Hybrid controller for mid-range mid-power audio application

A major reason for compromised audio quality with a coil-type loudspeaker is its complex impedance profile, which disturbs the intended algebraic linearity or linear phase behavior between the amplifier input and speaker driving force. Though switch-mode amplifiers are increasingly preferred in such audio systems owing to their superior energy efficiency, their inherent non-linearity and finite internal impedance further degrade audio reproduction. This paper investigates the effect of stated impedance on the loudspeaker driving current, hence on the loudspeaker driving force, and proposes a Hybrid controller-amplifier to enhance the proportionality between the audio reference and driving force without compromising on loudspeaker damping. The Hybrid amplifier combines a sliding mode controlled amplifier (SMCA) and a linear controller, designed after exhaustive modeling of the input-output behavior of the SMCA and best-fit approximation of the loudspeaker impedance. An 8 W, 500 Hz to 20 kHz prototype of the proposed amplifier is fabricated on the basis of the presented design. Time and frequency-domain results obtained with the experimental hardware are presented to validate the performance improvement.