[R-390] Audio Chips

[John Wendler]

At the risk of more hash in the can...

There are a bunch of stereo Class-D audio amplifiers out there these days -
I played with some in a previous life.

Upsides - stereo amps - you can drive that recorder channel, too.  Very
efficient, with minimal heatsinking requiremements

Downsides: some are smt and the ground/heatsink is through the base of the
package.  Don't use the family toaster oven for that work..  Hash is also a
risk, and you will need bypassing, shielding, etc.

Neither good nor bad, but something to be very aware of.  The outputs of
the ones that I played with are balanced.  I blew out several attaching the
scope probe center to one output terminal and the probe ground to the other
output terminal.  You need two scope probes with your channels in
differential mode or an audio 1:1 transformer to evaluate them without
smoke.

My guess is that most people would prefer the linear solution, but the
Class-D is nice for those who like the challenge.  That efficiency thing...
well, the less said on this list, the better.

A Happy and Prosperous New Year to all!

JP