Amplifier Classes

There are already many articles on the Net that cover this topic, some quite
well (but often without enough information), some badly and some that are
largely wrong. It's usually not the descriptions that are incorrect, but the
comments about alleged sound quality. For example, some Class-A amplifiers
are very good indeed, but others are terrible. It's not only the class of
operation that makes an amplifier good, bad or indifferent, but how the
circuit is designed and how much effort has gone into minimising problems.
Many 'boutique' amplifier makers will make outlandish claims for their chosen
topology, but advertising hype is not fact and should be ignored.
Many Class-AB amplifiers are far better than the vast majority of Class-A
amps, despite being far more efficient and lacking the gravitas of being called
'Class-A'. There are also some obscure classes, some of which are not defined,
and others are useable only with (some) radio frequency signals. There are
others where there is no 'official' definition, so there is often confusion
about whether an amplifier is one or the other (Class-G and Class-H are the
main examples of this).
Amplifier classes that are used exclusively with radio frequencies will not be
covered here, only classes that are directly related to audio.
While Class-C is generally thought to be purely an RF technique, it was (at
least technically, and if taken to the extreme of normal definitions) used by
Quad in their 'current dumping' amplifiers. Output transistor conduction
was not quite 180 as required for Class-B. The difference is really academic,
so the output stage can just as easily be called Class-B because the conduction
angle really is very close to the full 180 for each device in normal operation.
Close analysis of the Quad system shows that it largely behaves like a more
'traditional' amplifier, but with unexpectedly low distortion - especially
considering the relatively poor power transistors available at the time.
All classes of amplifier (except Class-D) can be made using bipolar transistors,
MOSFETs or valves (vacuum tubes). If used in a linear circuit, MOSFETs
should be 'lateral' types which have lower gain but are more linear than
'vertical' MOSFETs (the most common types are generally known as

'HEXFETs' because of their internal structure). These types are designed for
switching applications, and even the manufacturers don't recommend them for
linear use. HEXFETs and other switching types are not linear. Although
it's possible to make linear amplifiers using HEXFETs, careful device matching
is needed and there are some interesting traps that await the unwary.
Naturally, vertical MOSFETs are ideally suited to Class-D amplifiers, where
they are used exclusively.
Amplifiers can also be hybrids, meaning that they use a combination of valves,
transistors and/or MOSFETs. When we talk of hybrid amplifiers, it is usually
taken to mean a combination of valves and semiconductors. Hybrid amps can be
any class, but are most commonly either Class-A or Class-AB. While there's no
real reason that a valve front end can't be used with a Class-D amp, that is a
rather unlikely combination and serves no useful purpose. There are many
combinations that serve no useful purpose, but that hasn't stopped
advertising people from extolling their (alleged) virtues.
In amplifiers where negative feedback is not used to provide correction and
increase linearity, the distortion produced will affect the sound. Harmonic and
intermodulation distortion products are created that can seriously reduce an
amplifier's performance. This applies regardless of the amplifying device,
class of operation or topology. Despite claims by some, negative feedback is
not evil, and properly applied in a competently designed amplifier using any of
the available devices (valve, transistor or MOSFET) it will almost always
improve sound quality overall. Very few amplifiers with no negative feedback
will qualify as hi-fi. There are exceptions, but the additional complexity is
such that there is little or no overall benefit.
Summary
Class-A - Output device(s) conduct for complete audio cycle (360)
Class-B - Output devices conduct for 180 of input cycle
Class-AB - Output devices conduct for more than 180 but less than 360 of
input cycle
Class-C - Output device(s) conduct for less than 180 of input cycle (RF only)
Class-E, F - Sub-classes of Class-C, RF only

Class-D - Output devices switch at high frequency and use PWM (pulse-width
modulation) techniques (Note that Class-D does NOT mean 'digital'
Class-G - Make use of switched power rails, with amplifiers typically having
multiple power supply rails
Class-H - Use modulated power rails, where the supply voltage is maintained
at a voltage slightly greater than required for the power delivered
Class-I - A proprietary variant of Class-D (it appears that this is not
officially recognised)
Class-T - Another proprietary amp class, and also a variant of Class-D (this is
also not officially recognised)
BTL - Bridge-Tied-Load. Not a class of operation, but sometimes thought to
be. Can be applied to any class amplifier
The above is a very basic summary of the different amplifier classes, and all
(non RF related) classes are covered below. Note that Classes G and H suffer
from great confusion, with the terms regularly used interchangeably. They are
quite different techniques, and should be treated as such. No-one appears to
have made any effort to categorise them, despite their popularity - especially
for high power public address (sound reinforcement) applications.

