Top ten Audio Designline articles for 2011

1/3/2012 11:55 AM EST

At the end of each year it's traditional to look back and see which articles and topics were most popular during the course of the year. So without further ado, here are the top ten technical articles (based on page views) on Audio Designline during 2011:

1. Audio amplifier power supply design - An excerpt from Douglas Self's book "Audio Power Amplifier Design Handbook" in three parts:

• Part 1: Power supply types & transformer considerations
• Part 2: External supplies, inrush current & RF emissions
• Part 3: Power-supply rail rejection

2. Op amps in small-signal audio design - An excerpt from Douglas Self's book "Small Signal Audio Design" in four parts:

• Part 1: Op amp history, properties
• Part 2: Distortion in bipolar and JFET input op-amps
• Part 3: Selecting the right op amp
• Part 4: Selecting the right op amp (JFET-input types reviewed)

3. Making sounds with analogue electronics - An excerpt from the book "Sound Synthesis and Sampling" in three parts:

• Part 1: Before the synthesizer
• Part 2: Subtractive synthesis
• Part 3: Envelopes

4. Audio converter subsystem design in the 21st-century - Most audio converter subsystems perform below the potential of their chosen data converter. Here, Ian Dennis of Prism Sound examines why that might be, and offers tips on how to achieve optimum audio performance.

5. Hi-fi digital audio streaming comes of age - This article examines some of the technology trends supporting high-end digital audio streaming.

6. How Class D audio amplifiers work - Making a Class D amplifier produce the sound that you want, at the quality level that you demand can be difficult. Jun Honda and Jonathan Adams of International Rectifier show how Class D amplifiers operate, and a few pitfalls to watch out for.

7. HDMI's Lip Sync and audio-video synchronization for broadcast and home video - HDMI 1.3 includes a Lip Sync feature to address the rising problem of poor audio-video synchronization resulting from numerous digital video processing steps in the television signal chain. But compliance is voluntary, and for a variety of reasons, CE devices and HDTVs may vary significantly in their synchronization performance.

8. HDMI Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) technology and testing - CEC functionality promises the consumer the ability to use a single remote control to operate multiple devices - no need to juggle separate remotes to control the TV, set-top box, portable HD devices, etc. Here's a look inside the spec, optional commands, compliance and interoperability testing.

9. Discrete audio amplifier basics - An excerpt from the book "Audio Engineering: Know it All" in two parts:

• Part 1: Bipolar junction transistor circuits
• Part 2: JFETs, MOSFETs and other circuit configurations

10. Understanding output filters for Class-D amplifiers - Improve your understanding of the functions performed by the various components in a Class-D audio amplifier filter and how to calculate the proper values.

Comments, questions or suggestions? Email me at rich.pell@ubm.com.