15
Electronic Protection and Reliability
Electronic protection circuitry and amplifier
reliability, alas, is an area sadly neglected by
many high-end audio amplifier designers.
Halcro has paid a great deal of attention to this
area.
Components
Our components are selected not only for
performance but reliability as well, for
example:
•
all Halcro electrolytic capacitors are rated
at a minimum of 105ºC instead of the
usual 85ºC rating
The operational life of electrolytic
capacitors is severely shortened at
temperatures near the maximum
temperature rating. This is shown in the
table below.
•
all Halcro integrated circuits are at least
“industrial grade” rather than the usual
“commercial grade”
Industrial grade components are rated at
least from –40ºC to +85ºC whereas
commercial grade components are only
rated from 0 to 70ºC. In addition, the
electronic specifications of industrial
grade components are superior to
commercial grade.
Considering that most amplifiers run at
significantly elevated temperatures, it can be
seen from the table below that the Halcro high
temperature rated capacitors are highly
advantageous compared to the standard
85ºC rated devices.
Electrolytic capacitor
temperature rating
Mean lifetime at 40ºC
Mean lifetime
at 85ºC
Mean lifetime
at 105ºC
85ºC (most commonly used)
50,000 hours
2,000 hours
0 hours
105ºC (used in Halcro
amplifiers)
180,000 hours
8,000 hours
2,000 hours
Typical data from a highly respected manufacturer
