Application Report

SNAA057C – June 2008 – Revised June 2019

AN-1849 An Audio Amplifier Power Supply Design

ABSTRACT
This application report provides design information for a power supply for use with TI's newest offering of
high-performance, ultra high-fidelity audio amplifier input stage ICs.

Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2
2 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 2
3 Schematic and Design ...................................................................................................... 2
3.1 Power Supply........................................................................................................ 2
4 Bill Of Materials .............................................................................................................. 4
5 Additional Circuit ............................................................................................................. 6
5.1 120 V/240 V Selection Option ..................................................................................... 6
5.2 Inrush Current Control ............................................................................................. 7
5.3 Power Up/Down Mute Control .................................................................................... 8
6 Summary .................................................................................................................... 11
7 Board Layer Views ......................................................................................................... 12
8 Revision History ............................................................................................................ 16

List of Figures
1 Complete Power Supply Circuit ............................................................................................ 4
2 120V Transformer Connections, Primaries in Parallel .................................................................. 6
3 240V Transformer Connections, Primaries in Series ................................................................... 6
4 Inrush Current Control ...................................................................................................... 7
5 Supply Ramp at Power On ................................................................................................. 7
6 Mute Control .................................................................................................................. 8
7 Mute at Power On ........................................................................................................... 9
8 Mute at Power Off ........................................................................................................... 9
9 Constant Brightness LED Circuit ......................................................................................... 10
10 Constant Brightness LED and Mute Control Circuit ................................................................... 10
11 PCB Composite View From Top ......................................................................................... 12
12 PCB Top Silkscreen View ................................................................................................. 13
13 PCB Bottom Silkscreen View ............................................................................................. 14
14 PCB Top Layer View ...................................................................................................... 15
15 PCB Bottom Layer View ................................................................................................... 16

List of Tables
1 Bill Of Materials .............................................................................................................. 4
Trademarks
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Introduction www.ti.com

1 Introduction
Analog audio circuit power supplies can have an audible effect in listening tests and a quantifiable effect in
bench measurement results. Power supply designs that operate from the power mains are of three
common types: Switch mode (SMPS), regulated, and unregulated power supplies.
Switch mode power supplies have become very popular, common, inexpensive, and readily available.
SMPS are used extensively in computer hardware. They are well-suited for such use providing good
regulation with high efficiency in a small physical size. A drawback to SMPS is the switching nature of the
design which creates EMI and RFI plus electrical noise on the supply rails. Small signal analog circuits are
more susceptible to noise in the form of EMI or electrical noise on the supply lines. Certain classes of
amplifiers, namely Class G and Class H, may be more easily realized with SMPS that are fast responding
for full audio bandwidth signals. Using SMPS for audio circuits presents additional design challenges than
when using a SMPS for non-audio circuits.
A regulated supply can be a simple linear regulator IC with the rectified voltage from the transformer as
input and a handful of external components or any number of more complicated and often higher
performance designs. There are the tradeoffs of complexity, cost, space, thermal design, reliability, and
protection with any regulated design. It is common for regulated supplies to be used for the analog small
signal portions and other sensitive circuits for the best performance. For an audio power amplifier,
regulated supplies need high bandwidth for good audio performance. The complexity and cost for such a
power supply design may not be acceptable. Most linear regulator ICs do not have high bandwidth and
are slow compared to audio signals that can result in reduced audio performance.
For simplicity, good performance, and reasonable cost, an unregulated supply is the most common for an
audio power amplifier. An unregulated supply uses a transformer, a bridge rectifier, and various rail
capacitors. A drawback to the unregulated supply is the voltage fluctuations with load and power mains
fluctuations. A design should allow for a minimum 10% high line condition on the power mains.
Unregulated supplies may have only a fuse in the power mains input to protect against excessive current
unlike more sophisticated regulated designs. Additionally, the power supply voltage rails may have inline
fuses to add some additional protection.
The circuit and solution presented in this application note have not been tested to any industry standards.
It is the responsibility of the reader to perform standard industry testing to assure safety when using the
solution in part or in whole in any form. Texas Instruments does not provide any guarantees, written or
implied, about the safety of the solution.

2 Overview
This application note covers the design of a ±72-V unregulated power supply specifically for audio
amplifiers.
The power supply is an unregulated design with an option to allow connection to either 120-V or 240-V
mains. The design uses toroidal transformers, a fully integrated bridge, and various rail capacitors for
ripple voltage reduction, noise suppression, and to act as high current reservoirs. Additional circuitry to
control inrush current on power up and power down Mute control are also included. A complete schematic,
PCB views, and Bill of Materials are provided for the power supply design.

