I am building some portable stereo boxes for boat and beach use but my friends seem to cut the volume up so high it sounds terrible. Is there something I can wire into the amp to cut the volume off once a certain wattage is reached, or is there something that will keep the volume at a certain wattage max no matter how high you turn up the volume?
Thanks for any help on this.
-G
Thanks for any help on this.
-G
Just fit a fixed attenuator before or after the volume control. Or in simple terms, fit a resistor in series with the input and the volume control.
You can vary the ratio of R to R(pot) but around about equal values will give you half the maximum output.
You can vary the ratio of R to R(pot) but around about equal values will give you half the maximum output.
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Some (most?) digital amp chips have a pin which indicates when the amp reaches clipping or overload. There are various ways of reducing the loudness of the signal going into the amp (read up on AVC, AGC, compressors and limiters). Alternatively, use that signal to mute the amp for several seconds, and illuminate an overload indicator. That will motivate the desired behavior. Unfortunately, most T-amp board designers seem to have overlooked the usefulness of the overload pin, and leave it unconnected.
Yamaha makes a digital amp chip that actually includes a built-in compressor/agc option. YDA148; it's much less popular than the Tripath chips, but you can get an amp from Dealextreme for about $10. I'm not sure just how easy that amp board makes it to configure the anti-clipping features, though.
Yamaha makes a digital amp chip that actually includes a built-in compressor/agc option. YDA148; it's much less popular than the Tripath chips, but you can get an amp from Dealextreme for about $10. I'm not sure just how easy that amp board makes it to configure the anti-clipping features, though.
A smaller power supply will just distort (Clip) at a lower volume. Too small and you will start to affect the operating points of the amplifier itself.
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