1

PA 3 0 0 P O W E R A M P L I F I E R
IC, a Type NE5534 (ICi).
There are several starting points to the The internal circuit of IC1 is shown
design of a power amplifier: pure hi-fi in the box on further on in this article.
without any compromise; simplicity It may also be of interest to note that
and reliability; high output power. The the NE5534 is found in nine out of
design of the present amplifier is a every ten CD players (as amplifier in
mixture of these. the analogue section). This is reflected
The result is a unit that does not use in its price which is low. Its only
esoteric components, is not too drawback is that its supply voltage is
complex, and is fairly easily far below that of the remainder of the
reproduced. In fact, it could well be amplifier. This means an additional
named a ‘Hi-fi public address symmetrical supply of ±15 V
amplifier’. Moreover, it restricts the drive
There will be a few eyebrows capability of the input stage. The
raised at the power output of 300 watts supply requirement is easily met with
(into 4Q); it is true, of course, that in the aid of a couple of zener diodes and
the average living room 30-40 W per resistors. The drive restriction means
channel is more than sufficient. that the amplifier must provide a
However, peaks in the reproduced measure of voltage amplification after
music may have a power of 10-20 times the input stage.
the average level. This means that some reserve Design by A. Riedl
power is desirable. Also, there are loudspeakers
around with such a low efficiency that a lot more
Circuit description
than 30-40W is needed. And, last but not least, there The input contains a high-pass filter,
are many people who want an C5-R3 and a low-pass filter, R2-C6.
amplifier for rooms much larger than Taken by themselves, the properties of the The combination of these filters
the average living room, such as an PA300 amplifier are not revolutionary. But limits the bandwidth of the input
amateur music hall. stage to a realistic value: it is not
taken in combination, they show something
necessary for signals well outside
special: a robust 300 watt hi-fi power the audio range to be amplified - in
Straightforward design
amplifier that is not too difficult to build. fact, this may well give rise to
Since every amplifier contains a certain difficulties.
number of standard components, the Opamp IC1 is arranged as a differential
circuit of Fig. 1 will look pretty familiar to most output. One of the ICs is not in the signal path and this amplifier; its non-inverting (+) input functions as
audio enthusiasts. Two aspects may hit the eye: the immediately points to it being part of a protection the meeting point for the overall feedback. The
higher than usual supply voltage and the presence of circuit. What is unconventional is an IC in the input feedback voltage, taken from junction Dy-Dg, is
a couple of ICs. The first is to be expected in view stage. Normally, this stage consists of a differential applied to junction R4-R5 via R9. Any necessary
of the power amplifier followed by a voltage amplifier of sorts, compensation is provided by C9, C12 and C14. The
often also a differential amplifier, to drive the voltage amplification is determined by the ratio
predriver stages. In the PA300, the entire input stage R9:R5, which in the present circuit is x40.
is contained in one The output of IC1 is applied to drive stages T 1
and T3 via R6. These transistors operate in Class A:
the current drawn by them is set to 10 mA by
voltage divider R10-R13 and their respective emitter
resistors. Their voltage and current amplification is
appreciable, which is as required for the link
Technical data (measured with power supply shown in Fig. 2) between the input and output stages.
The output amplifier proper consists of drive
1V
Input sensitivity rms stages T6 and T7 and power transistors Tg, T9, T14,
Input impedance 17.8 kQ T15. which have been arranged as symmetrical
Power output (0.1% THD) 164 W into 8 Q power darlingtons. Because of the high power, the
275 W into 4 Q output transistors are connected in parallel. The
Music power(500 Hz burst 176 W into 8 Q types used can handle a collector current of 20 A
5 cycles on, 5 cycles off) 306 W into 4 Q and have a maximum dissipation of 250 W.
Power bandwidth (90 W into 8 Q) 7 Hz-67 kHz The output stages operate in Class AB to ensure a
Slew rate 20 V/ps smooth transition between the n-p-n and p-n-p
Signal-to-noise ratio (referred to 1 W into g >96 dB (A-weighted) transistors, which prevents cross-over distortion.
Q) This requires a small current through the power
Harmonic distortion (THD+N) at 1 W into 8 Q: <0.004% (1 kHz) transistors, even in the absence of an input signal.
(bandwidth g0 kHz) at 150 W into 8 Q: <0.001% (1 kHz) This current is provided by ‘zener’ transistor T2
<0.05% (20 Hz-20 kHz)
Intermodulation distortion at 1 W into 8 Q: <0.003%
(50 Hz:1 kHz; 4:1) at 100 W into 8 Q: <0.0035%
Dynamic IM (rectangular 1 W into 8 Q: <0.004%
wave + 15 kHz sine wave) 150 W into 8 Q: <0.06%
Damping factor (at 8 Q) <345 at 1 kHz <275 at 20 kHz