3 Schematic and Design

3.1 Power Supply

Figure 1 shows the complete schematic of the power supply design. The heart of the design is the basic
power supply consisting of the transformers, the bridge, and various capacitors. Many of the capacitors
used may not be commercially necessary or may have a minimal effect on performance. Because the
design is not a commercial design where tight cost constraints must be taken into account, additional
capacitors are freely used. For a commercial design, bench and listening test, or some other test, criteria
is recommended to determine the exact number, size, and type of external components required. A short
explanation of the purpose of each capacitor at the primary side of the transformers, around the bridge
and on the supply rails follows. Some capacitors are doubled up on the PCB for flexibility or to achieve the
desired total capacitance.
• C1, C2, C4 protect against turn on and off spikes caused when the power switch changes positions. C3

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is not used and is redundant.

• CS1 and CS2 are low value, ceramic capacitors to filter higher frequency noise right at the DC output of
the diode bridge.
• CS3 and CS4 are the large reservoir capacitors to supply large current demands and stabilize the supply
rails to minimize low frequency fluctuations. These are very large value electrolytic capacitors. Two
capacitors are used to achieve the desired 40 000 μF capacitance per rail.
• CS5 and CS6 are high quality film capacitors to filter higher frequency noise. Two footprints are used on
the PCB for flexibility.
• CS7 and CS8 act in conjunction with RS1 and RS2 to decouple the large electrolytic capacitors and reduce
impedance.
• CS9 and CS10 are low value, ceramic capacitors to filter higher frequency noise from the transformer
secondary AC lines at the diode bridge.
• CS11–CS14 are in parallel with the bridge diodes to reduce high frequency noise and ringing of the diode.
An additional RC snubber in parallel with each diode of the rectifier will further reduce noise and
ringing.

The values for the different capacitors were not chosen based on extensive bench work or research. The
values were chosen based on general guidelines and commonly used values. Additional performance may
be obtained through refinement of the capacitor values. The equations and methods to determine optimal
values are beyond the scope of this application note.
Additionally, the supply rails have bleeder resistors, RBL1 and RBL2, to drain the large reservoir capacitors
(CS3 and CS4). Two footprints per rail were placed on the PCB to allow for lower power resistors to be used
and a wide range of bleeder current. More sophistication can be added by including an additional DPDT
relay and controls to only connect the bleeder resistors below a set voltage and remain unconnected
during normal operation.
The fully integrated bridge has a peel and stick heat sink attached. See Table 1 for robustness in use and
higher ambient temperature conditions.

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Bill Of Materials www.ti.com

Figure 1. Complete Power Supply Circuit

4 Bill Of Materials

Table 1. Bill Of Materials

Reference Value Tolerance Description Manufacturer Part Number
400 V, metalized
C1, C2, C4 0.01 µF 10% polyester film, 7.5- Panasonic ECQ-E4103KF
mm lead spacing
C3 Not Used
100 V ceramic, X7R
CS1, CS2, CS7,
0.1 µF 10% type, 200-mil lead AVX Corporation SR211C104KAR
CS8, CS9, CS10,
spacing
250 V, metalized
CS11, CS12, CS13,
0.1 µF 10% polyester film, 7.5- Panasonic ECQ-E2104KF
CS14
mm lead spacing
CS3A, CS3B, 100-V electrolytic CDE Cornell DCMC203U100BC2
20 000 µF 20%
CS4A, CS4B can Dubilier B
100 V, metalized
CS5A, CS5B,
1 µF 10% polyester film, 10- Panasonic ECQ-E1105KF
CS6A, CS6B
mm lead spacing

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www.ti.com Bill Of Materials

Table 1. Bill Of Materials (continued)