Class-A
The term 'Class-A' means that the amplifying device (transistor, MOSFET or
valve) conducts for the complete audio cycle (360). It does not turn off at
any output voltage or current below clipping, where the output voltage would
otherwise exceed the supply voltage. Since it is not possible for a device to
remain linear if the amplifying device is turned off or fully conducting, the
output level must be low enough to ensure that neither extreme is reached. In

the case of amplifiers that use an output transformer or inductor, the upper
limit is actually double the supply voltage, as the inductive element adds an
extra voltage that would otherwise not be available. Note that biasing
circuitry is not shown in the drawing below. DC flowing in the inductor or
transformer winding causes additional problems, and they are related to some
of the issues faced by single-ended designs.
By definition, all single ended audio amplifiers are Class-A. They may use
inductors, transformers, resistors, active current sources, the loudspeaker
itself (bad idea) or even a light bulb as the current source. With all Class-A
amplifiers, the amplifying device current must be slightly greater than the
peak output current. For example, if the load (loudspeaker) can draw up to 4
amps, the amplifying device requires a quiescent (no signal) current of slightly
more than 4A. Where the loudspeaker is used as the 'current source' output
power will be limited to a few milliwatts because DC flows in the voicecoil.

Figure 1 - Single-Ended Inductor And Transformer Output Stages

Note that in the two examples shown, the voltage across the amplifying device
approaches double the supply voltage. While this might seem unlikely, it is
quite normal and is due to the stored energy in the inductor/ transformer.
This is added to and released under the control of the transistor or valve. The
DC current flow through the inductive element must be at least as great as
the peak current demanded by the loudspeaker load (but reduced due to
transformer action for the valve example).

Without feedback, both transformer and inductor output Class-A amps tend
to have a higher than normal output impedance, and this may also apply to
other designs where feedback has been eliminated or minimised. Where
transformers or inductors are used, the amount of feedback that can be used
is usually quite modest due to high frequency phase shift in the inductive
component. Increased output impedance causes colouration in most speakers,
especially an increase in apparent bass and extreme treble. This is not because
of Class-A, it happens with any amplifier of any class if the output impedance
is greater than (close to) zero. Most amplifiers are designed to have an output
impedance of less than 100m (0.1 ohm), but 'low' and 'zero' feedback
designs can have an output impedance of up to several ohms. Speaker systems
are invariably designed to suit amplifiers with very low output impedance.
Amplifiers can be single-ended as shown above, or push-pull. Single-ended
valve Class-A is popular in some circles as the so-called SET (single-ended
triode) amp as shown in Figure 1. Despite being Class-A, these amplifiers
generally have low power (as expected) and often very high distortion. This
distortion (both simple harmonic and intermodulation) is due to the basic nonlinearity of all valves, and is also partly due to the output transformer. Pushpull operation improves matters, and is described in more detail below.
There are also single-ended transistor (or MOSFET) amplifiers. Those having
an inductor load used to be common in early transistorised car radios (almost
always using a PNP germanium transistor), but are very uncommon today.
Examples of more conventional single ended amps (by today's standards) are
the Zen (by Nelson Pass) and the 'Death of Zen' (DoZ) described on the ESP
website. These amplifiers are very inefficient, typically managing a best case
of 25% (meaning that 75% of all power supplied to the amp is dissipated as
heat).
Push-pull Class-A amplifiers use two amplifying devices, and as one conducts
more, the other conducts less (and vice versa of course). At no time does
either transistor or valve turn completely off, nor do they saturate (turn fully
on). By definition, they must conduct (hopefully but rarely linearly) for the full
360 of each and every cycle of audio they amplify. Efficiency is still poor, but
distortion is reduced dramatically because the devices are complementary, and
second harmonic distortion in particular is cancelled. In fact, all even-order

