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TAS2780EVM: How to configure for max power and max volume

Part Number: TAS2780EVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TAS2780, PUREPATHCONSOLE

Hello TI Audio Team,

I've been evaluating the TAS2780EVM  with a 4Ohm speaker capable of 35W. I have the TAS2780EVM connected to a 23V programmable power supply with a current limit set to 2.4A. During all testing I've never seen the power supply draw above 50mA (1.2W). Per the datasheet and evm user guide I was assuming that I should see close to 1A (~24W). I've tried different configuration settings in PurePath Console3's device control such as:

  • Turning off the limiter
  • Configuring the limiter to a min attenuation and setting thresholds as high as possible for the threshold and inflection point
  • Confirmed that Volume control and amplifier level are set to max (0.0dB and 21dBV)
  • Under miscellaneous set PVDD to 23V the same voltage as what I supply with the PSU
  • I've also swapped between basic and advance views to see if it makes a difference. 
  • Verified that my computer's audio level is also set to max output

After making these changes I haven't seen a noticeable difference in output wattage. Are there other settings I need to configure either on the EVM board or through PurePath to test the upper performance of the audio amp?

Part of my evaluation is to also compare the relative volume that the TAS2780EVM can drive speakers versus the legacy product. The legacy product uses a TDA2616 audio amp and is getting about 3dB-6dB more volume than the TAS2780. I believe this is due to my configuration because the TAS2780 datasheet would indicate that it can provide similar power compared to TDA2616. 

Please let me know if you have any insights on the power draw and if there are settings I should change for max power and max volume. 

Thank you,

Kessler 

  • Hi Kessler, 

    Can you please share the ppc3 file you are using and I will check it on my side?

    Are you using the EVM with USB for the audio input? if you are using a sperate TDM source it could perhaps be a bit shift issue

    can you please check section 4.2 in the EVM users guide and confirm the default jumper settings are correct  https://www.ti.com/lit/ug/slou551a/slou551a.pdf? 

    Also, please double check the audio settings on your PC. 

    Regards,
    Arthur

  • Hi Arthur,

    Yes I can. Here is a link to test1.ppc3 : https://dimontegroup-my.sharepoint.com/:u:/p/kkerr/EWN97jV7fhxJiGIspbfStKABbxx9RuPkiJIg3bpUAkqaGw?e=IkERJV (I had trouble adding the file using the upload feature / dragging and dropping).

    I am using USB for the audio input and confirmed that the PC audio settings are set per section 4.3 of the user guide. In addition my jumpers are set per 4.2 of the user guide other than J30-J33 which are disconnected. 

    Thank you,

    Kessler 

  • Hi Kessler, 

    I checked with your "test.ppc3" file and didnt find any issue. I am able to pull about 1.5A from my 20V supply. - same jumper settings as you.

    can you please triple check the windows playback volume? - i know i sound like a broken record, but something seems off with the system

    Also would  be good to check in the TI audio control panel as well

    Regards,
    Arthur

  • Hi Arthur,

    Thanks for the reply and support so far. It's good to know that the PPC3 configuration I am using should be working.

    I've double checked the settings and they do appear to be set appropriately. I did uncheck the Safe Mode checkbox in the TI audio control panel and redid my testing and now I am getting higher current draw from the power supply 24V 0.42A (~10W) but still isn't close to the expected 30W like you were able to do. 

    I have an additional audio amplifier board which I plan to test Monday to see if this is a board problem. I'll let you know what I find. Please let me know if you have any suggestions as well?

    Thanks,

    Kessler 

  • Hi Arthur,

    I've unboxed our other TAS2780EVM today and confirmed jumper settings and Windows Sound settings. Using the Test1.PPC3 file I see about 310mA being drawn (with my PSU set to 24V this is about 7.5W). I've been using this youtube as the audio input for the TAS2780: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIDAbW-JbC0

    Would you be able to share the ppc3 file you are using on your end and the audio file / source? I would like to see if it is either my ppc3 file or audio source that are the cause for the difference between your set up and mine.

    Thanks,

    Kessler  

  • Hi Kessler,

    I have been using audacity. which we where using in the other thread to check the IV-sense. in audacity you can select Generate->Tone and set the amplitude to "1" to get a 0dBFS input to the EVM. which should be about 30W output

    Regards,
    Arthur

  • Hi Arthur,

    Thanks for the advice on Audacity. I was able to verify that the TAS2780 draws momentarily above 20W on the 4 Ohm 45W speaker I have. The PSU and current probe should that I have an 1.12A current draw but it quickly decreases and stabelizes to around 260mA. Do you know if this is expected from the TAS2780? 

    On another note I also began looking at the output signals on an oscilloscope and see quite a bit of noise on the output of the TAS2780 and wonder if this is relared and would like to get it cleaned up if possible. Reviewing the schematic and datasheet the TAS2780 claims it does not need filtering on the output but was curious if based on the waveform below would you recommend it? I am playing a 523Hz tone using Audacity and can see a sine wave of the frequency but also many square waves which I assume is the PWM freq of the H bridge. 

     

    Thanks,

    Kessler 

  • Hi Kessler,

    When I tested with your ppc3 file i did not see the same behavior where the current will quickly decrease, in this case it could be one of the limiters. is everything disabled? could you also check by recording the V-sense when the current drops from 1.12 - 260mA? we can see if the amp is attenuating or if some other phenomenon is happening. such as the speakers R increasing as it heats, but for a copper voice coil the R increasing 4x is not really expected. 

    this is the PWM of the class D. 

    a filter on the output is not needed to get the full audio performance. - really the speaker is acting as the filter

    the class-D is switching at 768kHz far out of the audio band, and due to the inductance of the speaker this content will not contribute.to power consumption or heating of the speaker. and ofcourse not be audible. 

    If you want to check the output waveform there are two options

    1) create a simple LC  or RC LPF ~40kHz and you can check it on the scope.

    2) use the V-sense recording from the device. which is like a LPF+ADC  

    Regards,
    Arthur

  • Hi Arthur,

    I can confirm that I do not have any limiters on. They are off in PurePathConsole on the TAS2780EVM page. Attached is the recording of Vsense and Isense. The top is Isense. As you can it quickly decreases at start up. The blip where Isense goes to zero is when I disconnected the speaker to confirm which channel was Isense. 

    This is with a stock EVM kit without any modifications being made to the output filter. 

    Thanks,

    Kessler 

  • Hi Kessler, 

    do you by chance have any audio processing affecting your USB output. in windows sounds -> TI USB -> Properties -> Advanced. do you have any checkbox like "enable audio enhancements' or something similar?

    Regards,

    Arthur

  • Hi Arthur,

    Here are the settings in Window's sounds. Under "enhancements" all of the enhancements are off. Under "advance" there are some checkboxes for exclusive mode

    I also checked the box to "disable  all enhancements" and disable exclusive mode and the power was much higher for the continuous audio stream.

    Thanks for the help in troubleshooting through the Windows settings.