Reflections

The research portion of this Senior Project to build a Class D Headphone Amplifier was
required to be as in-depth as possible to understand how basic circuits, voltages, impedance,
amperage, and other electronic terms mean as well as how they affect the overall sound of the
output signal going to the stereo headphones.
But thats not all of the research. I had to scour

the entire internet for which parts, like

MOSFETs, transistors, capacitors, etc have to do with making a Class D amplifying circuit
works.
A Class D amplifier is an electronic amplifier where the device used for amplifying the
signal (transistors, or MOSFETs in this case) are used as electronics switches whereas the other
classes use linear gain devices. This signal then needs to be amplified is a line of constant
amplitude bursts, so the active devices quickly switch on and off, or between fully conductive
and nonconductive states. Then, the analog signal is then converted to an array of pulses by a
few different ways; Pulse Width Modulation, Pulse Density Modulation, or some other method
before being given to the amplifier. After the amplification stage, the output pulse train can
then be converted back to its nice state of an analog signal by being passed through a passive
Low Pass Filter (passes signals through a filter with a frequency lower than one set and decreases
the amplitude of frequencies higher than said frequency) that consists of multiple inductors and
capacitors.
But aside from the rambling, the research was, and needed, to be thorough to ensure
nothing was left out and leaving me without a diagram for a Low Pass Filter, giving off many

unwanted frequencies. The research has given me many Oh, thats why X happens and Oh,
thats why it sounds so weird as well as a mass of other similar realizations, perse. It even
gave me idea to flatten the frequency response (make all frequencies equal in volume) of my
headphones at home (Audio Technica ATH-M50X) and computer speakers (Logitech Z523) to
sound a bit better than they came out of the box.
This project has, and will, give me even more experience to be able to pursue my dream
as an audio engineer.