Philips Semiconductors
AN<nnnnn>
TDA1562Q application note
<12NC>
© Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. 2004. All rights reserved.
Application note
Rev. 01.02 — 05 May 2006
32 of 62
5.7 Thermal behavior
5.7.1 Power dissipation
In order to calculate a suitable heatsink for the TDA1562Q it is necessary to know the
power dissipation in the amplifier.
Usually, the power dissipation of an amplifier is determined by driving the amplifier to a
certain output power, and then measuring the total power delivered by the power supply.
The dissipated power can then be calculated by subtracting the output power from the
total power.
Generally, a sine wave signal is used to measure the power dissipation. For a
conventional class AB amplifier, the worst case power dissipation with a sine wave signal
will occur at approximately 50% of the clipping level, so for a 20W amplifier that would be
at approximately 10W. The power dissipation will then be approximately 10W. An 80W
amplifier will have a worst case power dissipation (with sine wave signal) of
approximately 40W.
A rule of thumb is that the power dissipation with a music signal is 50% of the
worst case power dissipation, measured with a sine wave signal. For an 80W
amplifier this would then be approximately 20W.
These rules only apply for amplifiers with a constant supply voltage. For high
efficiency amplifiers, the test method using sine wave signals is inadequate for
calculating a realistic heatsink. In this case not a sine wave signal, but a music
signal or a music-like signal should be used.
A signal which is very similar to a music signal is a pink noise signal which is filtered
through an IEC 60268 filter. The schematic diagram for this filter is shown in figure 17.
Fig 17. IEC 60268 filter
A pink noise signal, filtered through this filter will give a good representation of a music
signal. The great advantage of this signal, compared to a music signal, is that it is
reproducible.