2016.04.06.

HybridAmplifierbyAndreaCiuffoli

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ExtremeHiEndHybridAmplifierEnd
startedonJanuary1st,2015

INTRODUCTION
Aftercheckingtheenormouspotentialofthisamplifier,seetheExtremeHiEndHybrid,Ihavedecidedtoraisethestandardofquality
atthehighestlevelbyusingthebestcomponentsonthemarket.
ThepreviousversionusedananodicchokewithnormalcorethatIhadfoundinthemyhousewithagapnotperfectforthetubeused
(50mA).
HereIhavechangedtheanodicchoketo25mAgaptoincreasethelowfrequencybandandanamorphouscoretohaveamore
transparentsound.
Thisprojectcollectsalltheexperiencesmadeintheseyearsthenitbornwithallthesecharacteristics:
noglobalfeedbackdesign
passivecomponentswithoutanycompromiseonanysection
onlyfewpartsonthesignalpath,only3activecomponents
veryshortsignalpath
verylowoutputimpedance(nearto0.1ohm)forhighdampingfactor(nearto80)
veryhighoutputcurrent,outputdevicesabletomanage60A
highoutputpowertodriveanyloudspeakersincludingESL,100Won8ohmand180Won4ohm
verygoodslewrate
largefrequencyband,nearto1MHz
highseparationfrompowersupplyforallthesections
powersupplyseparatedforeachchannel
zeronoise
ultralowdistortion
zerodcoffset,dcservoloop
nofuseonthesignalpath
norelayontheoutputsignal

AllthepcbareavailableatlowcostonEbayshoporyoucandownloadtheEaglefilestoproducetheseinyourlocalarea

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SeeEbayshoptobuypcbs
ExtremeHiEndHybridAmplifierEndPCB(twoitemsarenecessaryforastereoampliier)
ExtremeHiEndHybridAmplifierEndPSUPCB
Idon'tgetmoneyfromthisEbayshop.
Theoutputstagepcbshasbeendesigntooptimizethesignalpathwithlargewirefortheoutputstage.
Ihaveincreasedthethicknessofthehighcurrenttrackswithtin(seephotos).

VOLTAGEAMPLIFIER+CURRENTAMPLIFIER
ThevoltageamplifieruseasingleendedvacuumtubestagewithanAmorphccoreanodechoketohaveaverylowdistortionand
bestfrequencyband.IamusingheretheLundahlLL1668AM/25mAanodechokesbutyoucouldusethenormalandcheaper
LL1668/25mA
Ifweuseananodechokeoraninterstagetransformerisnecessaryconsidertheeffectsoftheinductancebecauseyoucreatewith
thecathodecapacitoraRLCcircuitwithaspecificresonance.
Followstheformulatocalculatetheresonancefrequency:

where
soweneedtokeepthisvalueverylowtoeliminatestrangepeakonfrequencyband.
Thevalueoftheinternalresistanceofthetubecanmodifythepeakwidthgeneratedintheresonance.
ManyDIYaskmeiftheycanchangethevaccumtubewithanotherbutIthinkitisnoteasytofindanothertypewiththese
caracteristics:
voltagegaingreaterthan40
internalresistancenearto2Kohm
lowdistortionuntil40Vrms
AgoodarticleabouttheuseofalternativetoD3aisonthegoodBartolaValvesarticle.
FollowsatabletocomparethedistortionofsometubesinthesameconfigurationwithLL1668/25mA,Ck=270uFor560uFfor6C45
and6S3PEV.
Forthistesthasbeenusedthepowersupplyofthisprojectwithoutanychangeforallthetubes.
Tubemodel
D3atriode
EC86
E180Ftriode
6C45
5842

THD
THD
THD
THD
Pdmax
Voltage
Ri(ohm) Va(V) Ia(mA) Rk(ohm)
30Vrms
40Vrms
30Vrmsload 40Vrmsload
(W)
gain(dB)
load30K
load30K
15K
15K
4.5
1900
150
24
60
37.0
0.4
0.6
0.6
0.7
2,2
5600
165
12
110
34.5
0.7
0.9
1.2
1.7
3.0
2700
165
15
110
33.2
0.9
1.2
1.5
1.9
7.8
1100
148
25
43
32.5
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.6
4.5
1700
150
25
60
34.2
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.2