Reference Value Tolerance Description Manufacturer Part Number
63-V electrolytic
CSR1, CSR2 1 µF 20% radial, 2-mm lead Panasonic EEU-EB1J1R0S
spacing
Vishay
D1 1A 400-V diode, DO-41 1N4004-E3/54
Semiconductor
2-W Zener diode, Microsemi
DZ1 51 V 5% 2EZ51D5DO41
DO-41 Corporation
2-W Zener diode, Microsemi
DZ2 43 V 5% 2EZ43D5DO41
DO-41 Corporation
500-mW Zener
DZM 3.9 V 5% Diodes Inc. 1N5228B-T
diode, DO-35
RBLD1, RBLD2, International Yageo
2 kΩ 5% 5-W metal oxide SQP500JB-2K0
RBLD3, RBLD4 Corporation
International Yageo
RFAN 1.2 kΩ 5% 5-W metal oxide SQP500JB-1K2
Corporation
5-W wire-wound Huntington Electric,
RIR1, RIR2, RIR3 68 Ω 1% ALSR-5-68-1%
silicone Inc.
RS1, RS2 1Ω 5% ¼ Watt carbon film Panasonic ERD-S2TJ1R0V
International Yageo
RG 100 Ω 1% ¼ Watt metal film MFR-25FBF-100R
Corporation
1 Watt metal oxide
RZ1 560 Ω 5% Panasonic ERG-1SJ561
film
RZ2 390 Ω 5% ½ Watt carbon film Panasonic ERD-S1TJ391V
RPD 10 kΩ 5% ¼ Watt carbon film Panasonic ERD-S2TJ103V
48 V, 400-mW Panasonic Electric
RL1 16 A ALE15B48
SPST, N.O., relay Works
700-V bridge Fairchild
U1 35 A GBPC3510W
rectifier Semiconductor
DPDT PCB mount,
S1 6A C&K Components 1201M2S1CQE2
mini slide switch
3 pin 156-mil
Molex/Waldom
J1, J5 header, right angle, 26-60-5030
Electronics Corp.
tin plating
2 pin 156-mil
Molex/Waldom
J2, J9, J4A, J4B header, right angle, 26-60-5020
Electronics Corp.
tin plating
4 pin 156-mil
Molex/Waldom
J3A, J3B header, right angle, 26-60-5040
Electronics Corp.
tin plating
2 pin 100-mil
J7, J8, J11, J12, Molex/Waldom
header, right angle, 22-05-3021
J13, J14, J15 Electronics Corp.
tin plating
Dual primary, dual
Transformer1, Plitron
24 V, 300 VA secondary, torrid 77060201
Transformer2 Manufacturing Inc.
transformer
Peel & stick heat
sink for bridge, CTS Electronic
θCA = 16.5°C/W BDN12-5CB/A01
1.21" square, 0.55" Components, Inc
tall
RZ3, RZ4, DZ3,
Option unused
DZ4, CSF1, CSF2,
circuits
CSF3

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5 Additional Circuit

5.1 120 V/240 V Selection Option

For multi-country operation, a switch is included to select between 120-V or 240-V input at the primary
side of the transformers. The transformers are dual primary with the switch allowing the option to put the
primaries into series or parallel. The primary side of each transformer is connected in parallel for 120-V
operation with series connection used for 240-V operation. The schematics, Figure 2 and Figure 3, show
the different connections with the switch set for either 120-V or 240-V input from the power lines.

Figure 2. 120V Transformer Connections, Primaries in Parallel

Figure 3. 240V Transformer Connections, Primaries in Series

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5.2 Inrush Current Control

A simple inrush circuit is used to limit the high current that occurs at power up. The portion of the
schematic that controls inrush current is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Inrush Current Control

The inrush circuit consists of three 68-Ω/5-W resistors (RIR1–RIR3, labeled just RIR in Figure 1 and Figure 4)
in parallel, a relay and the relay controls. The RIR resistors limit transformer primary current flow and the
resulting secondary current flow when the transformer is powered for a softer turn on. Once the VCC rail
voltage exceeds 33 V, the relay is activated, shorting out the resistors. The relay is deactivated when the
VCC voltage falls below 10 V, resetting the circuit. The circuit is very simple and does not limit inrush
current if the mains power is switched on before the VCC rail drops below 10 V. The relay control consists
of the RZ1 and RZ2 resistors to limit current through the voltage clamping DZ2 Zener diode. DZ2 limits the
relay voltage below the maximum 48 V rating. The D1 diode is for the relay coil EMF and CSR2 is to remove
ripple and stabilize the relay voltage. The oscilloscope view in Figure 5 shows how the positive rail
charges up with the increase in charge rate once the relay is closed shorting out the inrush current limiting
resistors. The RIR resistors will get warm but they are only conducting for 500 ms each time the amplifier is
powered on keeping the power dissipation well within the 5-W rating.

