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Power Amplifier MJ15003/MJ15004 c200


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The c200 is the result of numerous diyers' request for a basic discrete power amplifier. As
such, this amplifier is specially designed to meet the following: fairly high power output. easy
to construct. use common components. no oscillations. have current limit protection. above
average hifi performance. bridgeable for HT subs. rugged enough for party use. Power
Output Output of the c200 into 8 ohms before clip is 125 Watts. When loaded to 4 ohms, the
output is increased to 200 Watts. With 2 channels operating in bridged mode, power output
is a respectable 400 watts into 8 ohms. Output Transistors For easy procurement, very
common transistors have been chosen for the c200. The power transistors comprise of 4
pieces of MJ15003 and MJ15004. Though "slow" (fT=2MHz) by today's standards, these
transistors are easily available, reasonably priced, has sufficient power rating and the
necessary SOA for audio. For those who prefer to use 2N3055 and MJ2955, the c70 model,
with 70 Watts/RMS output is available. Vas & Drivers TIP29C/30C are used for these stages.
Though equally slow (fT=3MHz), they are chosen based on availability and cost. Input
Differential 2N5551 is used for input. Again, this is a common part number with properties
suitable for audio.
THD Testing

Before we proceed with power testing, substitute the dummy load with a 200 watts, 8 ohms
resistor. With the probes of the THD analyzer connected across the load, spot frequencies of
200Hz, 1KHz, 10KHz and 20KHz are used to test the amplifier's THD at 1Watt, 60Watts and
it's rated output of 125Watts. You should be able to record similar readings as in Fig 5. It is
recommended that the power heatsink and dummy load be suitably cooled to avoid
overheating. For 4 ohms testing, replace load with a 400 watts resistor.

Fig 5 - THD + N
Note that as you gradually increase the output to maximum level, the output waveform
should not exhibit any signs of distortion until clip.

The Power Supply Unit (PSU)

The PSU (Fig 9) is a conventional, unregulated supply. Input fuse F1 is for safety. Mains
switch SW1, has its contacts straddled by a 4700pF X2 capacitor to suppress "popping"
during switch-on. T1 is the power transformer with a secondary output of 40-0-40Vac. BR1 is
the bridge rectifier and C2,C3 are the filter capacitors for DC smoothing. Power Supply Unit
For monoblock, C2,C3 = 10,000uF x2/63V minimum. Transformer secondary should be rated
for 250VA. For stereo, C2,C3 = 22,000uF x2/63V minimum. Transformer should be upgraded
to 500VA. Supply rails (Vs) are +-53Vdc.

The c300 up close


This 300 Watts/RMS amplifier is meant for those who are not only looking for higher power,
but superior performance as well. In order to achieve this, the c300 features some advanced
techniques that are absent in its' smaller counterpart (c200).

Additions in 1st Gain Stage

Cascodes
Right at the very first gain stage, cascodes (Q5,6) are adopted. They serve to improve the
high frequency performance of the c300. These cascodes are biased to approximately
midpoint between 0V and +V by zener diode D1 (33V).

Current Mirrors
The first stage also contains current mirror Q3,4. As the name implies, the mirror forces
equal current in the LTP (long tail pair). It is known for its' active loading and high gain
properties.

Emitter Degeneration Resistors


Slew rate of the input differential is improved by resistors R6,7,8,9,10. In the absence of
matched transistors, preset R10, is used for trimming DC to a minimum at the output of the
amplifier.

Buffering the 2nd Stage

The VAS mod


The 2nd stage is direct coupled to the differential via a darlington Q8. This effectively buffers
Q10, the main transistor that is amplifying the voltage from loading the preceding stage. Q10
is biased into class A by constant current source Q12. Capacitor C9 sets the dominant pole in
Miller compensation.

Thermal Tracking

The remaining parts of the circuit is conventional. Vbe multiplier Q11, adjust the bias for the
output transistors which is in full complementary EF configuration. Q11 must be thermally
coupled to the main power heatsink for proper thermal tracking. VI Limiting network consists
of Q13,14, R25~30 and D3,4. This network is optional, and can be omitted if desired.

THD of c300

Biasing of output transistors


All THD readings were done with outputs biased to 20mV across 0.39 ohms emitter resistor.
This works out to approximately 55mA per output transistor in idling state.

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