harmonics are cancelled, leaving only relatively low levels of odd-order

harmonics. There is no fundamental difference between push-pull amplifiers
of any class, other than the bias current. For Class-A, the current through the
amplifying devices never falls to zero at any point during the signal waveform,
or at any power level.
While it is often claimed that Class-A distortion levels are always lower than
Class-AB amplifiers, this is not necessarily the case. A well designed Class-AB
amp can often achieve lower distortion and better frequency response overall
than many Class-A designs - especially those claiming 'low' or 'no' feedback.
Despite claims to the contrary, there is no intrinsic improvement in sound
quality from Class-A in any form. Perceived differences are often due to
output impedance or perhaps the listener preferring the 'wall of sound'
created by higher than normal distortion. There are countless claims that
Class-A sounds 'better' than other classes, but this is not necessarily true.
Prior to the widespread use of opamps in small-signal applications, low-level
stages were always Class-A, and that remains the case for valve preamp
designs. Very low distortion is possible in well designed circuits, but as with
power amplifiers there is no 'magic'. It's not commonly accepted, but in
general any two preamplifiers of equivalent performance (with equally low
distortion and noise, and having the same bandwidth) will sound the same,
regardless of the technology used - but only if tested using proper double-

blind techniques.

Figure 2 - Power Device Operating Current And Typical Device Gain Vs.
Current
In the above (left graph), it is obvious that the current never falls to zero,
but it is very important to understand that it is not constant. Because the
current varies (from 56mA up to 4.7A), so does the gain of the amplifying
device, also shown (right). Valves and transistors are capable of very linear
output if the current remains constant, but their gain always varies with
current, and this leads to distortion. The gain vs. current graph is taken from
the datasheet for a 2N3055, but nearly all devices have the same issue. Note
that the typical gain of the 2N3055 varies from over 100 at 200mA down to
less than 30 at 5A. There are some bipolar transistors that have remarkably
flat gain vs. current graphs, and these give higher performance (and lower
distortion) over their operating range, but very few have useful gain at only a
few milliamps. Note that most valves have far worse behaviour in this respect
- claims that they are "inherently linear" are unfounded.
It might not look like it, but the waveform shown in Figure 2 has over
7% THD. The second harmonic is dominant, but the third isn't far behind. As
always, there is a full spectrum of harmonics that diminish smoothly with
increasing frequency.
Class-B
In reality, there are very, very few 'true' Class-B amplifiers. The term 'ClassB' dictates that each amplifying device conducts for exactly 180 of the signal

waveform, which implies that they will not conduct at all if there is no signal.
While this can certainly be done, the penalty is distortion, which will always be
worst at low levels. The above graph showing the gain of a 2N3055
demonstrates that it falls with decreasing current. What is not shown is that
at very low current (a few milliamps) the gain falls to almost nothing. While
some power devices are a little better, it is unrealistic to expect that any
device capable of 100-200W dissipation will have acceptable gain at perhaps
20mA. This applies to all known amplifying devices - including valves.
Low gain at low current means that there must be a region of low overall gain
through the amplifier, and that means that negative feedback cannot remove
the distortion because the amplifiers open loop gain is very low and little
feedback is actually available. The result is what is commonly known as
'crossover' distortion, because it occurs as the signal crosses from one output
device to the other.

Figure 3 - Crossover Distortion With Class-B Amplifier

In the above, the crossover distortion around the zero volt point has been
deliberately exaggerated so it's easy to see. In reality it can be quite subtle,
but is almost always audible, even if a distortion meter shows that overall
distortion is quite low. The total harmonic distortion of the amplifier I used to
simulate the above was about 1.4% at full power(120W), but because of the
nature of the distortion it would be judged (quite rightly) as "bloody awful" by

any passably competent listener. True Class-B is virtually impossible with

valves, because their gain is too low at very low current. Almost without
exception, valve amps are Class-AB - even if described as Class-B.
Because Class-B is not generally considered to be a viable option, it will not be
discussed further. However, it should be obvious that Class-B can only be used
with a push-pull topology.
Class-AB
To eliminate the objectionable crossover distortion, almost all amplifiers
(whether valve or 'solid state') use Class-AB. A small quiescent current flows
in the output devices when there is no signal, and ensures that the output
devices always have some overlap, where both conduct part of the signal. Some
manufacturers claim that their amp operates as Class-A up to some specified
power, and this can certainly be true. However, most amplifiers only operate
at very modest quiescent (no signal) current, often as low as 20mA. For an 8
ohm load, that equates to a couple of milliwatts of 'Class-A operation' - hardly
worth getting excited about.
It's worth mentioning that with valve amplifiers, there are two subcategories, Class-AB and Class-AB. It's generally accepted that Class-AB
means that output valve control grid current does not flow at any time, and
with Class-AB there is some grid current - typically only at maximum output.
This means that the control grid becomes positive with respect to the
cathode. As with Class-B, push-pull operation is a requirement for Class-AB,
which cannot work linearly in any other mode.