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6S3PEV

3.0

5000

160

15

110

31.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.3

Howmanyvoltagegainyouneedonvacuumtubestage?itiseasytocalculate.
For100Won8ohmyouneedthisoutputvoltage:P=V*V/RsoV=sqrt(P*R)=sqrt(100*8)=28.3Vrms.
Thecurrentamplifierlossabout0.65dBcorrespondto0.93xsoonoutputstageinputyouneed28.3/0.93=30.5Vrms.
IsuggesttodrivethisamplifierdirectlywithyoursourcelikeDAC,CDandphonopreamplsothesensibilityshouldbeabout400mV
likenormalintegratedamplifiers.
NowyouknowtheminimunvoltagegainnecessaryontubestageVout/Vin=30.5V/400mV=76x=>37dB.
IfyouthinktouseonlyCDorDACprobablyyouneedlessvoltagegainandalso32dBareenought.
Theanodechokegivethebestsoundandthebestperformancesbutifyousearchacheapersolutionseemypreviousversionwhere
Ihaveusednormalresistanceasload.

ThecurrentamplifierisaperfectDiamondBufferusedinsomechipliketheLH0002andtheBUF634.
ThisconfigurationhasbeenanalyzedverywellinthearticleBuldingbetterbufferonElectronicsWorldnovember1992.
ThesamedesignasbeenusedinmanyAudioResearchamplifiersliketheAudioResearchD100andtheAudioResearchD400.
AlsothePioneerA09andthePioneerM6useaDiamondBufferonoutputstagebuttheseimplementdynamiccurrentgenerators
withsomestabilityproblems.
Advantagesofthistypeofconfigurationcomparedtoaconventional:
compensationofVbenonlinearitiesbetweendriverandfinalsoverylowdistortionwithoutfeedback
highslewrateandlargefrequencyband
temperaturerunawaycompensationwithoutsensorsifdriverandfinaltransistorssharethesameheatsink
highinputimpedanceifdriverstageusecurrentgenerator(I1&I2)
autoprotectedbyshortcircuitonoutput
Disadvantagesofthistypeofconfigurationcomparedtoaconventional:
thebiascurrentinthedriverlimitsthecurrentsuppliedtotheload
Itisevidentthattherearemanybenefits,buttoovercometheproblemofthecurrentsuppliedtotheloadyouneedtostudywellthe
workingpointsofthedriverandfinal.
Thereisnotrimmerforadjustingthebiassoyoumustuseexactlythetransistorsdescribedintheproject.
TouseothertypesyouneedtomakemanytestandinsomecasesetR9R12to1ohmormore.
Thiscurrentamplifierhaveaninputimpedancenearto20Kohmanditabsorbsamaxpeakcurrentof2mAalsowhenitdrive2ohm
loadatthemaxoutputlevel(simulatedwith40Vrmson2ohmloadso20A).
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Ihaveaddapowersupplyregulatortoeliminateanyripplecomingfrommaincapacitorsafterthediodebridgeanditallowasoftstart
withtheseadvantages:
thecapacitorsneartheoutputtransistorsarechargedslowlysothefuseinsertedbeforedoesnotblow
afterswitchontheoutputstageshouldstartwithoutdcoffsetanditwillwaitthevacuumtubewarmup
ThisregulatorintegrateaDCloudspeakerprotectioncopiedfromanoldBartolomeoAloiadesigntoshunttheregulatorcapacitorsso
switchofftheoutputstageiftherearefaultonoutputtransistor.
TheopampinthecircuitisaDCservotoeliminateDCoffsetanditworkinverylowfrequencyband.