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1995

 2 AUDIO & HI-FI

, nal level drops, the current will diminish only rectangular signals are not adversely affected by the
which puts a small voltage on the bases of Tg slowly until it has reached its nominal value. inductor.
and T7 so that these transistors just conduct in Diodes D7, Dg protect the output stages against Protection circuits
quiescent operation. The level of the quiescent possible counter voltages generated by the complex
current is set accurately with load. Resistor R30 and capacitor C17 form a As any reliable amplifier, the PA300 is provided
P1. Boucherot network to enhance the stability at high with adequate protection measures. These start with
To ensure maximum thermal stability, frequencies. Inductor Li prevents any problems with fuses Fi and F2, which guard against high currents
in case of overload or short-circuits. Since even fast
transistors T1-T3 and T6-T7 are mounted on and the capacitive loads (electrostatic loudspeakers).
fuses are often not fast enough to prevent th
same heat sink. This keeps the quiescent current Resistor R29 ensures that the transfer of
within certain limits. With high drive signals, this
current can reach a high level, but when the input
sig
e When, owing to an overload or short-circuit, very and R27, the potential drop across these resistors
high currents begin to flow through resistors R 25 will exceed the base-emitter threshold voltage of T 4
power transistors giving up the ghost in such
circumstances, an electronic short-circuit protection
circuit, based on T4 and T5, has been provided.

Fig. 2. The power supply is straightforward, but can handle a large current. Voltage ‘AC’ serves as
drive for the power-on delay circuit.

Fig. 3. This close-up photograph shows clearly how the transistors are fitted to the heat sink via a
rectangular bracket. ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1995
 PA300 POWER AMPLIFIER 3
and T5. These transistors then conduct and short- D13 goes out) and the loudspeakers are connected to the
as follows. The output voltage is applied to T 10 and T11
circuit or reduce drive signal at their bases. The output. When the mains is switched off, the relay is via potential divider R32-R34. Alternating voltages
output current then drops to zero. deenergized instantly, whereupon the loudspeakers are short-circuited to ground by Cjg. However,
If a direct voltage appears at the output are disconnected so that any switch-off noise is not direct voltages greater than +1.7 V or more negative
terminals, or the temperature of the heat sink rises audible. than -4.8 V switch on Tjo or Tjj immediately. This
unduly, relay Rej removes the load from the output. The direct-voltage protection operates causes the +ve input of IC 2a to be pulled down,
The loudspeakers are also disconnected by the relay whereupon this comparator changes state, T 13 is cut
when the mains is switched on (power-on delay) to off, and the relay is deenergized. This state is again
prevent annoying clicks and plops. indicated by the lighting of D13.
The circuits that make all this possible consist Strictly speaking, temperature protection is not
of dual comparator IC2, transistors T10-T13, and necessary, but it offers that little bit extra security.
indicator diodes D13 and D14. They are powered by The temperature sensor is R39, a PTC (positive
the 15 V line provided by zener diode Djo and temperature coefficient) type, which is located on
resistor R42. the board in a position where it rests against the
The ‘AC’ terminal on the PCB is linked to one rectangular bracket. Owing to a rising temperature,
of the secondary outputs on the mains transformer. the value of R39 increases until the potential at the
As soon as the mains is switched on, an alternating -ve input of IC2a rises above the level at the +ve
voltage appears at that terminal, which is rectified input set by divider R45-R46, whereupon the output
by D12 and applied as a negative potential to T 12 via of IC2a goes low. This causes IC 2b to change state,
R50. The transistor will then be cut off, so that C 20 is whereupon T13 is cut off and the relay is
charged via R36 and R44. As long as charging takes deenergized. This time, the situation is indicated by
place, the inverting (+) input of comparator IC 2b is the lighting of D14. The circuit has been designed to
low w.r.t. the non-inverting (-) input. The output of operate when the temperature of the heat sink rises
IC2b is also low, so that T 13 is cut off and the relay is above 70 °C. Any relay clatter may be obviated by
not energized. This state is indicated by the lighting reducing the value of R48.
of D13. When C20 has been charged fully, the The terminal marked ‘CLIP’ on the PCB is
comparator changes state, the relay is energized connected to the output of IC 1 via R31. It serves to
(whereupon obtain an external overdrive indication, which may
be a simple combination of a comparator and LED.
Normally, this terminal is left open.

