TABLE 8. Output Gain Control (Loudspeaker)
Bit Value Gain (dB)
Differential Input
Gain (dB)
Single-Ended Input
LS_GAIN 0 0 +6
1 +6 +12
BRIDGE CONFIGURATION EXPLAINED
The LM49120 loudspeaker amplifier is designed to drive a
load differentially, a configuration commonly referred to as a
bridge-tied load (BTL). The BTL configuration differs from the
single-ended configuration, where one side of the load is con-
nected to ground. A BTL amplifier offers advantages over a
single-ended device. By driving the load differentially, the out-
put voltage is doubled, compared to a single-ended amplifier
under similar conditions. This doubling of the output voltage
leads to a quadrupling of the output power, for example, the
theoretical maximum output power for a single-ended ampli-
fier driving 8Ω and operating from a 5V supply is 390mW,
while the theoretical maximum output power for a BTL ampli-
fier operating under the same conditions is 1.56W. Since the
amplifier outputs are both biased about VDD/2, there is no net
DC voltage across the load, eliminating the DC blocking ca-
pacitors required by single-ended, single-supply amplifiers.
Headphone Amplifier
The LM49120 headphone amplifier features two different op-
erating modes, output capacitor-less (OCL) and single-ended
(SE) capacitor coupled mode.
The OCL architecture eliminates the bulky, expensive output
coupling capacitors required by traditional headphone ampli-
fiers. In OCL mode, the LM49120 headphone section uses
three amplifiers. Two amplifiers drive the headphones, while
the third (VOC) is set to the internally generated bias voltage
(typically VDD/2). The third amplifier is connected to the return
terminal of the headphone jack (Figure 1). In this configura-
tion, the signal side of the headphone is biased to VDD/2, the
return is biased to VDD/2, thus there is no net DC voltage
across the headphone, eliminating the need for an output
coupling capacitor. Removing the output coupling capacitors
from the headphone signal path reduces component count,
reducing system cost and board space consumption, as well
as improving low frequency performance.
In OCL mode, the headphone return sleeve is biased to
VDD/2. When driving headphones, the voltage on the return
sleeve is not an issue. However, if the headphone output is
used as a line out, the VDD/2 can conflict with the GND po-
tential that the line-in would expect on the return sleeve. When
the return of the headphone jack is connected to GND the
VOC amplifier of the LM49120 detects an output short circuit
condition and is disabled, preventing damage to the
LM49120, and allowing the headphone return to be biased at
GND.
Single-Ended, Capacitor Coupled Mode
In single-ended mode, the VOC amplifier is disabled, and the
headphone outputs are coupled to the jack through series
capacitors, allowing the headphone return to be connected to
GND (Figure 2). In SE mode, the LM49120 requires output
coupling capacitors to block the DC component of the ampli-
fier output, preventing DC current from flowing to the load.
The output capacitor and speaker impedance form a high
pass filter with a -3dB roll-off determined by:
f–3dB = 1 / 2πRLCO (Hz) (1)
Where RL is the headphone impedance, and CO is the value
of the output coupling capacitor. Choose CO such that f-3dB is
well below the lowest frequency of interest. Setting f-3dB too
high results in poor low frequency performance. Select ca-
pacitor dielectric types with low ESR to minimize signal loss
due to capacitor series resistance and maximize power trans-
fer to the load.
Headphone Amplifier BTL Mode
The LM49120 headphone amplifiers feature a BTL mode
where the two headphone outputs, LOUT and ROUT are con-
figured to drive a mono speaker differentially. In BTL mode,
the amplifier accepts audio signals from either the differential
MONO inputs, or the single-ended stereo inputs, and con-
verts them to a mono BTL output. However, if the stereo
inputs are 180° out of phase, no audio will be present at the
amplifier outputs. Bit B3 (HP/BTL) in the Shutdown Control
Register determines the headphone output mode. Set HP/
BTL = 0 for stereo headphone mode, set HP/BTL = 1 for BTL
mode.
Input Mixer/Multiplexer
The LM49120 includes a comprehensive mixer multiplexer
controlled through the I2C interface. The mixer/multiplexer al-
lows any input combination to appear on any output of the
LM49120. Multiple input paths can be selected simultane-
ously. Under these conditions, the selected inputs are mixed
together and output on the selected channel. Tables 4 and 5
show how the input signals are mixed together for each pos-
sible input selection.
Audio Amplifier Gain Setting
Each channel of the LM49120 has two separate gain stages.
Each input stage features a 32-step volume control with a
range of -46dB to +18dB (Table 6). The loudspeaker output
stage has two additional gain settings: 0dB and +6dB (Table
8) when the differential MONO input is selected, and +6dB
and +12dB when the single-ended stereo inputs are selected.
The headphone gain is not affected by the input mode. Each
headphone output stage has 8 gain settings (Table 7). This
allows for a maximum separation of 22dB between the speak-
er and headphone outputs when both are active.
Calculate the total gain of the given signal path as follows:
AVOL + AVOS = AVTOTAL (dB) (2)
Where AVOL is the volume control level, AVOS is the output
stage gain setting, and AVTOTAL is the total gain for the signal
path.
23 www.national.com
LM49120