R1,R2556Kohm1/4W1%orbetteruseonlyR127KMK132Caddock
R2,R1410ohm1/2W1%
R3,R36280ohm1/4W1%
R26,R272700ohm2W
R34,R3515ohm2W
R23,R33270ohm1W
R24,R285600ohm2W
R5,R6,R7,R8,R17,R18,R19,R200.47ohm5W
R15,R16220K1/4W1%
R55,R562200ohm1/4W1%orbetteruseonlyR551KMK132Caddock
R51,R52,R53,R54470ohm1/4W1%orbetteruseonlyR51andR53220MK132
Caddock
R4,R136800ohm2W
R49,R50,R21,R2210Kohm1/4W1%
R29,R30,R31,R32,R41,R47,R48,R37,
R38,R39,R40,R37,R38,R39,R40,R9,
R11,R10,R120ohm(jump)
C6,C8,C9,C140,47uF63VWima
C1,C2,C10,C11100uF25V
C3empty
C50.1uF100VVishayMKP1837
C7,C17,C4,C24,C18,C20,C25,C194700uF63VNichiconKGtype25x50mm
C15,C161000uF63VPanasonicorNichicon100
D1,D2Zener15V1W
D3,D4UF4007or1N4007
D5,D141N4007
D9,D130ohm(jump)
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D8,D12,D11,D10,D6,D71N4148
F1,F2FUSE5AFAST(withfuseholder)
U12N5550o2N5551
U22N5401
Q1,Q3,Q16,Q18MJE15033(PNP)
Q2,Q4,Q14,Q17MJE15032(NPN)
Q9,Q5,Q6,Q7,Q13NJW0281G(NPN)
Q12,Q11,Q8,Q10,Q15NJW0302G(PNP)
IC1OPA134(youcanusemanyotherssingleopamp)

Asmentioninthecharacteristiclistatthebeginofthispageinthisproject
thepassivecomponentsarewithoutcompromiseonanysection.
OnvacuumtubecathodethereisanSanyoOSCONcapacitor,mychoice
is....availableinthePartsConnexionwebstore.
TheSANYOOSCONisanaluminumsolidcapacitorwithhighconductive
polymerororganicsemiconductorelectrolytematerial.
Duetothesolidelectrolyteused,OSCONachieveslowEquivalentSeries
Resistance(ESR),excellentnoisereductioncapabilityandfrequency
characteristics.
NormallythecapacitorswithlowervoltagesoundbettersoIprefertousea
4Vthana16Vifthereisonly2Voncathode.
Theinterstagecapacitorsmustbeofthehighestpossiblequalitybecause
mostofthesoundqualitydependsonthese.
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MychoiceistheAudynCapReferenceclassifiedwith11+byHumble
Homemadetestbutinmyopinionthesearemuchmoretransparentthan
others12and13result.
Astestedinthefirstversiontheanodechokegivethemostlowdistortion
andthebestfrequencyband,alsotheinterstagetransformeritmore
invasivesoitshouldbeusedonlyifitisessentialinthecircuitasaphase
shifter,seetheAmplifierEnd.
TheLL1668AM/25mAwithaninductanceof100H,anairgaptosupporta
currentof25mAandastaticresistanceof680ohmgiveasureresult.
Alltheresistorsinthecurrentamplifierhasbeenduplicatedtouseforany
resistoraparalleloftwocomponentsmountedwithoppositedirectionto
reduceparasiticinductanceandelectromagneticflux.
Ilearnedthismethodmanyyearsagobytheowneranddesignerofa
famousAmericanfactoryofamplifiersanditusethesamealsowithSolen
interstagecapacitors.
ThealternativetothismethodistouseCaddockMK132withadvantages.
Aboutthepowersupplycapacitorsneartheoutputtransistorsthereareno
alternativestotheNIchiconKGcapacitorsbecausethemylastexperience
madetheAmplifierEndhasdemonstratedthatthesecomponentswithout
bypasshaveunsurpassedmusicalperformance.
Ihaveused8x4700uF63VNIchiconKGcapacitorsforeachchannelso
wehaveagreatreserveofpoweravailableinaveryshorttime.
The0.47ohmoutputresistancespresentontheemitteroffinalstage
transistorsarenecessarytocompensatesomedifferencesonoutput
transistors,stabilizeoperatingpointandtomergealltheoutputs.
Inordertohavenobadeffectsonthesoundthemychoicehasbeenthe
MILLSMRA5nonInductivewirewoundresistorswith5wattandwith1%
tolerance.
UsingthetransistorsspecifiedIhaveonany0.47ohmavoltageabout
0.180Vsothebiascurrentis0.38Aso4x0.38A=1.5A.

