Anatomy of the power amplifier

摘要

Amplifiers require circuitry for short and thermal protection, fan control, turn on delay, and over voltage protection. In the past we littered the designs with dozens of components to handle these events. Today we can use a single microprocessor to handle all of this in addition to having many more features without additional cost. The microprocessor can monitor the battery voltage, internal voltages, temperature, control volume and crossovers, and drive external displays. These embedded computer chips also allow features like compression and power limiting with little added cost. Of course, what is an amplifier without a power supply? First we'll visit the power supply designs, as every amplifier needs one.