PowerDrive S
A Bright Idea from NAD’s Director of Advanced
Development, Bjorn Erik Edvardsen
Performance, Value, Simplicity given maximum output stage dissipation. The light bulbs have very
NAD challenged NAD’s Director of Advanced Development to low resistance (<1 Ohm) when cold so drop very little voltage on
develop a less expensive amplifier that did not compromise NAD’s short peaks. At 7 V, after a few hundred milliseconds, the resis-
renowned audio performance in any way. The C316BEE is the result tance rises to an ideal 4 Ohms.
of this challenge and it features a new simplified variant of NAD’s
very successful PowerDrive technology. Dynamic Power Performance
As NADophiles know, the key benefits of PowerDrive are high levels For short peaks of 5 milliseconds, the C 316BEE V2’s undistorted
of dynamic power combined with very low distortion when driving peak power is > 110W into 8 Ohms, 190W into 4 Ohms and 270W
difficult low impedance loads. This simplified version of PowerDrive into 2 Ohms. This is from an amplifier rated for 40W Continuous
technology aims to maximize the available dynamic power while Power into 8 Ohms! This gain in usable dynamic power on music
minimizing cost. This breakthrough allows for unprecedented power is very nearly equivalent to a conventional amplifier rated at 80W
and performance in the “budget amp” category. Continuous Power at 8 Ohms!
Historical Precedent The chart below shows C 316BEE V2 IHF Dynamic Power (20 ms) with and
This principle was first used in an earlier generation NAD amplifiers, without PowerDrive S.
the 3225 PE (and others in the series) and consists of providing two
different supply voltages to the output stage, roughly in the propor-
tion 1.4:1. In the case of the C 316BEE V2 both supplies are fed from IHF DYNAMIC WITH POWER- WITHOUT
a low resistance150VA toroidal transformer but the higher voltage POWER DRIVES
winding has PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) resistances in
series. In the early generation “simple PE” amps, we used polymeric 8 Ohms 90W 60W
positive temperature coefficient thermistors, but these had some
undesirable characteristics and were expensive, pushing us further 4 Ohms 120W 85W
away from the budget sector.
2 Ohms 170W 120W
A Light Switched On
Amazingly, modern long life quartz light bulbs fit the bill more ideal-
ly. What we aim for in this design is to maximize available dynamic
power (10-100ms bursts) according to a typical music envelope for a
www.nadelectronics.com
Reliability no measurable distortion from supply modulation. Further-
We all know that light bulbs don’t last forever but we obviously consider more, the idling current is extremely tightly stabilised so kept
reliability to be a very major consideration for our customers. The light constant with temperature and supply voltage changes. This
bulbs are rated for 5,000 hours. But in the C 316BEE V2 circuit the light eliminates the major limiting factor for Class AB amplifiers:
bulbs are used at a maximum of 60% of rated voltage (35% of rated transient crossover-over distortion.
power) and that is only reached on sine wave testing, or in music on
sustained high-level notes, and even then at a low overall duty-cycle. Conclusion
Under these conditions the life conservatively extends to 15,000 hours. Over fourty years ago, NAD’s 3020 amplifier redefined perfor-
Thus if played at high volume levels for 3 hours a day every day of the mance and value, and did so by keeping things simple and to
week it would take 14+ years before replacement is required. In the the point. As time progressed subsequent generations of NAD
unlikely event of a bulb failure, the amplifier will still give 30W in 8 amplifiers continued to raise the ante on the competition using
Ohms and 40W in 4 Ohms – or in other words, perform like an ordinary technological innovation to continually improve the really
amplifier of its size and price. Replacement of the bulbs is simple and important aspects of amplifier performance. PowerDrive S is
the part is commonly available for a few dollars. one more step ahead for music lovers with a budget.
S is for Simplicity The chart below compares key performance characteristics of the
NAD’s highly regarded PowerDrive circuitry, as used in the more expen- 3020 and the C 316BEE V2.
sive NAD amplifiers, has a highly sophisticated impedance sensing and
thyristor switching of the high voltage supply. This adds cost equivalent
to a whole price point in retail terms (although it is still a performance NAD C 316BEE NAD 3020
bargain). V2 (1978)
(2018)
The chart below compares the parts required for PowerDrive S and PowerDrive
circuits.
Output power, 8 ohms, 40W 20W
C316BEE POWERDRIVE S C326BEE POWERDRIVE 20-20k
Halogen Lamps X 2 OP Amps X 2 Clipping power (0.1% 45W 28W
THD)
Thyristors X 4
Dynamic Power (20ms) 90W/120W/170W 40W/58W/72W
Current Sense Resistors X 4 8/4/2
Transistors X 10 THD and IMD 20- <0.01% <0.02%
20/8ohms
Resistors X 20
Peak current 1 ohm +26A/-26A +15A/-10A
Capacitors X 6
S/N IHF re 1W -95dB -80dB
Price (corrected for US$379.00 US$427.71
Supply Rejection inflation) ($113.99 in 1978)
Typically, using such a “soft” supply in an amplifier is very demanding on
its ability to reject interference and distortion by power supply modu-
lation and back EMF from the loudspeaker. As was the case with the
3020, careful engineering results in a supply rejection ratio that is very
high (>75dB) across the audible frequency range ensuring tight bass and
NAD Electronics International reserves the right to change specifications or features without notice. NAD is a registered trademark of NAD Electronics International.
NAD Electronics International reserves the right to change specifications or features without notice. NAD is a registered trademark of NAD Electronics International.
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