This active version of
explained that a subwoofer may have
the subwoofer
described in last
month's instalment is a
plus for virtually any hi-fi
system. Where the low
cut-off frequency of the
passive version is
around 40 Hz, it is down
to about 20 Hz in the
active subwoofer. With
its integral 240 W ampli-
fier, it is the answer for
those seeking a realistic
bass foundation for their
system. The more so,
since its building cost is
very reasonable.
Design by T. Giesberts
~64
In Part 1 of this article, the benefit was faithfully, or when thunder claps are
to sound realistic. Also, the sound
for realistic reproduction of hi-fi tracksof filrns like Jurassie Park and Top
sound, particularly in audio-visual sys- Gun gain in reality if the audio range
tems with surround sound. So, what is goes down well below 40 Hz.
the value added of this
active version, it may be
Technical data
asked. Is a cut-off fre-
queney of around 40 Hz V Drive unit 300 mm (8 in),
not sufficient for good e.g. Monacor (SPH-300TC),
(bass) sound reproduc- KEF, Radio Shack (40-1024);
tian? Parts Express (295-240)
The answer is yes and
V Type 01 enclosure Bass reflex
no: it depends what you
V Box dimensions 660x406x420mm (incl.legs)
want. For most music re-
26x 16x 169116 in
product:ion 40 Hz is a
good figure: It corre-
V Volume 01 box 651
sponds roughly with the
V Frequency range 20 Hz to 40 Hz, 50 Hz,
60 Hz or 70 Hz (as se/ected)
lowest tone of a double
bass. Loudspeakers that V Cross-over Irequency 40 Hz, 50 Hz,
60 Hz or 70 Hz (as se/ected)
can reproduce this fre-
quelley with good sound V Power output 245 W into 4 12 (thd = 0.1%)
pressure are few and far 130 W into 8 12 (thd = 0.1%)
between. Nevertheless, V THO + Nat 100Hz at 1 W into 8 12: 0.0046%
there are a.f. signals at 50 W into 8 12: 0.001%
where 40 Hz is not suffi- at 1 W into 4 12: 0.007%
cient. This is the case, for at 100 W into 4 12: 0.0016%
instance, when the canon V Signal 10 noise ratio 90 dB linear (93 dBA)
fire in Tchaikovsky' s at 1 W into 8 12
'1812' is to be reproduced V Oamping lactor >400 (with 4 12 load)
Elektor Electronics 4/96
 Although the guestion may be
asked how far down to go, to which
the answer is 'the further the better", a 1.00.0 ....., , , , ,.c;.; , Ii
95.0
sensible, practicallimit appears to be
about 20 Hz. This is because the 90.0

threshold of human hearing is at 85.0

around that figure. Lower frequencies ~.o

are 'felt' rather than heard (to hear 75.0
them wouJd require a battery of loud- 70.0
speakers that could not be accommo-
65.0
dated in the average horne. Moreover,
60.0 ... .;...
+ .: ........ .....
even if it could, the possibility of darn-
age to the building at the required vol- 55.0 ._ L ... ; • ..1 ... :

urne is not imaginary). 50.0 ... ~

U the cut-off frequency is set at 20 auto

1.0.0 1.00.0 1.000.0

Hz, very good low-frequency repro-
log Frequency - Hz
duction is possible, while the required 960049-11