SIMULATIONS

HereallthefilestosimulatethiscircuitwithLTSpicesoftware.
PowerDiamond
PowerDiamond+PSU
AddtheselinesinthefileC:\ProgramFiles\LTC\lib\cmp\standard.bjttohavethetransistorsmodels:
.MODELQnjw0302gpnpIS=5.16751e16BF=114.657NF=0.895716VAF=50.2189IKF=6.409ISE=3.9641e15NE=4BR=1.47167NR=0.923324VAR=255.567IKR=6.34299
ISC=3.96408e15NC=2.82194RB=2.66347IRB=0.1RBM=2.0828RE=0.0001RC=0.0652395XTB=1.45322XTI=1.08126EG=1.05CJE=2.14504e09VJE=0.4MJE=0.376227
TF=2.16864e09XTF=1000VTF=843.737ITF=501.348CJC=5e10VJC=0.95MJC=0.251547XCJC=1FC=0.8CJS=0VJS=0.75MJS=0.5TR=1e07PTF=0KF=0AF=1
.MODELQnjw0281gnpnIS=4.36849e12BF=98.1488NF=1.01332VAF=37.9046IKF=9.71849ISE=1e16NE=1.8326BR=0.79921NR=1.09994VAR=339.743IKR=5.77305ISC=1e16
NC=2.71592RB=2.74892IRB=0.33289RBM=2.74892RE=0.000344671RC=0.03203XTB=1.7742XTI=1.12262EG=1.20598CJE=3.66793e09VJE=0.74806MJE=0.85TF=2.27115e09
XTF=1000VTF=912.955ITF=296.602CJC=5e10VJC=0.95MJC=0.270858XCJC=0.98254FC=0.8CJS=0VJS=0.75MJS=0.5TR=1e07PTF=0KF=0AF=1
.MODELQmje15032npnIS=3.7344e10BF=86.8313NF=1.23974VAF=31.5491IKF=9.1678ISE=9.2499e12NE=3.28127BR=5.59346NR=1.33161VAR=2.1791IKR=5.15023ISC=4e
13NC=4RB=9.54492IRB=0.1RBM=0.1RE=0.000568481RC=0.0931741XTB=0.737036XTI=1.04983EG=1.206CJE=3.05969e09VJE=0.648491MJE=0.352663TF=4.94819e09
XTF=1.50001VTF=1.0001ITF=0.999982CJC=3.00108e10VJC=0.600021MJC=0.40991XCJC=0.8FC=0.534651CJS=0VJS=0.75MJS=0.5TR=1e07PTF=0KF=0AF=1

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.MODELQmje15033pnpIS=7.51228e10BF=134.35NF=1.25737VAF=12.5778IKF=1.88497ISE=7.74267e12NE=3.34528BR=5.14173NR=1.47488VAR=1.4505IKR=7.47186
ISC=3.25e13NC=4RB=4.37743IRB=0.1RBM=0.1RE=0.000332989RC=0.381218XTB=0.223027XTI=1EG=1.05CJE=3.06005e09VJE=0.64838MJE=0.352991TF=4.78203e09
XTF=1.50001VTF=1.00006ITF=0.999988CJC=3.00101e10VJC=0.600019MJC=0.409916XCJC=0.8FC=0.534975CJS=0VJS=0.75MJS=0.5TR=1e07PTF=0KF=0AF=1

POWERSUPPLYFORTHECURRENTAMPLIFIER
Thepowersupplyforthecurrentamplifierusetwo500VAtoroidaltransformers.
Thegoodpowersupplytransformersforaudioshouldhaveanelectromagneticflux
20%lowerthannormal(14000gaussinsteadof17000).
IhaveusedarectifiermodulebasedonfourONSemiMBR40250Schottkydiodeto
createafullwavebridgerectifier.
HereagooddescriptionofthebenefitsderivedfromtheuseofSchottkydiodesin
audioamplifier.
ThesamediodesasbeenusedinmyAmplifierEndbutyoucanstarttoassemble
thisprojectalsowithacommondiodebridgeliketheIRF36MB60.
Afterthediodebridgethereareapairof10000uF63V(size:50x80mm)capacitors
tocreateafirstsoftrectification.
HereyoucanuseanynormalcapacitorlikeKendeil,BHC,Spraguebecausethese
arenotonthesignalpath.
Asexplainedinthesimulationbeforeusinglargercapacitorsdoesnotbringus
benefits.
Themychoiceis36V036Vtransformerstogetabout100Won8ohm.
Youcouldincreasethevoltageofthetransformerstohavemoreoutputpowerbut
keepattentiontothecapacitorvoltageandtothehottodissipateonheatsinks.
Aboutthecapacitorsneartheoutputtransistors(onpcb)useonlyNichiconKGas
specifiedinthelist8x4700uF63VKG(size25x50mm)pereachchannel.