Figure 4 - Basic Push-Pull Output Stages

The above stages are highly simplified, but are equally suited to Class-A,
Class-B or Class-AB. The only difference between the operating mode is the
quiescent current (Iq), which can vary from zero (Class-B) up to 50% of the
maximum peak speaker current (Class-A). A valve output stage requires each
device to be driven with the opposite polarity, so as one device is turned on
the other is turned off. Valves have no complement (opposite polarity device),
so they require that each is driven with an opposite polarity signal. The
current through each valve must be the same to prevent a net DC from flowing
in the transformer windings because that will cause premature core
saturation. With the transistor stage, a single polarity signal is used because
the transistors themselves are complementary (NPN and PNP), so as one turns
on the other automatically turns off.
Transistors (or MOSFETs) can also be used with a transformer output in the
same way as the valves shown, but this is very uncommon today. It may still be
used for some specialised applications, but is a far from a mainstream
technology. Several early transistorised power amps did use output
transformers.
In all cases, and regardless of the class of operation (other than Class-B), the
quiescent current must be carefully controlled to account for temperature
variations. The bias control networks shown need to be adjustable in most
cases, and additional measures taken to prevent a phenomenon called 'thermal
runaway'. This happens when the transistors get hot, and draw more current

than they should. This causes them to get hotter still, so they draw even more
current and get even hotter ... until the output stage fails. Thermal runaway is
also possible (but uncommon) with valve stages, especially if the control grid
bias resistors (not shown) are a higher value than recommended.

Figure 5 - Idealised Current In Output Devices for Class-AB

The above is typical of the current measured through each output transistor
for Class-AB operation. We see the transistor current vary between zero up
to the full output for one cycle, then do the same in the other transistor for
the second. Each transistor is turned on for very slightly more than half the
waveform, and the load is shared between them. The upper part of the
current waveform is provided by the NPN transistor (see Figure 4), and the
negative part is provided by the PNP transistor. Any discontinuity as the signal
is passed from one device to the other shows up as crossover distortion, so
the bias current (Iq) must be high enough to avoid problems, but not so high
that it reduces efficiency or causes excessive heat.
It's only at very low levels that we can see that there is a small area where
the amplifier operates in Class-A. As noted above, this is typically only a few
milliwatts. The current through the output devices still varies, but over a
limited range. In a valve stage the same thing happens, but there's a larger
area of 'overlap' where they operate in Class-A. This is not because valves are
'better' - in fact it's because they are far less linear than transistors and
need more Class-A area or distortion will be intolerable.
Class-D

First and foremost, Class-D does not mean digital. There are several Class-D
amplifiers that accept a digital input (S/PDIF for example), but the class
designation was simply the next in line after A, B and C. The first commercial
Class-D audio amplifier was produced by Sinclair Radionics Ltd. in the UK in
the 1964, but it was a failure at that time because of radio frequency
interference and the lack of switching devices that were fast enough to work
properly. This was before high-speed switching MOSFETs were available, and
bipolar transistors of the time were far too slow. Although the MOSFET was
invented in 1962, it took some time before they were commercially available
and HEXFETs didn't arrive until 1978. The earliest reference I found to
something resembling Class-D was the subject of US Patent 2,821,639 in
1954, but that was a servo system for motor control and was far too slow for
audio. There was also a patent taken out in 1967 for what is claimed to be a
Class-D amplifier [4], and many others followed.
For more info and a detailed description of Class-D amplifiers, see the ESP
article Class-D that has far more detail than can be included here.
The unfiltered output of a Class-D amp superficially resembles a digital (onoff) signal, but it is purely analogue, and requires high speed analogue design
techniques to get a design that works well. It's as far from traditional TTL or
CMOS logic ICs as a valve amp design! The output of a Class-D amplifier must
be filtered (using an inductor and capacitor) to remove the high switching
frequency from the speaker leads and (hopefully) eliminate RF interference.
Many Class-D amplifier ICs operate in 'full bridge' mode, and neither speaker
lead may be earthed. See bridge tied load below for a description.
Class-D amplifiers utilise PWM (pulse width modulation), with a perfect
squarewave

(exactly

50%

duty

cycle)

representing

zero

output.

representation of the creation of a PWM signal is shown below. A comparator

(literally an IC that compares two signals) is used, with one input fed by the
desired signal, and the other fed with a high frequency triangle waveform. If
the blue trace shown is filtered using a low-pass filter, the original sinewave
will be restored.