Power supply
As with most power amplifiers, the ±60

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1995

 4 AUDIO & HI-FI

V speaker leads and power lines are clearly marked on combined into a mono amplifier, or two each may
the board. Use the special flat AMP connectors for be built into a stereo amplifier unit. Our preference
power supply need not be regulated. Owing to the
relatively high power output, the supply needs a
fairly large mains transformer and corresponding
smoothing capacitors—see Fig. 2. Note that the
supply shown is for a mono amplifier; a stereo
outfit needs two supplies.
The transformer is a 625 VA type, and the
smoothing capacitors are 10 000 pF 100 V
electrolytic types. The bridge rectifier needs to be
mounted on a suitable heat sink or be mounted
directly on the bottom cover of the metal enclosure..
The transformer needs two secondary windings,
providing 42.5V each. The prototype used a toroidal
transformer with 2x40 V secondaries. The
secondary winding of this type of transformer is
easily extended: in the prototype 4 turns were added
and this gave secondaries of 2x42.5 V
The box ‘Mains power-on delay’ provides a
gradual build-up of the mains voltage, which in a
high-power amplifier is highly advisable. A suitable
design was published in 305Circuits (page 115).
The relay and associated drive circuit is in-
tended to be connected to terminal ‘AC’ on the
board, where it serves to power the power-on
circuit. If a slight degradation of the amplifier
performance is acceptable, this relay and circuit
may be omitted and the PCB terminal connected
directly to one of the transformer secondaries.

Construction
Building the amplifier is surprisingly simple. The
printed-circuit board in Fig. 4 is well laid out and
provides ample room. Populating the board is as
usual best started with the passive components, then
the electrolytic capacitors, fuses and relay. There are
no ‘difficult’ parts.
Circuits IC1 and IC2 are best mounted in
appropriate sockets.
Diodes D13 and D14 will, of course, have to be
fitted on the front panel of the enclosure and are
connected to the board by lengths of flexible circuit
wire.
Inductor L1 is a DIY component; i consists of
15 turns of 1 mm. dia. enamelled copper wire
around R29 (not too tight!).
Since most of the transistors are to be mounted
on and the same heat sink, they are all located at
one side of the board. However, they should first be
fitted on a rectangular bracket, which is secured to
the heat sink and the board—see Fig. 3. Note that
the heat sink shown in this photograph proved too
small when 4 Q loudspeakers were used. With 8 Q
speakers, it was just about all right, but with full
Fig. 4 a. Component layout of the printed-circuit board for the 300 W power amplifier.
drive over sustained periods, the temperature
protection circuits were actuated. If such situations this purpose: these have large-surface contacts that is for mono amplifiers, since these run the least risk
are likely to be encountered, forced cooling must be can handle large currents. The loudspeaker cable of earth loops and the difficulties associated with
used. should have a cross-sectional area of not less than those. It is advisable to make the ‘0’ of the supply
2
As already stated, temperature sensor R 39 should 2.5 mm . the centre of the earth connections of the
rest (with its flat surface) against the rectangular Finally electrolytic capacitors and the centre tap of the
bracket. On the board, terminals ‘A’ and ‘B’ transformer.
How the amplifier and power supply are assembled is The single earthing point on the supply and the
terminals to the left of R39 must be connected to ‘A’
largely a question of individual taste and board must be connected to the enclosure earth by a
and ‘B’ above IC2 with a twisted pair of lengths of
requirement. The two may be short, heavy-duty cable. This means that the input
insulated circuit wire as shown in Fig. 3.
socket must b
The points where to connect the loud