POWERSUPPLYFORTHEVOLTAGEAMPLIFIER
TogetthemaxsonicperformancesthemychoiceisaslowturnonpowersupplyforthefilamentsusingacommonLM317orLM350
andavirtualbatteryoperationpowersupplyfortheanodicwithapowermosfet.
ForthispowersupplyIhaveusedtheRCOREmodelR2690gotonEbayshopwithprimaries2x115vandthesecondaries0
165v(0.2A)and2x09v(1.1A).

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R6,R81ohm2W
R7447Kohm1/4W
R71Kohm1/4W
R9220ohm1/4W
R12100ohmmultiturn
R4,R510Kohm1/4W1%
R3470Kohm1/4W1%
R139K2W
R2100K3W
CY1,CY2,CY3,CY410nF400V
C2150uF400V
C133uF400V
US10,US1156uF400VSolen
MKP
C3,C72200uF25V
C4,C5,C6220uF16V
D4,D6,D7,D8UF5408
D1,D2,D31N4007
D5,D9zener10V1W
B1diodebridge4A
100V
IC1LM350orLM317
Q1,Q3IRF840
Q22N2904

pcbforthisrelease
pcbdualmonoorsingle

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MEASUREMENTS
Followsthedistortionanalysisofthecompleteamplifieron8ohmload,obviouslyuntil30Vthisisthedistortionofvacuumtube
voltagestagebecausethecurrentamplifierhaveadistortionvalue10or20timeslessandonlyafter27voltsrmsitgoesintoclipping
zoneforthesupplyvoltagelimitatedbyproject.On4ohmloadtheplotisverysimilar.

CABINET

Ifyouwillusea2x36VACtransformersthepowertodissipateisnearto150Wforeachchannel.
AnyheatsinkusedhaveaRtC/W=0,48so0.24foreachchannelsothetemperaturewillbe0.24*150W+Tenv=36C+30C=
66C.
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ThecabinetisaHiFi2000model04400BSilver10(1NPD04400B)buyontheHiFi2000webshop.
Description:
Formato:4Units
1xFrontalPanelinaluminium10mmoxidisedsilver450mm
1xBackinmetalpaintedblackantiscratch
4LateralHeatsinks200mmoxidisedblack(eachwithRtC/W=0,48)
2xCoversinmetalpaintedblackantiscratch

width:450mminternal360mm
depth:400mmInternal
height:165mm
weight::11,5KG
Toadda1BASEPD400InnerpiercedBaseforPesanteDissipante400mm.
TofixthetransistorsonheatsinkIwillasktoHiFi2000foracurstomworkonheatsinks.
Filewiththepositionofthe16x3mmholestofixtransitors

PHOTOS&CONSTRUCTIONDETAILS

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1)setthevariactoabout+2vand2Vdctocheckthattheheatsinkisnotconnectedtothesetensions
2)controlthevoltageaftertheregulatorstheseshouldriseslowlyinafewseconds
3)setthevariacto+15Vand15Vtoverifythattheoutputvoltagegoestozerovoltsdc
4)setthevariacand20Vto+20ctoverifythatthevoltageeacrosstheresistancefrom0.47ohmisalmostequalamongallthe
transistors(0.05V0,06V)
5)setthevariacatthefinalvoltage
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SOFTSTARTPUSHBUTTONPROTECTION(seetherelativepage)

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POWERSUPPLYSWITCH
VandalResistantPushButtonSwitches
RSStockNo.1746381
ManufacturerApemManufacturers
PartNo.AV021003C900
Thepanelcutoutis22mm,thesameofnovalsocket,sothisisthe
idealchoiceforthe10mmfrontpanelbecauseyoucanusethesame
cutter.

TOTALCOST
Itispossibletofindsomecomponentsatlowercost,inredthemostimportantforthefinalresult
descrip on
unitprice quan
D3a
25
Solen56uF250V
20
HIFi2000chassiewithmachining(about)
300
500VAtransformers
100
30VAtransfomers
40
10000uF63V
15
4700uF63VKG
6
transistor
36
LL1668/AM
230
AudynCapReference2.2uF
40
other
100
DACT
150

ty total(euro)
2
50
2
40
1
300
2
200
1
40
4
60
16
96
2
72
2
460
2
80
1
100
1
150
1648

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