Figure 6 - Generation Of PWM Waveform For Class-D amplifier

Notice that for a correct representation of the signal, the frequency of the
PWM reference waveform must be much higher than that of the maximum
input frequency - usually taken to be 20kHz. Following the Nyquist theorem,
we need at least twice that frequency, but low distortion designs use higher
factors (typically 5 to 30 - 100kHz to 600kHz). The PWM signal must then
drive power conversion circuitry so that a high-power PWM signal is produced,
switching from the +ve to -ve supply rails (assuming a half-bridge topology).
The spectrum of a PWM signal has a low frequency component that is an
amplified copy of the input signal, but also contains components at the
switching frequency and its harmonics that must be removed in order to
reconstruct the original modulating signal. A high power low-pass filter is
necessary to achieve this. Usually, a passive LC filter is used, because it is
(almost) lossless and it has little or no dissipation. Although there must always
be some losses, in practice these are usually minimal.
Class-D and its derivatives are the most efficient of all amplifier technologies.
Early efforts had limited frequency response because very fast switching
wasn't easy to achieve. The availability of dedicated PWM converters and
MOSFET driver ICs has seen a big increase in the number of products
available, ranging from a few watts up to several kilowatts output.

As with all types of amplifier, there are many claims made about Class-D amps.
Descriptions range from "like a tube (valve) amp", to "hard and lifeless" and
almost anything you can think of in between. Some claim they have wonderful
bass while others complain that the bass is lacking, flat, flabby, etc., etc. Very
few of these comparisons have been conducted properly (double blind) and
most can be discounted as biased or simply apocryphal.
I have tested and listened to quite a few Class-D amps (as well as 'Class-T' see below), and most that I've tried are at least acceptable - bass
performance in even the cheapest implementations is usually very good indeed,
with some able to get to DC easily. There may be cases where the DC
resistance of the output filter inductor causes a lower than expected damping
factor, but this seems fairly unlikely for most of the better designs.
Some definitely have issues with the extreme top end - I can't hear above
15kHz any more, but I can measure it easily. The output filter has to be
designed with a particular impedance in mind, because this is necessary with
passive filters. As a result, if the loudspeaker impedance is different from
the design frequency above 10kHz, then the response of the filter can never
be flat. There is a trend towards using higher modulation frequencies than
ever before so the filter can be tuned to a higher frequency, but there will
still be some effect.

Figure 7 - Effect Of Output Filter At Different Impedances

All Class-D amplifiers need the output filter - it is essential to prevent radio
and TV interference. We know that a passive filter must be designed to suit a
particular impedance, but what is the ideal? The problem is that there isn't an
ideal, and loudspeaker makers make no attempt to standardise on a designated
impedance at (say) 20kHz. A nominal 8 ohm speaker may well be 16 ohms (or
more) at 20kHz, due to the semi-inductance of the tweeter's voicecoil.
In the above graph, you can see the effect of loading a filter with 3 different
impedances. Should a reviewer's (or customer's) speaker happen to be 16
ohms at 20kHz, then there will be a boost of 3dB at 20kHz with the filter
shown. The response isn't deliberately done that way to look bad - it's a
simple filter that's fairly typical of those used on commercial Class-D
amplifiers. Some listeners will report that the amplifier has 'sparkling' high
frequencies, and another will complain that it's 'harsh' and/ or 'ear piercing'.
It's neither, it's simply a matter of an impedance mismatch. Some Class-D
amps use a Zobel network at the output in an attempt to provide a predictable
load impedance at 20kHz and above.
In the past we have never had to worry about impedance. The amp has a very
low impedance, speakers have a variable impedance that has a nominal quoted
value, and no more needed to be said. Class-D has changed that, but no-one is
taking notice. If speaker makers were to add a network that ensured a
specific and standardised impedance at 20kHz and above, many of the
disparaging claims about Class-D amps would just go away. Don't hold your
breath.
Class-G
This type of amplifier is now very common for high-power amplifiers used in
sound reinforcement applications. The amps are often very powerful (2kW or
more in some cases), but are more efficient than Class-AB. At low power, a
Class-G amp operates from relatively low voltage supply rails, minimising
output transistor dissipation. When required, the supply rails are either
switched to a higher voltage or a second set of transistors is used to provide
additional voltage for the output devices. See the ESP article that
describes Class-G amplifiers in detail for more information.