air displacement can be

achieved with normal Flgure 6. Frequency
means. However; with cha,acterlsUc of the
a passive system, this 300 mm d,1ve unit In Hz already. The curve The aeoustic end result of the de-
would required an en- Its base reflex box, becomes slightly steep- sign is shown in Figure 8, which
dos ure of a couple of wlthout fllteT and wlth- er at about 60 Hz and shows that the response is virtually
hund red litres, and out correetlon. even more so at 30 Hz. straight between 20 Hz and 70 Hz.
that again would be The latter is a direct re- The solid curve is that of the actively
unacceptable in the average home. sult of the bass reflex vent: above the corrected subwoofer and is obtained
Therefore, what is required is an ... vent frequency, the roll off occurs at 12 with a standard microphone and
dB/octave (second order) and below it, spectrum analyser. Comparing this
at 18 dB/octave (third order). curve with that of Figure 6 shows im-
ACTIVE DESIGN The active design has a basic fre- mediately the enhancement provided
The most notable difference between quency range of 20-70 Hz. To straight- by the added electronics. The dotted
an active and a passive loudspeaker is en the response curve, the eleetronic curve is obtained when the (upper)
the amplifier in the former. In a mul- filter rnust have a response as shown cut-off frequency is set to its lowest
tiple system, two or more would be in Figure 7. This curve peaks at 20 Hz value of 40 Hz.
needed, but forhmately only one in a (note that it begins to straighten out
subwoofen The fact that an active de- belween 30 Hz and 20 Hz). There are
sign has its own amplifier makes it eas- four cu.rves in the figure, because the DESIGN
ily brought into line with the loud- filter is designed with four switched CONSIDERATIONS
speakers in the system into which it is (upper) cut-off frequencies. This The active subwoofer is based on
being introduced. makes it easier for the loudspeaker to the 30 cm drive unit specified in Part
Anather beneficial aspect of an ac- be combined with ex- 1, and is housed in the
tive design is that the necessary filter- isting systems. Actual- Figu,e 7. Response of same bass reflex box
ing can take place before the power ly, we have jumped fhe comblned COTTec· described in that in-
amplifier. This filtering is carried out ahead sllghtly, because fion fllte, and CTOSS- stalment. The tradi-
eJectronically, which has the advan- Hgure 7 shows the re- ove, filter. The tou, tional eross-over filter
tage of offering virtually limitlese op- sponses of the aetive curves ,efe, to is not used in the ac-
portunifies for correcting or marupu- part of the subwoofer. (uppe,) '011-0" f,e· live design: it is re-
lating the frequency response of the quencies of 40 Hz, 50
drive unit. Hz, 60 Hz and 70 Hz.
In the present design, these oppor-
tunities are taken gretefully, since they Elektor OEFAULT AMPL(dBr) vs FREQ(Hz)
20.000
alJow a relatively small enclosure to re- 18.000
produce frequencies down to 20 Hz. 16.000
This is da ne by measuring the re- 14.000
12.000
sponse of the drive unit in its (tao
10.000
small) enclosure and creating a filter 8.0000
with a mirror image of that response. 6.0000
This results in the filter compensating 4.‫סס‬00
2.0000
the irreguJar response of the box until 0.0
a straight response curve is obtalned. -2.000
The response of the passive loud- -4.000
-6.000
speaker described in Part 1 (using the
·8.000
Monacor drive unit) Is shown in Pig- -10.00
ure 6. lt will be recalled that the vol- -12.00
urne of the endosure is 65 l. The cut- -14.00
·16.00
off frequency is about 45 Hz, but a -18.00
close look at the curve shows that the -20.00
response begins to roll off at around 85 10 100

Elektor Electronics 4196

65
 terminals---see Figure 9.
File: C:'~SUB7ElHZ.FRQ 11-3-'}5 2:21 m The existing a.f. amplifier and the
Transfer Function l1i - dB SPLI'uolts ce .3e oct.) subwoofers must be linked by
screened audio cable, not by loud-
.100.0
speaker cable.
95.0
The filter; output amplifier and the
90.0 necessary power supply are housed
v "
"'.0 in a conunon enclosure that is placed
80.0
/ r-, close to the loudspeaker or even fas-
/ ,\ tened on to it.
7'5.0
J -,
70.0
-,
THE FILTER
65.0

