Quote:
Originally Posted by Daroid
RSA probably use some different topology i'm sure. There are other ways to detect DC which does not involve coupling capacitors, which effectively can shut off the amplifier if the dc voltage input is too high.
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Without having seen an RSA Hornet board or a schematic for one in person, I can't say what protection methods it may have.
It's entirely possible that it doesn't have
any DC offset protection. The Mini3v2 for example does not. But it's a portable amp, and most portable sources have capacitor-coupled output or a headphone driver with it's own offset zeroing methods.
Nearly all of my amp knowledge is in DIY amps - but the truth is that commercial amps are very similar in design, and sometimes far less ambitious in design. Sometimes, it's the same flippin circuit in a pretty box with a high price tag.
Some amps, like the dynalo / gilmore lite (same thing) have a circuit that actively zeroes out the offset on the output. This is called a DC servo.
Some amps, especially tube amps but some solid-state designs as well, have output coupling capacitors.
And some are designed to have a stable ground reference but not to protect against DC offset on the input - these are referred to as DC-coupled amps. Sometimes these run without protection of any kind like my Rotel integrated amp, and sometimes they have DC offset and clipping detection, like my Akai power amp.
The protection circuits detect offset a variety of ways, but generally all of them use relays to open or close the circuit.
If you have a DC-coupled amp with no protection circuit, you can add a protection circuit to it. AMB Labs sells a DIY board for that which works quite well.