While supply rail switching and making use of one or more separate supply rails
for each polarity does increase output stage dissipation at the transition
voltage (often quite dramatically), the theory is that it will only happen
occasionally. Class-G amplifiers may have from 4 to 8 power supply rails (half
used for the positive side and half for the negative). Four rails are quite
common, and might provide 55V and 110V to the power amplifier as shown
below.

Figure 8 - Switched Power Supply Class-G Amplifier Voltages

In the above, you can see that the supplies are switched to a higher voltage if
the output signal exceeds the lower supply rails (55V in this example).
Because the output transistors are only subjected to a relatively low voltage
for much of the time, and receive the full voltage only if needed. This reduces
the average power dissipation, and increases overall efficiency. Lower
dissipation means that the heatsinks and transformer can be smaller than for
a Class-AB design.
There may be situations where the output signal is fairly constant (highly
compressed audio for example), and just above the switching threshold. In
this case, the amplifier can conceivably dissipate a great deal of power, but it
seems that it's not a major problem because thousands are sold and failure
reports are fairly uncommon. Class-G is reasonably easy to implement (far less
complex than Class-D, but much more complex than Class-AB), and because of
the increased efficiency, the heatsinks and power transformers needed are

somewhat smaller than one might expect for an amp of the quoted power
rating.
There are concerns (raised all over the Net) that there will be switching
noises as the supplementary supply rails are switched in and out of circuit, but
there is no evidence that this is audible with programme material in any
competent commercial products. While some noise may be audible (or at least
measurable) with sinewave testing, it's doubtful that it will cause any
identifiable distortion with speech or music. This is largely because the
supplementary supplies are not switched in until the output power is already
quite high, and any effects will be insignificant compared to the sound level of
the signal. This isn't something I've had the opportunity to test, but major
manufacturers would have many complaints if their amps made 'untoward'
noises where otherwise equivalent amps did not.
Class-H
The line between Class-G and Class-H becomes more blurred as more articles
are published and more designs are produced. The original Class-H amplifier
(which was referred to as Class-G at the time) used a large capacitor that was
charged and then switched into the circuit when needed to generate a higher
supply voltage to handle transients. Other variants use an external modulated
power supply (usually switchmode) that provides a voltage that is just
sufficient to avoid clipping.
Some external supplies are 'tracking', which is to say that they use the audio
signal to modulate the supply voltage in 'real time', so it follows the audio
signal closely. The amplifier stage itself is linear - usually Class-AB. The power
supply modulation principle is almost identical to a Class-D amplifier, but there
are two - one for each supply voltage polarity. This technique is shown below.
The quiescent supply voltage is only 12V, but can increase up to 110V as
needed by the output signal.

Figure 9 - Tracking Power Supply Class-H Amplifier Voltages

Does the above qualify as Class-H or is it Class-G? According to my
classification system it's Class-H, but if you prefer to think of it as Class-G
then be my guest. Either way, this is a very complex scheme to implement, but
can provide the 'sound quality' of Class-AB and close to the efficiency of
Class-D. Most tracking supplies are deliberately slow, so they track the
audio envelope rather than individual cycles. This reduces efficiency but
makes the supply far easier to implement.
One of the first amps that could be classified as Class-H was the Carver (socalled) 'magnetic field amplifier'. This used switching in the AC mains supply
to vary the voltage to the main power transformer. The design was let down by
the use of a transformer and heatsinks that were too small, so sustained high
power could cause the 'magic smoke' to escape and the amp wouldn't work any
more.
It is commonly accepted by technicians and engineers that all electronic
devices rely on 'magic smoke' held within their encapsulation. Should anything
allow this smoke to escape, it means that the device could no longer function.
Yes, this is facetious, but the principle is sound.
Because the lines that separate Class-G from Class-H are so blurred (they are
really non-existent), it's probably fine to use either term for either type of
amplifier. However, it would be nice if some convention was applied so we
would know exactly what technology is used in any given amp. My preference is

