How to calculate theoretical power at the design stage

[macwanj]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum as well as tube amplifier design. I got into this stuff about two years ago as a junior in college and since then I have built a few low powered PP and SE circuits for high efficiency full range horn systems and one 5F1 kit.

I'm in the process of designing an amplifier but I'm unsure about how to design for a particular power output. So, in order to calculate the total power of an amp do you simply multiply the power value of every stage? I can do that for class A topologies (by simply finding quiescent plate current times the plate voltage) but how do you do calculate the power for Push Pull Class AB fixed bias topologies? Also what would be a reasonable estimate of the effeciency of a class AB power stage? I've heard 60% is reasonable?

Any help from you experienced folks out there would be helpful. Also do you know of any links to guitar tube amp theory sites out there? Thanks to all of you once again.

[Paul P]

This site has a lot of reading for you :

http://www.pmillett.com/technical_books_online.htm

Especially :

"Basic Audio" by Norman Crowhurst 1959
"High Fidelity Circuit Design" by Norman Crowhurst and George Cooper 1957


Then there's a series of articles, also by Crowhurst, here :

http://www.audioxpress.com/resource/...lass/index.htm

I'd also read "Maintaining Hi-Fi equipment" by Joseph Marshall (1956) if
you can find a copy somewhere.

Paul P

[macwanj]

Thanks Paul! I have a lot of reading to do!