Figure 5. Supply Ramp at Power On

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5.3 Power Up/Down Mute Control

The Mute function of the audio amplifier input stage IC is used for a completely quiet turn on and turn off.
The amplifier is held in Mute mode until the voltage supplies are nearly stable and also goes into Mute
mode once the supplies have collapsed below a determined voltage. With 40 000 μF of supply reservoir
capacitance per rail ,the amplifier can continue operation for some time after the mains power has been
removed. The mute control circuit removes the drive signal for a quicker turn off well before the supplies
have collapsed down below the minimal operating voltages. The amplifier turns off quietly and smoothly
without any undesired noise. The Mute control circuit portion is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Mute Control

The voltage threshold is set by the value of the DZ1 Zener diode, the current limiting RZ1 resistor and the
forward voltage on the LED. The circuit works by simply requiring a certain positive supply rail voltage
before the LED turns on and the amplifier switches out of Mute mode. The DZ1 Zener diode begins to
conduct once the positive supply rail exceeds the rated voltage. At this point, the LED begins to develop
voltage across it. The forward voltage of the LED (typically 2 V ~ 4 V) is used as the Mute voltage of the
amplifier. Setting the Mute resistor on the amplifier PCB module correctly allows the amplifier to go out of
Mute mode once the forward voltage of the LED is high enough to supply the needed Mute current. The
LED is also used as an indicator, lighting when the amplifier is in Play mode. The values shown set the
Mute voltage threshold to 57 V on power up and 58 V on power down. Because of component tolerances,
the threshold voltages varies. At power down, the forward voltage of the LED collapses quickly, putting the
amplifier into Mute mode well before the supplies are discharged for a quiet and relatively quick power off.
Figure 7 and Figure 8 show the Mute signal with supply voltage at power on and power off. There is
additional delay from when the Mute signal reaches the Mute threshold (~1.80 V for the amplifier PCB)
and when the amplifier enters PLAY mode as a result of the mute delay capacitor on the amplifier PCB.

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Figure 7. Mute at Power On

Figure 8. Mute at Power Off

The RZM Zener diode is for protection in the event of LED failure locking the Mute voltage so it does not
exceed 4 V. The Mute resistor of the amplifier PCB module is sized for a maximum of 4 V safely limiting
Mute current. RPD is needed so DZ1 conducts and CSR1 is for a steady LED/Mute voltage.
A shortcoming of the simple Mute control circuit is that the brightness of the LED varies under a heavy
amplifier load with the circuit values shown in Figure 6. Either the threshold of the Mute circuit can be
lowered by changing the value of DZ1 for more consistent brightness in operation or a constant current
circuit may be used. Figure 9 shows a basic constant current (LED brightness) circuit with similar
threshold voltages as the Mute control circuit.

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Figure 9. Constant Brightness LED Circuit

The LED first begins to light when the positive supply rail voltage exceeds 45 V. Once the positive rail
reaches 60 V, the LED have 6.5 mA of current and only increase to 6.7 mA at 80 V with indiscernible
change in brightness. Zener diode DZA sets the minimum threshold for first light of the LED. Combining the
values of DZA and DZB, along with voltage drop across R1 sets the voltage when the LED current reaches a
constant value and constant brightness. R3 and DZC set the LED current and R2 is used to bias QLED and
limit current through DZC. By using a 10-V Zener diode (DZB), the power dissipation in QLED is kept very low
so that a small transistor can be used without power dissipation concerns. The trade-off is that the DZA
Zener diode is required to dissipation about 1 W when the supply reaches 80 V. Figure 9 does not give
both constant LED current and the Mute signal control as Figure 6, although the Mute control could be
taken at the emitter of QLED. An alternate circuit to combine both Figure 6 and Figure 9 is shown in
Figure 10.

Figure 10. Constant Brightness LED and Mute Control Circuit

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The circuit in Figure 10 has the same threshold voltages as in Figure 9 and similar Mute control thresholds
as in Figure 6, but can also be used to control the Mute signal to the audio amplifier module. For a
reduced supply voltage window from LED first light to constant brightness, DZA should be increased while
DZB is reduced. This increases the LED first light threshold while reducing the additional voltage needed to
reach the constant brightness threshold. The value of DZC may also be adjusted to achieve the designed
circuit response.

6 Summary
The unregulated power supply presented gives very good performance while powering an audio amplifier.
While circuit modifications and additions can improve performance, the solution presented has a relatively
low part count and simplicity is maintained with all circuits. The power supply provides a ±70 V to ±73 V
supply under quiescent conditions with full load voltage dropping to ±59 V to ±62 V.

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7 Board Layer Views

Figure 11. PCB Composite View From Top

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Figure 12. PCB Top Silkscreen View

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Figure 13. PCB Bottom Silkscreen View

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Figure 14. PCB Top Layer View

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Figure 15. PCB Bottom Layer View

8 Revision History

Rev Date Description

1.0 06/03/08 Initial release.
1.01 03/15/10 Deleted all references to AN-1625.
2.0 06/27/19 Edited the Overview section.
Edited application report for clarity.

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