The Holy Grail Follower Output Stage

The exercise is the overall amplifier performance. But here are some measurements of the output stage without feedback.

I do not have a distortion-free source for +/-20V to drive the OS other than the opamp.
Here are some spectra with no global feedback, the feedback loop is only around the opamp with the same closed-loop gain.
Spectra 1 and 2 are for the amp output 1kHz into 8R at 1W and 16W.
Spectra 3 and 4 are for the opamp output under the same conditions.

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The spectra without global feedback are essentially identical to these shown with 12dB global feedback but multiplied be a factor of 4 (12dB). The opamp output has a minor contribution to the spectra.
 
Of note is the fact that the output devices are not available, The FQA28N15 is end of life and Mouser will get last shipment in March 2024. The FQA36P15 is nil stock and Mouser does not show delivery till July 2025!

Have you thought about current availability of the outputs - what else could be used?
 
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There are a couple INXS parts still in production that have been mentioned as alternatives. Finding good N & P channel pairs is tricky these days.

The IXTQ26P20P is another P channel part to consider. It has a lower input gate capacitance while keeping the low reverse transfer capacitance of the IXTQ36P15P.
 
So we can deduce that the OPS itself has H2 of about -75 dB, and H3 of -100dB.
Is that correct ?

Not too different from those measurements of twitchie with the standard M2OPS with the same devices.
(Post #31)


Patrick
For 1 Watt 1kHz into 8R
H2 is about 76dB below H1 => 0.016%
H3 is 26dB below H2 => 0.0008%

These numbers are somewhat better than those in post #31, but H2/H3 is about the same.

Even at full output of 25W with 12dB global feedback, H2 is only about 0.012%. Can you hear that?
 
Of note is the fact that the output devices are not available, The FQA28N15 is end of life and Mouser will get last shipment in March 2024. The FQA36P15 is nil stock and Mouser does not show delivery till July 2025!

Have you thought about current availability of the outputs - what else could be used?
That is interesting and unfortunate. I recall checking a week or so ago and they were still in stock.

Maybe someone is cleaning out the inventory of all the FETs useful for linear audio power amplifiers to resell at high prices.
 
The Bias Circuit:

The bias circuit has a three resistor network connecting the two optocoupler transistor outputs as shown in the 2nd image of post #1.

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Here are some measurement of the bias circuit behavior at different power output levels for some different resistor values for the resistors R11 and R12. In all cases R10=4.7

R11=R120W1W4W9W16W25W
Infinity1.30A1.40A1.55A1.70A1.85A2.01A
18K1.29A1.28A1.27A1.34A1.44A1.54A
16K1.30A1.29A1.27A1.31A1.38A1.47A
12K1.30A1,28A1.24A1.18A1.18A1.20A

The R11=R12=infinity case is similar to the XA25 bias circuit. With R11=R12 in the range between 12K and 15K the bias current is nearly constant with changes to the output power level, as predicted by the simulations.
 
I did run simulations of bias vs. rail voltage. Iq/Vrail was about 22mA/V. Not great.

Since the MeanWell LRS-150F SMPS has adjustable output voltage, I will attempt to make the measurement. The adjustment pot of one of the supplies is difficult to access when everything is together and powered up.