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1995

e

insulated type. This socket must be linked to the input on the board
via screened cable.
To test the amplifier, turn Pj fully anticlockwise and switch on the
mains. After the output relay has been energized, set the quiescent
current. This is done by connecting a multimeter (direct mV range)
across one of resistors R 25-R28 and adjusting Pj until the meter
reads 27 mV (which corresponds to a current of 100 mA through
each of the four power transistors). Leave the amplifier on for an
hour or so and then check the voltage again: adjust Pj as re

quired.
Test results
e technical data given on page0 0 were verified or obtained with a
power supply as shown in Fig. 2. They show that in spite (or
because?) of its simple design, the amplifier offers excellent
performance. The distortion figures are particularly good.
Measurements with the Audio Precision analyser are illustrated in
Fig. 5.
Figure 5a shows the total harmonic distortion (THD +N) over a
frequency range of
20 Hz to 20 kHz.with a bandwidth of 80 kHz and a power output of
150 W into 8 Q. Up to 1 kHz, the distortion is very low and then
increases, which is usual and caused by the inertia of the
semiconductors.
Figure 5b shows the distortion at 1 kHz as a function of the output
level at a bandwidth of 22 Hz to 22 kHz. The dashed curve refers to
a load of 4 Q and the solid curve to a load of 8 Q. The irregularities
between 10 W and 100 W are not caused by the amplifier but by
the limits of the measuring range of the analyser. From the clipping
points, the curves rise almost vertically.
Figure 5c shows the maximum for a distortion of 0.1%. The dashed
curve (4 Q load) is very close to the 300 W line. The small
reduction at low frequencies is caused by the imperfectness of the
electrolytic buffer capacitors in the power supply.
Figure 5d shows the Fourier analysis of a 1 kHz signal for a power
output of 1 W into 8 Q. The fundamental frequency is suppressed.
The 2nd and 3rd harmonics are down by 110 dB and 120 dB
respectively referred to the fundamental frequency. The THD+N
figure at this measurement was 0.0009%.

Parts list
Resistors:
R1 = 68 kQ R2 = 2.2 kQ R3, R9 = 22 kQ ^ ^, R23 = 1 kQ
R
5, R6, R10, R13 = 560 Q R7, R8, R42 = 3.3 kQ, 5
R R
^ 37 = 15 kQ
R15 = 150 Q
= 680 Q
= 180 Q
R
19 = 10 Q
R
21 ^, R47 = 27 kQ
= 56 Q
R25-R28 = 0.27 Q, 5 W R29 = 2.2 Q, 5 W R30 = 10 Q,
Fig. 4 b. Track layout of the printed-circuit board for the 300 W power amplifier. 5 W R31 = 10 kQ R32, R34 = 100 kQ R33 = 47 kQ R35
= 1.5 kQ R36 = 470 kQ
R = 3.3 kQ
49