60.0
-, The circuit of the fiJter is shown in the
55.0
"". \ diagram in Figure 10. lt consists of four
"', \ distinct parts: correction filter IC2d,
50.0
auto
-, lC26 eross-over filter IC2b, IC2a; drive
.10.0 WO.O J.OQO.O level indicator IC3, Tl; and symmetri-
log Frequency - Hz eal power supply IC", ICS'
960049 -13
OperationaJ amplifier ]C1a fune-
tions as an up-counter for the left-
Flgun 8. Affer cornc- hand and right-hand channels. Its am-
plaeed by an electron- flon, the frequency must provide a reasan- plifieation is va ried with P1' High-
ie fiJter and apower
amplifier;
response curve
actlve subwoofer is
the 0' able output power: in
the present destgn. 240
value resistors R1 and R2 ensure that
loudspeaker signals can be processed
The electronic filter straight from 20 Hz to W The amplifier drives without any difficulty.
is a combination of a 70 Hz. The dotted both voice coils of the The op amp is followed by the
culVe Is measund drive unit, which are correction filter. This is a secend-
correction filter and a
with a roll-off frequen-
eross-over filter, Tt connected in parallel. order low-pass type based on IC2d.lts
cy 0'40 Hz.
stralghrens the re- Sinee the eleetronic output is added to the unfiltered sig-
sponse curve of the filter has line inputs as nal in IC2e Capacitars (3 and C4 Limit
drive unit and can be switched to give weU as high-Ievel Inputs, the active the bandwidth (as does capacitor Cl
one of four different (upper) roll-off subwoofer may be driven by a pream- at the Input of the aruplifier-c-see Hg-
frequencies. plifier (or via the prc-out terminals of ure 11). The correction is enhanced
Since the filter correction is no less an integrated amplifier) by output buffer R2S-
than 10 dB at 20 Hz, the arnplifier or via the loudspeaker
Figun 9. The actlve 9~ w\1i<;h fpaq1,.","-_
subwoofer is a combi- the response 0f the
nation 0'
loudspeaker,
amplffler and filter. It
Ioudspeaket tb change
gradually from secend
can be driven via a order to thi\d 'l[äe!\
line output or via the The cros -over filter

L ...
LlNE LEVEL
... R
loudspeaker output. is based en IQb.Jtis an
active third-order IOw-'
pass Butterworth fiIter !hat can be set
\1\ }B
I
ampliller
r- A
I filter
11 :::::::J 1 11 :::::::J I I

