An audio power amplifier (or power amp) is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power electronic audio signals, such as the signal from a radio receiver or an electric guitar pickup, to a level that is high enough for driving loudspeakers or headphones. Audio power amplifiers are found in all manner of sound systems including sound reinforcement, public address, home audio systems and musical instrument amplifiers like guitar amplifiers. It is the final electronic stage in a typical audio playback chain before the signal is sent to the loudspeakers.
The preceding stages in such a chain are low-power audio amplifiers which perform tasks like pre-amplification of the signal, equalization, mixing different input signals. The inputs can also be any number of audio sources like record players, CD players, digital audio players and cassette players. Most audio power amplifiers require these low-level inputs, which are line level.
While the input signal to an audio power amplifier, such as the signal from an electric guitar, may measure only a few hundred microwatts, its output may be a few watts for small consumer electronics devices, such as clock radios, tens or hundreds of watts for a home stereo system, several thousand watts for a nightclub's sound system or tens of thousands of watts for a large rock concert sound reinforcement system. While power amplifiers are available in standalone units, typically aimed at the hi-fi audiophile market (a niche market) of audio enthusiasts and sound reinforcement system professionals, most consumer electronics audio products, such as clock radios, boomboxes and televisions have relatively small power amplifiers that are integrated into the product.
The audio amplifier was invented around 1912 by Lee de Forest. This was made possible by his invention of the first practical amplifying electrical component, the triode vacuum tube (or "valve" in British English) in 1907. The triode was a three-terminal device with a control grid that can modulate the flow of electrons from the filament to the plate.
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RF has changed our daily life in our ever connected wireless world (guess how many radios you have in your smartphone?). The goal of this course is to get familiar with RF design techniques in view of
This lecture is oriented towards the study of audio engineering, with a special focus on room acoustics applications. The learning outcomes will be the techniques for microphones and loudspeaker desig
Maîtriser des blocs fonctionnels nécessitant un plus haut niveau d'abstraction. Réalisation de fonctions électroniques de haut niveau exploitant les amplificateurs opérationnels.
Equalization, or simply EQ, in sound recording and reproduction is the process of adjusting the volume of different frequency bands within an audio signal. The circuit or equipment used to achieve this is called an equalizer. Most hi-fi equipment uses relatively simple filters to make bass and treble adjustments. Graphic and parametric equalizers have much more flexibility in tailoring the frequency content of an audio signal.
A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. The measuring instrument called a potentiometer is essentially a voltage divider used for measuring electric potential (voltage); the component is an implementation of the same principle, hence its name. Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on audio equipment.
High fidelity (often shortened to Hi-Fi or HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) frequency response within the human hearing range. High fidelity contrasts with the lower-quality "lo-fi" sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment, AM radio, or the inferior quality of sound reproduction that can be heard in recordings made until the late 1940s.
Covers the design of low-power analog integrated circuits, focusing on operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) and operational amplifiers (OPAMPs).
The main objective of this project is to implement a power amplifier that can be used to drive a shapememory alloy (SMA) currently being developed by Ms. Marjan Ghorbani. The secondary objective is to make the device versatile enough such that other resear ...
Microchannel plates fabricated from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (AMCPs) are a promising alternative to conventional lead glass microchannel plates. Their main advantages lie in their cheaper and more flexible fabrication processes, allowing for adaptabl ...
EPFL2023
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band is becoming very interesting over the past years because it provides the opportunity to operate using large bandwidths which are not available at lower frequencies. This enables new communication standards suppor ...