9 = sensor Type KTY81-122

= 4.7 kQ
= 33 kQ Elektor GB2FFT AMP1(dBr) vs FREQ(Hz)
AUDIO PRECISION THDVSLVL THD+N(%) vs measured LEVEL(W)
= 1.5AUDIO
kQ, PRECISION
5 W PWR-BAND LEVEL(W) vs FREQ(Hz)
4 = 47 Q
= 1.40 kQ, 1%
R48 = 1 MQ R50 = 120 kQ P1 = 250 Q preset

pacitors:
C4, C8, C10, C11 = 100 nF
= 2.2 pF polypropylene, pitch 5 mm
= 1 nF
C18 = 47 pF 50 V bipolar, radial;
C9 = 33 pF 160 V polystyrene C12 = 47 pF 160 V polystyrene
a b

950092 - 16c
c d
 = 680 nF IC2 = LM393 given by telephone.
= 470 pF, 160 V, polystyrene
5, C16 = 150 nF Miscellaneous:
7 = 33 nF 1 = see text
= 470 nF Re1 = 16 A, 24 V 875 Q relay (e.g.
0 = 47 pF 25 V radial Siemens V23056-AO105-A101*)
miconductors: F1, F2 = glass fuse, 6.3 A, slow complete with PCB type holder Loudspeaker and
D2, D10 = zener, 15 V 1.5 W mains connectors for board mounting (AMP - see text)
D6, D12 = 1N4004 Mica washers for T1-T3, T6-T9, T14 and T15
D8 = BY254 Rectangular bracket e.g. SWP40, 20 cm long (Fischer 40x30x5**)
= 1N4148 Heat sink <0.4 K W-1 PCB Order no. 950092 Mains transformer, 2x42.5 V 625 VA (see
= 1N4002 text)
3, D14 = LED Fuse (power supply) 3.15 A, slow, I 2t> 400 Bridge rectifier 400 V, 35 A 4 off electrolytic
5, D16 = BAT85 capacitors, 10,000 pF 100 V
= MJE350 PCB Order No. 924055
= BD139 T3 = MJE340 T4 = BC546B [950092]
T5 = BC556B T6 = MJE15030 T7 = * ElectroValue 01784 33603 or 0161 432 4945
MJE15031 T8, T14 = MJ15003 T9, T15 ** Dau 01243 553 031; trade only, but information on your nearest dealer will b
= MJ15004 T10, T12 = BC337 T13 =
BC639

egrated circuits:
= NE5534
 NE/SA/SE5534/5534A
D, FE, N Packages
BALANCE/
MLANCE |T
COMPENSATION
INVERTING r-r- INRUT LL
NONINVERTING fTT INPUT Tj^
LŁ.
OUTPUT
*-E T1 COMPENSATION

TOP VIEW 950092-15b

eThe NE5534
The NE5534 is a good quality, versatile, low- noise
operational amplifier which is excellent value for money.
Compared with older types, it has better noise figures,
small signal performance, power bandwidth, and output
drive capability.
These characteristics make it ideally suited to high-end
audio applications. It is found even in the most expensive
CD players.
The adjacent simplified diagram gives an idea of the
internal structure of this versatile device. It consists of a
number of differential amplifiers that are set with the aid of
current sources and current mirrors. Well-designed com-
pensation circuits result in excellent linearity and very low
distortion.

The standard design gives an amplification of x3. The

frequency response can be optimized for various
Small-signal bandwidth
applications with the aid of an external capacitor. It may be 10 MHz
adjusted for a capacitive load, high slew rate, low Output voltage (at Ub = ± 18 V) 10 Vrms across 600
overshoot or for application as a unity amplifier. Input noise 4 nV Hz-1
5
DC voltage amplification
AC voltage amplification 6x103 at 10 kHz
Power bandwidth 200 kHz
Slew rate 13 V ps-1
Supply voltage range ±3 V to ±20 V
Some technical data