplifier with so many transistors (not to mention the massive power supply needed)# the availa le energy will cause instantaneous destruction of the output stage if protection is not used. (ould I actually ris! applying a short circuit to the output terminals; 1o# I would not. I haven"t uilt this design# and I have no intention of doing so. ' full simulation tells me that the protection circuits should ensure that nothing lows up# ut I do not intend to find out. Input sensitivity is a out 2.DD- for I,,( into 9 ohms# or 29,,( into E ohms# or 2.B- R)S for rated power (2.8!( into E ohms). 3ore Power4 5elieve it or not# the design can e pushed even further. 6ou will need to add more power transistors and upgrade the power supply though. Supply voltages of up to C28,- can e used without changing anything other than increasing the num er of output devices. 'lthough the )K28,+E48 are rated at +8,-# they will ta!e more ecause the ase is tied to the emitter with a very low resistance. 2+,,( into 9 ohms is 0uite possi le# with around +!( into E ohms (or E!( 4 9 ohms in 5T= configuration). I suggest that the num er of output devices e increased y at least +83 $ a total of 2< devices for each supply rail (+B in total# including drivers). There would seem to e some valid reasons for using )&S*ETs# not least ecause the voltage rating is easily achieved with low cost (switching) devices. The use of high voltage devices with a relatively high RFS is necessary to minimise distortion at low levels. ?iven that these usually use the T&++, pac!age# I recommend that pea! dissipation is limited to <8( or less (O28( average). The T&++, pac!age is convenient# ut is hopeless for transferring significant heat from junction to heatsin!. This would re0uire around 8, % T&++, devices for each rail (2,, in all). Remem er that vertical )&S*ETs must e matched# so e%pect to purchase at least <,,$8,, transistors to allow for matching. 'll parallel devices must have as close as possi le to the same - (threshold voltage# gate to source). 1ote that a vertical )&S*ET version has een simulated# uilt and tested at lower power (a couple of hundred (atts)# ut is not shown here.
on T.

?iven that the pea! output power of the amp as descri ed will e around I8,( into 9 ohms and close to 29,,( into E ohms# I dou t that any upgrades will e needed . 5 Ohms4 1o. 1ot a chance. 'dding more transistors will certainly allow it $ in fact# the transistors there already will come very close. The pro lem is simply a matter of current. &ver E,' R)S at full power just means that large 0uantities of the output power will e dissipated as heat in connectors and spea!er leads# and it"s just not worth the effort. (ho wants to drag around industrial welding ca les as spea!er leads; Even at E &hms# you have to deal with over +,' R)S (and <,' pea!s)# so leads and connectors need to e very ro ust. Power 6uppl% The power supply needed for an amp of this si>e is massive. ?rown welding machines will loo! at it and cry. *or intermittent operation# you need a minimum of a 2!-' transformer (or 2.8!-' for the +!( version)# and it will have to e custom made ecause of the voltages used. If you e%pect to run the amp at continuous high power# then transformers should e +!-' and <!-' respectively. *ilter capacitors will pose a pro lem $ ecause you need caps rated for 28,-# these will e hard to find. 5ecause high voltage high value caps can e difficult to find# it may e necessary to use two electros in series for each capacitor location. This is the arrangement shown. 6ou must include the resistors in parallel $ these e0ualise the voltage across each capacitor so that they have the same voltage. Remem er to verify the ripple current rating: This can e e%pected to e over 2,'# and under$ rated capacitors will low up. 'nother difficulty is the ridge rectifier. 'lthough <8' ridges would seem to e ade0uate# the pea! repetitive current is so high that they may not e up to the tas!. I suggest that you use two (or even three) in parallel as shown. The ridge rectifier voltage rating should e a minimum of E,,-# and they must e mounted on a su stantial heatsin!.

