#Audio power amplifier design full#

When the signal travels through a wire, the resistance of the wire causes reduction in its power (P = I2/R). Typically, on a wired channel, if an electrical signal carrying audio is transmitted from one end and received at another end one mile away, it loses 90 percent of its strength.

This was a major problem before the telephony engineers in the initial phase of the development of communication technologies. Like the nature of sound, the audio in the form of electrical signals also fade away with the distance. You can also manually run the diagnostic program by pressing a front-panel button.The loudness of an audio signal is signified by the amplitude of the signal.

After a few seconds, the test indicators go dark and the amplifier is ready for action. This procedure is accompanied by flashing red indicators in the subpanel.

#Audio power amplifier design full#

Turning the amplifier on automatically launches an elaborate test routine that checks the amplifierвЂ™s operating conditions before full power-up. The left-most button turns the amplifier on and off. A large sub-panel, partially recessed into the acrylic side panels, contains a row of buttons and a display. The polished acrylic adds a touch of elegance. The front panel eschews the typical flat faceplate in favor of polished black-acrylic panels flanking a hemispherical ribbed column. The Antileon EVO makes quite a visual statement apart from its sheer muscular bulk. That he would choose Gryphon to demonstrate his flagship speaks volumes. Andy Payor is among a small, very elite group of the worldвЂ™s top speaker designers who scour the planet for the best-sounding amplification. I wrote a blog about that experience, titled вЂњThe Best Stereo System IвЂ™ve Ever Heard,вЂќ which is exactly what it was at that time. In his spectacular custom listening room, Payor played for me his flagship Arakkis loudspeaker, actively tri-amped with all-Gryphon amplification. In 2012, I visited Andy Payor of Rockport Technologies to learn more about how he designs and builds speakers (see my review of RockportвЂ™s Altair in Issue 214). My only previous experience with Gryphon (other than at shows) was an exceptional one. Although not that renowned in North America, the marque is revered in Europe and Asia.

Yet the mindset with which the company was started-building components without commercial constraint-is still alive and well. Thirty-six years later, Gryphon is a major manufacturer of a full line of electronics, sources, loudspeakers, and cables. Unbeknownst to Rasmussen, the distributor loaned the phonostage to JapanвЂ™s prestigious Stereo Sound magazine, which promptly awarded the Headamp, as it was called, its highest honor. When a Japanese distributor heard this phono- stage in a CES demo, he immediately asked Rasmussen to build a second unit for him. In RasmussenвЂ™s case, he created a phono preamplifier so that he could better hear exactly how the various phono cartridges he distributed sounded. Gryphon Audio Systems was founded in 1985 by Flemming Rasmussen, in the same way that many of the best high-end companies started-with the founder building a one-off, no-compromise component for his own use. But as weвЂ™ll see, such large hardware is required to ensure that the amplifier delivers its rated power in Class A operation.Д«efore delving into the Antileon EVO, a little history is in order. Although rated at 150Wpc into 8 ohms, the AntileonвЂ™s size, weight, and construction suggest an amplifier of five times that power output. The Antileon EVO is the very definition of a dreadnought-one look and you know that this amplifier means business. All the basic design elements of the original Antileon are here in the EVO, but taken to the next level of execution. Add completely independent left and right channels (including transformers and power cords), very little negative feedback, balanced circuitry, fully discrete components throughout with no coupling capacitors, and lavish execution with spectacular metalwork and industrial design, and you have the foundation of an amplifier with potentially reference-class performance. That DNA is like a blueprint for creating a no-compromise stereo power amplifier: pure Class A operation, an absolutely unflappable power supply, an overkill output stage, and massive heatsinks.

Although it features upgraded parts and a few new design tweaks, the Antileon EVOвЂ™s fundamental DNA remains the same Introduced in 1995, the amplifier is now in a third iteration-the Antileon EVO, reviewed here. A prime example is the Antileon power amplifier from Gryphon Audio Systems of Denmark. A udio components come and go over the years, but a few designs are so fundamentally correct from their inception that the productвЂ™s basic architecture cannot be improved upon.