Switch-mode technology is greatly used for audio amplification. This is mainly due to the great efficiency this technology offers. Normally the efficiency of a switch-mode audio amplifier is measured using a sine wave input. However this paper shows that sine waves represent real audio very poorly. An alternative signal is proposed for test purposes. The efficiency of a switch-mode power audio amplifier is modelled and measured with both sine wave and the proposed test signal as inputs. The results show that the choice of switching devices with low on resistances are unfairly favored when measuring the efficiency with sine waves. A 10% efficiency improvement was found for low power outputs. It is therefore of great importance to use proper test signals when measuring the efficiency.

Authors: Iversen, Niels Elkjær; Knott, Arnold; Andersen, Michael A. E.
Affiliation: Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
AES Convention: 140 (May 2016) Paper Number: 9499
Publication Date: May 26, 2016
Subject: Instrumentation and Measurement

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