/i*ure 5 0 Power 6uppl%

1ote that the supply shown is suita le for one amplifier only! *or a stereo version# you will need a transformer with dou le the rating for a single amp# and dou le the capacitance. 'lthough a standard P<I soft start circuit controller oard will wor! fine# the resistors will need to e upgraded. The series soft start resistor should e around << ohms# and rated at 8,( or more. 's you can see# the power switch simply applies low voltage '7 to the au%iliary supply ridge rectifier and to the soft start circuit via relay contacts. The relay is located on the control oard which also has F7 and thermal detection. The additional 8- supplies shown will give a small increase in pea! output power# ut may e omitted. (ith the e%tra voltage# pea! power is a out +#,E9(# vs 2#I+,( without it. (hile this may appear to e worthwhile# in real terms it is only ,.8d5 more. 6ou will gain far more y using heavier gauge mains and spea!er leads or a different power outlet. F7 Protection $ You cannot use output relays with this amplifier! Should a F7 fault e detected at the output# the only option is to switch off the power. ' relay that will withstand rea!ing 228- or 28,- F7 at +8' or more is going to e hard to get# and extremely e%pensive. 'lthough the spea!ers will e su jected to the full supply voltage until the filter caps discharge# as the uilder of the amp# you are confident that they will withstand the power. )e# I"m not so sure. 6ou will notice that the '7 mains is specified for +<,4+E,- only. @se at 228- is not recommended ecause of the current. 't full power# the amp will draw a minimum

of 2,' (slightly a ove the transformer rating)# ut with 228-# that will increase to over +,'. The losses are too high with that much current# so in 22842+,countries# I suggest that the amp e connected to a two phase power source as a matter of course. Even at the higher supply voltage# the limit for a standard power outlet in 'ustralia is 2,'# so the continuous power input is limited to +E,,(# and continuous power output will e su stantially less than this.

/i*ure 7 0 Protection nd 8ontrol 8ircuits

The control circuit need not e comple%# ut is very important. 'lthough P<< could e used for F7 detection# it would e etter to use a dedicated circuit (which has not een designed yet). The thermal sensors can e transistors or dedicated I7s# and a simple comparator circuit detects that the temperature is a ove the trip value of <8M7 to turn on the fans. The fans need to e high output types# as they will e called upon to dispose of a prodigious amount of heat when the amp is eing pushed. Thermal switches act as a ac!up $ if the fan controller fails to operate for any reason# normally open thermal switches will start the fans. (ater cooling is a via le option for an amp li!e this# especially for long term high power usage in a fi%ed location. 8onstruction If you decide to uild this amp# you will e prepared to spend a lot of money and time. 6ou will also have sufficient e%perience to e a le to wor! out the construction processes yourself. *or a single channel# the parts alone will cost upwards of '@A2#,,,# pro a ly closer to '@A2#8,, or even more. Kust the power transformer is li!ely to e around A+8,$<,,# and there"s pro a ly another A<,, or more for filter capacitors. 6ou will need a heatsin! rated at a out ,.,<M74( with forced cooling. I cannot suggest a suita le heatsin!# ut you can e sure that it will e large and e%pensive.

Please note that this project is provided as information only# and I will not provide any assistance to prospective uilders. The entire project is your responsi ility if you want to ta!e it on. )estin* If you are cra>y enough to uild this amp# then you will have sufficient s!ills to e a le to wor! out what is needed to test it. Remem er that the smallest mista!e could easily despatch many e%pensive transistors# low the trac!s off a P75# melt wiring# and all manner of other distasteful possi ilities. 's with any high powered amplifier# initial testing should e done with a current limited power supply and no load. The amp will e functional with as little as C2,or less# and the power supply and complete amplifier must e tested using a -ariac ( ypassing the soft start for initial tests). The -ariac needs to e rated the same as the power transformer (i.e. at least +!-'). I will leave the remainder of the test procedure to the constructor# since the only people who should even attempt uilding an amp of this power should e very e%perienced with high power systems. If this does not descri e you# then don"t even thin! a out it.