~- B
0
0 00000 I

: ...
o-~-~

L ...
HIGH LEVEL
... R i* ~
active subwoofer
\ }A

* see text

I:@:I r
o
@l 01
0

e e
e e 960049·14

Elektor Electronics 4/96

66
 r--~--------------------l le1 ::::NE5532
I I IC2" TL084
~

~~~~~
7815
.~~~--~~~I
~......:'::C4::. I
+ +
IC3:c LM319

@-
~+1V
15V ... 13V

14V4 .. 12V4

G:> -1V

I 2ic 15,\1 40Hz

I WAS

I
I
I
I
-\"p'\ ~z

: ~••.
~-ö~+-~--~~~ ~z

I
L
®J 7915
J 960049 - 15

Figura 10. Tha c/rcult

0' the actill8 "lter Is
s/mpllclty itsa". Tha
to any one of four dif- extent.
ferent (~pe~) roll-oft drill8 levellndlcator The indicator is
frequemji$ with 5j. IJased on IC3 15 a based on IC3a and
boon.
W'ith cornp,onent values IC3b, which form a
OS spedfi~ on the cir- window comparator,
cuit dia~, these frequendes are: 40 whieh is designed such that the led
Hz, 50 Hi, 60 Hz, 70 Hz. lights when the output voltage of ICjb
The filter is followed by inverter exeeeds a level of 1 Vpeak. Since the
IC2a, SO at it is possible to seleet (with output amplifier has an input sensi-
SV eitl'!,er the original signal or one tivity of 1 Vrms, its drive remains
!hat is 80· out of phase with it. This about 3 dB below maximum (provid-
is an advantage with certain ed that the warning signal has been
IoudSf'eaker systems. responded to).
TIle filtered signal is applied to the The brightness of D1 is enhanced
1- __ -..:O~U!!!pJlI'j
t via buffer ICjb. by the high charging eurrent (1 A)
e drive level indicator, Je3 and through CIS delivered by Tj. This also
Tl' is intended as a proteetion for the results in a certain amount of after-
loudspeaker: when the amplifier is dri- glow onee the peak has passed. Net-
ven to half its maximum output, diode work R3S-C16 decouples the power
Dj lights. This optieal signal is a warn- line, so that charging pulses do not
ing to turn down the volume to some cause any interference in the filter;

Elektor Electronics 4196

67~
 R6 MJE15030 GT200201
11 31k6 MJE1S031 GT20Dl01
R8
80139
3k32
BC640
01 03

I. C E
C
8

(0 R14
~

MJE15030
~r
T2 ...
,"
lW3
R16
100n

R17
100n
8
C
E
G C

06
E

......35V

'"
68n J

C4

oh---G:J--I
Al Cl
~
R24
680n
tn
~
270n

~
0
• -e ,T6
0
"
T3 ' ~ J R21 05 ...07 = lN4004
MJE15031 100n T4, T5 = GT20D201
.I. R20
L51 T6, T7 = GT20Dl01

tv tocn ..-.@-+22mv
~ +100%
@>OV

lW3 B 2V.SQ% ~+18V

R11

0
+-0-+
C
+ 100%
200mY_5O% ~-18V
0
R9
3k32
~ 04 ---0-+ ,V6

49V 960049 - 16

Figure 11. Sinee Ihe

oUlpuI ampllfler does
not have 10proeess
The symmetricaJ frequeneles above AD847 from Analog De- qmescent current, set with P11 drops a
15 V power supply is a aboul 100 Hz, IIs vices. Its supply voltage little so that the arnplifier cools more
traditional design: design Is spar/an. In has been made as high quickly
mains transformer,
spll o( Ihls, Its perfor-
as feasible (±18 V) with Annoying and possibly damaging
mance 15 exeellenl
bridge rectifier, the aid of zener diedes switch-on piops are avoided by the
and its power /s suffi-
smoothing capacitors e/enl 10 drive Ihe sub- D, and 02 to minimize traditional relay, controlled by a delay
and two voltage regu- woofer 10 Ihe very lim- the risk of overdriving. circuit, in series with the loudspeaker:
lators, le. and Jes_ its o( its loadabIlity. TI1e currcnt am pli- Transistor TB conducts only when C9
Diode D2 is the on/off fier ts formed by two has been charged to a certain level via
indicator; "darlington-üke' conftg- R31: that is, a few seconds after the
urations, each consisting of a medium supply has been switched on.
power drivet, TfT41 followed by two The deJay circuit is powered di-
TEE parallel-connected Insulated Gate rectly by the secondary winding of the
POWER AMPLIFIER Bipolar Transistors (igbts), T.·TS and rnains transformer. This has the ad-
The output of the filter is coupled di- T6-T7· Network R23-R24 ensures that vantage of the relay being deenergized
rectly to the power amplifier whose the power stages not only provide cur- immediately the supply is switched off
circuit is shown in the diagram in Fig- rent amplifiration, but also voltage am- and not after the reservoir capacitors
ure 11. Considering its output power, plification of X4. This is necessary be- in the power supply have been dis-
the amplifier is fairly compact and cause le, works from a suppJy of only charged.
straightforward. The compactness is a :1:18 V, whereas the output stages need
conscious part of the design, while the to be driven to about :1:45 V Next month's instalment will deal
simplicity is brought about by the fact 'Zener ' transistor Tl enables the with the construction.
that the amplifier needs to perform correct serting of the quiescent current. (960019)
weil only up to about 100 Hz. For good quiescent-current stability, it
The amplifier is a combination of is necessary that Tl is fitted on to the
an integrated voltage amplifier and a sarne heat sink as the dnvers and
discrete current amplifier; Sinee the power transistors. The stage is de-
voltage amplifier needs to meet certain signed so that it has a slightly negative
strict requirements. it is based on a temperature coefficient. This means
very fast op amp (Je,), the Type that when the heat sink warms up, the

Elektor Electronics 4/96

69