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Application Information
(Continued)
the section,
Determining the Correct Heat Sink,
for a more
detailed discussion of proper heat sinking for a given appli-
cation.
PARALLEL AMPLIFIER APPLICATION
Parallel configuration is normally used when higher output
current is needed for driving lower impedance loads (i.e. 4
or lower) to obtain higher output power levels. As shown in
Figure 3
, the parallel amplifier configuration consist of de-
signing the amplifiers in the IC to have identical gain, con-
necting the inputs in parallel and then connecting the outputs
in parallel through a small external output resistor. Any num-
ber of amplifiers can be connected in parallel to obtain the
needed output current or to divide the power dissipation
across multiple IC packages. Ideally, each amplifier shares
the output current equally. Due to slight differences in gain
the current sharing will not be equal among all channels. If
current is not shared equally among all channels then the
power dissipation will also not be equal among all channels.
It is recommended that 0.1% tolerance resistors be used to
set the gain (R
i
and R
f
) for a minimal amount of difference in
current sharing.
When operating two or more amplifiers in parallel mode the
impedance seen by each amplifier is equal to the total load
impedance multiplied by the number of amplifiers driving the
load in parallel as shown by
Equation (4)
below:
R
L(parallel)
= R
L(total)
* Number of amplifiers
Once the impedance seen by each amplifier in the parallel
configuration is known then Equation (2) can be used with
this calculated impedance to find the amount of power dis-
sipation for each amplifier. Total power dissipation (P
DMAX
)
within an IC package is found by adding up the power
dissipation for each amplifier in the IC package. Using the
calculated P
the correct heat sink size can be deter-
mined. Refer to the section,
Determining the Correct Heat
Sink
, for more information and detailed discussion of proper
heat sinking.
If only two amplifiers of the LM4782 are used in parallel
mode then the third amplifier should have a load impedance
equal to or higher than the equivalent impedance seen by
each of the amplifiers in parallel mode. Having the same
load impedance on all amplifiers means that the power
dissipation in each amplifier will be equal. Using a lower load
impedance on the third amplifier will result in higher power
dissipation in the third amplifier than the other two amplifiers
and may result in unwanted activation of thermal shut down
on the third amplifier. Having a higher impedance on the third
amplifier than the equivalent impedance on the two amplifi-
ers in parallel will reduce total IC package power dissipation
reducing the heat sink size requirement.
(4)
BI-AMP AND TRI-AMP APPLICATIONS
Bi-amping is the practice of using two different amplifiers to
power the individual drivers in a speaker enclosure. For
example, a two-way speaker enclosure might have a tweeter
and a subwoofer. One amplifier would drive the tweeter and
another would drive the subwoofer. One advantage is that
the gain of each amplifier can be adjusted for the different
driver sensitivities. Another advantage is the crossover can
be designed before the amplifier stages with low cost op
amps instead of large passive components. With the cross-
over before the amplifier stages no power is wasted in the
passive crossover as each individual amplifier provides the
correct frequencies for the driver. Tri-Amping is using three
different amplifier stages in the same way bi-amping is done.
Bi-amping can also be done on a three-way speaker design
by using one amplifier for the subwoofer and another for the
midrange and tweeter.
The LM4782 is perfectly suited for bi-amp or tri-amp appli-
cations with it’s three amplifiers. Two of the amplifiers can be
configured for bridge or parallel mode to drive a subwoofer
with the third amplifier driving the tweeter or tweeter and
midrange. An example would be to use a 4
subwoofer and
8
tweeter/midrange with the LM4782 in parallel and single-
ended modes. Each amplifier would see an 8
load but the
subwoofer would have twice the output power as the
tweeter/midrange. The gain of each amplifier may also be
adjusted for the desired response. Using the LM4782 in a
tri-amp configuration would allow the gain of each amplifier
to be adjusted to achieve the desired speaker response.
SINGLE-SUPPLY AMPLIFIER APPLICATION
The typical application of the LM4782 is a split supply am-
plifier. But as shown in
Figure 4
, the LM4782 can also be
used in a single power supply configuration. This involves
using some external components to create a half-supply bias
which is used as the reference for the inputs and outputs.
Thus, the signal will swing around half-supply much like it
swings around ground in a split-supply application. Along
with proper circuit biasing, a few other considerations must
be accounted for to take advantage of all of the LM4782
functions, like the mute function.
The LM4782 possesses a mute and standby function with
internal logic gates that are half-supply referenced. Thus, to
enable either the Mute or Standby function, the voltage at
these pins must be a minimum of 2.5V above half-supply. In
single-supply systems, devices such as microprocessors
and simple logic circuits used to control the mute and
standby functions, are usually referenced to ground, not
half-supply. Thus, to use these devices to control the logic
circuitry of the LM4782, a “l(fā)evel shifter,” like the one shown in
Figure 6
, must be employed. A level shifter is not needed in
a split-supply configuration since ground is also half-supply.
When the voltage at the Logic Input node is 0V, the 2N3904
is “off” and thus resistor R
pulls up mute or standby input to
the supply. This enables the mute or standby function. When
the Logic Input is 5V, the 2N3904 is “on” and consequently,
the voltage at the collector is essentially 0V. This will disable
the mute or standby function, and thus the amplifier will be in
its normal mode of operation. R
, along with C
, creates
an RC time constant that reduces transients when the mute
or standby functions are enabled or disabled. Additionally,
R
shift
limits the current supplied by the internal logic gates of
the LM4782 which insures device reliability. Refer to the
200811D9
FIGURE 6. Level Shift Circuit
L
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