I have just finished putting together a Sure TPA3122 kit. It is working well. Sounds a little thin though. Any one have any thoughts on modifying it to get a bit more body, especially bass out of it. I am planning on using it in a small portable with a pair of Tan-Ban 3" full range drivers and a 12 l-ion battery pack.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts 🙂
Thanks in advance for your thoughts 🙂
Sorry to say, but those tiny inefficient drivers are going to need all the power they can get. You would have been much better off going with an amplifier with bridged outputs.
I'm not expecting miracles out of the drivers or the amp. I'm realistic enough to know you can only get so much out a $10 amp and $16 speakers. I would like to get the best our of them as is possible and hopefully learn something along the way. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 😱
No suggestions 😕.
I'm going to start my second one and would like to try and improve it but don't have the know how or experience to know what mods will give the best result. I worked through the modifications recommended for the Sure 2024 and the improvements were very noticeable. I was hoping to do something similar with this one.
cheers
I'm going to start my second one and would like to try and improve it but don't have the know how or experience to know what mods will give the best result. I worked through the modifications recommended for the Sure 2024 and the improvements were very noticeable. I was hoping to do something similar with this one.
cheers
In terms of minor things you can try. You could increase the value of the input caps (the datasheet at Texas Instruments shows 1.0uF). You could also see what the max rail voltage is with your load and see if there is head room there, just be careful not to blow it.
The datasheet shows this amp will run with in BTL (Bridge Tied Load) and since you’re building another one that might just be the ticket. That will allow you to get rid of the output DC blocking caps but you will need a balanced input source. It also doubles the power.
The datasheet should give you some ideas and tell you what the limits are. I swap in and out of my system a class-d chip amp (5th-Order Delta-Sigma) running on a 12v supply. With my Fostex 6” 93dB\W speakers it sounds fine. I lower the damping by placing some 8ohm power resistors in series with the speaker. I can afford to waste 50% of the power because my speakers are efficient. I still think SE tubes still produce a better balance, but not having to worry about power consumption and leaving the class-d amp on all the time is truly a guiltless pleasure.
Leve
The datasheet shows this amp will run with in BTL (Bridge Tied Load) and since you’re building another one that might just be the ticket. That will allow you to get rid of the output DC blocking caps but you will need a balanced input source. It also doubles the power.
The datasheet should give you some ideas and tell you what the limits are. I swap in and out of my system a class-d chip amp (5th-Order Delta-Sigma) running on a 12v supply. With my Fostex 6” 93dB\W speakers it sounds fine. I lower the damping by placing some 8ohm power resistors in series with the speaker. I can afford to waste 50% of the power because my speakers are efficient. I still think SE tubes still produce a better balance, but not having to worry about power consumption and leaving the class-d amp on all the time is truly a guiltless pleasure.
Leve
I would double or quadruple c7, c8, c10, c11. I think the caps form high pass filter @ around 100Hz. This may explain bass roll off.
Duc
Duc
Thanks guys
I don't understand what's happening with c1 @ 2. There is a box around them with unused connector holes. Is this for an alternative larger cap? I couldn't find anything in the specs. I'm afraid I don't understand most of what I read yet.
I don't understand what's happening with c1 @ 2. There is a box around them with unused connector holes. Is this for an alternative larger cap? I couldn't find anything in the specs. I'm afraid I don't understand most of what I read yet.
Your right, the extra holes are for a larger size input capacitor (at C1 and C2) and adding a 1 film cap in those holes is a good idea. You can leave the one that's all ready on the board in place.
The biggest problem is the output coupling capacitors, as duc mentioned. The schematic shows two 220 mfd paralleled. That's too small to provide good bass to a 4 or 8 ohm speaker. The TI data sheet for this chip suggests 1000 mfd for a 20hz cut off with 8 ohm speakers and 2200 mfd for 20hz with a 4 ohm speaker for the output coupling cap.
The biggest problem is the output coupling capacitors, as duc mentioned. The schematic shows two 220 mfd paralleled. That's too small to provide good bass to a 4 or 8 ohm speaker. The TI data sheet for this chip suggests 1000 mfd for a 20hz cut off with 8 ohm speakers and 2200 mfd for 20hz with a 4 ohm speaker for the output coupling cap.
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I would think 1 mfd would be enough. Bigger is okay, but not required. A decent quality film type will sound better then a electrolytic.
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I've just about finished my first project with this little amp and have one small problem. On start up it makes some clicking sounds through the speakers. When I turn it off them on again the clicking is gone.
Any idea why it would do this?
ps: I am planning on implementing to the cap changes on the second board; have to order the caps.
Any idea why it would do this?
ps: I am planning on implementing to the cap changes on the second board; have to order the caps.
I don't have experience with that board. It may be normal for that chip when it first powers up. You could add a delayed relay to disconnect the speakers for a few seconds when the amp is powered up, but that's more work. I would only worry about it if it looks like its hard on the speakers when it happens. Do the speaker cones move excessively in or out when the click happens?
You have to invert the signal to one channel. If you're not using a balanced source then you have to build a separate circuit for this or use a transformer. I suggest just using one of their other ICs if you want bridged outputs.
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