to classify Class-H as any design where the power supply voltage

is externally modulated, such as with a tracking switchmode power supply.
There is little or no agreement anywhere as to the true distinction between
them though, so it's really a moot point. Feel free to consider them
differently from my description, or consider them to be the same thing with
different names.
Class-I (aka BCA)
Proprietary to Crown Audio, the BCA (balanced current amplifier) is a
patented form of Class-D [2]. It uses a BTL (bridge-tied load) output stage,
with two PWM signals in anti-phase. With zero signal, the two switching
outputs cancel, and each is modulated so that one part of the switching circuit
handles the positive portion of the signal, and the other handles the negative
portion (allegedly!). It's claimed that the output switching signals are
'interleaved', hence Class-I.
It has also been claimed that little or no output filtering is used or needed,
but that seems rather unlikely because of RF interference problems. Great
and glowing (but largely unsubstantiated) claims are made as to how it is
superior to 'ordinary' Class-D amplifiers, but the documentation is sparse and
quite unhelpful from a technical standpoint.
Intriguingly, there is also a Class-I amplifier described in a Chinese publication
[3] that is completely different from that used by Crown. It's a Class-AB
amplifier with an 'adaptive' power supply, which really makes it Class-H
(although that depends on the description of Class-H that you might think is
the least inappropriate).
Class-T
Subject of patents, registered trade mark and much hoo-hah, Class-T is
simply a slightly different form of Class-D, and still qualifies as Class-D,
regardless of alternate claims. TriPath was the original maker of Class-T
amplifiers and dedicated single ICs that usually only needed a few external
passive components. Despite all the claimed benefits and a fairly wide
customer base, TriPath filed for bankruptcy and was bought by Cirrus Logic in
2007. Where Class-T differs from 'classic' Class-D as described above is that

the modulation technique does not use a comparator, and the switching
frequency is dependent on the amplitude of the signal. As the amp approaches
clipping, the frequency falls. It is claimed to be 'different' from other
modulators, but there doesn't appear to be much evidence that the difference
is significant - despite claims to the contrary. The modulation scheme is
sometimes described as Sigma-Delta (-).
Class-T and several other Class-D amplifier makers share similar modulation
methods, which at it's simplest simply means adding positive feedback around
an amplifier so it oscillates at between 200kHz and 600kHz or so. Naturally, if
you were to apply positive feedback to a conventional Class-AB amplifier, it
would fail very quickly. The output devices are not nearly fast enough and the
remainder of the circuit is not optimised for switching. This means that the
actual circuitry is quite different from a conventional amp, but the principle is
the same.
When an amplifier is made to oscillate to 'full power' with no input signal,
when the signal is applied the duty cycle of the switching waveform will
change. As it changes, the amplifier produces PWM by itself, without the need
for a triangle waveform generator or signal comparator. A great many claims
are made - especially by the now defunct TriPath and devotees - that this
method is supposedly much better than all fixed frequency switching, and
glowing reports of sound quality can be found all over the Net.
Overall, I doubt that there is really much real difference between a decent
'traditional' Class-D amp and a Class-T, and most of the comments about high
frequency 'sweetness' (for example) are simply the result of the output filter
interacting with the loudspeaker load. As always, unless comparisons are made
using double-blind methodology and are statistically significant, then the
'results' have no value and are meaningless.
BTL - Bridge-Tied-Load
This is not a class of amplifier, but a method of using two amplifiers (of any
class) to effectively double the available supply voltage. Almost all automotive
sound systems use BTL amplifiers in the head unit, and each amplifier can
deliver around 18W into 4 ohms from a nominal 12V supply. A single amplifier is

only capable of a little over 4W under the same conditions. The only reason
that BTL is included here is to dispel the myth that it's a class of operation.
Many commercial amplifiers use the BTL connection as normal, while others
(particularly professional equipment) offer BTL as a switchable option to get
the maximum possible power (often far more than any known loudspeaker can
actually handle without eventual (or even immediate) failure. A basic diagram
of a BTL amplifier is shown below, in this case it's a pair of the same amps
that were shown in Figure 1 - Class-A inductor load. I used this amplifier
because it's the most unlikely - solely to prove a point.

Figure 10 - BTL Connection Based On Class-A Amplifiers

As already explained, using an inductor give you a voltage swing of almost
double the supply voltage. The peak-to-peak voltage from each amp is 56V
(19.8V RMS), but when connected in bridge the output is 39.6V RMS. Power
into an 8 ohm load is 196W, but each amplifier sees an equivalent load
impedance of half the speaker impedance. If the individual amps are only
rated for 8 ohm loads, then the speaker must be 16 ohms and power will be
98W.
The main thing to remember here is that BTL is not an amplifier class, it can
be used with any class of amp.