Line level power supply concepts
Posted: January 6th, 2019, 9:02 am
A line level power supply should provide several functions in order to be most effective.
First it must provide the signal section of the equipment with sufficient power to allow the least amount of disturbance of any audio signal regardless of frequency. To achieve that it must be able to provide sufficient power from the lowest to the highest frequencies. Regardless of the current demands of the circuit, sufficient current should be available for any time period to prevent voltage drops that could affect the linearity of the circuit.
Second, it should appear to the circuit as a source of power that is independent from any changes coming from the AC line. In other words, it should make the power supply appear to be an isolated battery.
The AC mains can cause problems to the line level circuitry in two main ways. The first is it can be unstable with respect to voltage and potentially current supply capability. Current capability is not at issue with the modest demands of line level equipment although it is at the power amplifier level. The second is the introduction into the circuit of spurious noise especially at high frequencies where the circuitry is most likely highly sensitive.
The power supply really consists of three sections. The first is the brute force conversion of the AC supply to DC with sufficient voltage and current to handle any load. The second section provides voltage regulation to ensure that long term voltage stability requirements are met. The third section provides audio and high frequency isolation from the basic regulated section. That third section needs to take into account the rate at which power is required from the circuit and the sensitivity of the circuit to rates of change of the power supply.
The first section of the supply is typically handled by either a transformer with rectification and filtration or a switch mode power supply. Both have advantages and disadvantages which are too involved to be handled here. For the rest of this discussion, it will be assumed that the power supply is a low voltage one designed for Op Amps because of the characteristics of those devices although the principals remain the same.
The second section provides the basic regulation of the DC voltage from the fundamental fluctuations that occur on AC lines. In addition some reduction of noise from the AC line occurs but that reduction is frequency dependent. Most modern regulators used in these supplies are optimized to reject fluctuations at line frequencies and below and do quite well in that range. Their ability to reject changes caused by line noise decreases with frequency. At the same time the ability of Op Amps to reject power supply changes also decreases as the frequency of those changes increases.
The third section provides an increasing ability to reject incoming noise as the noise frequency increases, offsetting the limitations in the regulators and amplifying circuitry. The best way to achieve that noise reduction is with a low pass filter consisting of a choke and filter capacitor. It is a passive solution that behaves well with minimal intrusion of the circuit. For best performance, the capacitor section of the filter should have several stages. The first should be large enough to provide sufficient current well beyond the lowest frequency signal demands of the circuit and also provide a turnover point of the filter below the frequency where the signal circuit begins to lose its ability to reject changes. That large capacitor section typically does not have the ability to provide sufficient current at a fast enough rate to handle the highest frequency demands. Paralleling that first capacitor section is a second consisting of a high frequency design intermediate value capacitor to increase the rate at which current can be supplied to the circuit. The third stage is local energy storage and bypassing of the power supply right at the power supply input leads of the Op Amp. Generally that consists of paralleled low value tantalum or HF electrolytic capacitors with monolithic ceramic capacitors. The tantalums provide current at the highest rate and both bypass any parasitic noise from the circuit that may try to enter the amp. For bypassing HF energy past the PS inputs, monolithic ceramic capacitors are best.
In summary, the three stage philosophy of power supply design allows tailoring of the power delivered to the signal circuit to minimize interference from AC line problems while providing whatever power is needed by the signal circuitry at any frequency.
First it must provide the signal section of the equipment with sufficient power to allow the least amount of disturbance of any audio signal regardless of frequency. To achieve that it must be able to provide sufficient power from the lowest to the highest frequencies. Regardless of the current demands of the circuit, sufficient current should be available for any time period to prevent voltage drops that could affect the linearity of the circuit.
Second, it should appear to the circuit as a source of power that is independent from any changes coming from the AC line. In other words, it should make the power supply appear to be an isolated battery.
The AC mains can cause problems to the line level circuitry in two main ways. The first is it can be unstable with respect to voltage and potentially current supply capability. Current capability is not at issue with the modest demands of line level equipment although it is at the power amplifier level. The second is the introduction into the circuit of spurious noise especially at high frequencies where the circuitry is most likely highly sensitive.
The power supply really consists of three sections. The first is the brute force conversion of the AC supply to DC with sufficient voltage and current to handle any load. The second section provides voltage regulation to ensure that long term voltage stability requirements are met. The third section provides audio and high frequency isolation from the basic regulated section. That third section needs to take into account the rate at which power is required from the circuit and the sensitivity of the circuit to rates of change of the power supply.
The first section of the supply is typically handled by either a transformer with rectification and filtration or a switch mode power supply. Both have advantages and disadvantages which are too involved to be handled here. For the rest of this discussion, it will be assumed that the power supply is a low voltage one designed for Op Amps because of the characteristics of those devices although the principals remain the same.
The second section provides the basic regulation of the DC voltage from the fundamental fluctuations that occur on AC lines. In addition some reduction of noise from the AC line occurs but that reduction is frequency dependent. Most modern regulators used in these supplies are optimized to reject fluctuations at line frequencies and below and do quite well in that range. Their ability to reject changes caused by line noise decreases with frequency. At the same time the ability of Op Amps to reject power supply changes also decreases as the frequency of those changes increases.
The third section provides an increasing ability to reject incoming noise as the noise frequency increases, offsetting the limitations in the regulators and amplifying circuitry. The best way to achieve that noise reduction is with a low pass filter consisting of a choke and filter capacitor. It is a passive solution that behaves well with minimal intrusion of the circuit. For best performance, the capacitor section of the filter should have several stages. The first should be large enough to provide sufficient current well beyond the lowest frequency signal demands of the circuit and also provide a turnover point of the filter below the frequency where the signal circuit begins to lose its ability to reject changes. That large capacitor section typically does not have the ability to provide sufficient current at a fast enough rate to handle the highest frequency demands. Paralleling that first capacitor section is a second consisting of a high frequency design intermediate value capacitor to increase the rate at which current can be supplied to the circuit. The third stage is local energy storage and bypassing of the power supply right at the power supply input leads of the Op Amp. Generally that consists of paralleled low value tantalum or HF electrolytic capacitors with monolithic ceramic capacitors. The tantalums provide current at the highest rate and both bypass any parasitic noise from the circuit that may try to enter the amp. For bypassing HF energy past the PS inputs, monolithic ceramic capacitors are best.
In summary, the three stage philosophy of power supply design allows tailoring of the power delivered to the signal circuit to minimize interference from AC line problems while providing whatever power is needed by the signal circuitry at any frequency.