User Manual
42
V 1.1
2022-09-12
User manual for MERUS™ audio amplifier configurato
r
MA2304DNS/MA2304PNS
DSP audio blocks
Increasing the peak limiter attack time higher than 0 ms allows the initial transient to go through the limit. This
is shown in the example plot below:
Figure 53
Peak limiter with attack time greater than 0 ms
Some applications benefit from allowing transients above the limiter threshold. Loudspeakers, for instance,
heat up when power is applied to them, but not instantaneously. It takes some time for the speaker voice coil
and magnet to heat up. This allows for short-duration peaks without heating the loudspeaker significantly.
Typical music content has a large crest factor (peak-to-RMS ratio), which can be used as an advantage when
using limiters by preserving the music dynamic range and keeping long-term signals (e.g., sine tones)
controlled.
Lastly, in the case of an RMS limiter, its level detector follows the RMS level of the input signal. Measuring
proper RMS levels require several periods of sampling which, by design, is not fast enough to stop peaks above
the limit. However, an RMS limiter may sound more natural than a peak detector.
When observed in time domain, the RMS limiter will limit sinewaves 3 dB above the programmed threshold, as
shown in the image below. This is because a sinewa
ve’s
peak is 3 dB above its RMS level. However, a square-
wave peak will be limited to the programmed threshold level since its peak is the same as its RMS.
Figure 54
RMS limiter waveform