preamplifier justifications

[rinchan6]

I guys i am new to this forums I hope we all get along.

I am currently planing to make my own sound system. Yes I have enough knowledge about electronics, 6 years specifically as a student. Making a regulated power supply for the sound system is no more a problem to me.

I already made some amplifier circuits but I did not design it, i would like to design my own circuits from scratch.

I'm currently stuck on the pre-amplifier stage, as I have mentioned before I had enough knowledge on electronics, that means I basically know how transistors operate.

What will help me is what are pre-amp really for? I will series my questions below.

1.) Does it have to have gain?
2.) I am simulating my designed circuits so I'm having trouble figuring out what could be the p-p output voltage of most input devices such as Laptop and phones.
3.) As for the volume control, what is the effect if I choose a higher resistance or a lower resistance to gain?
4.) This is the most tricky part. Whenever i simulate, I try making the input voltage 0 to know how much current is the pre-amp taking from my supply which has a gain of 0. Now I am wondering, if the gain raises up does that mean the pre-amp is taking more current from the supply?

I hope here I will find the solutions and explanations to my problem.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

Hello Ken.

Don't be offended, but... If you don't know the answers to those questions, you are a long way from being able to design your own sound system.

I suggest you start by getting some intermediate electronics texts that will give you a real understanding of principles and components, then progress to more advanced books on audio circuit design.

If we were to answer those questions, that would just lead to a lot more questions. Those questions you have asked show me very clearly that you have a lot of basic and intermediate electronics theory to learn. Without this, you won't be able to design much. You need to start at the beginning and learn the necessary material.

If you have trouble understanding part of a book you are reading, we are here to help, but there's no way we can teach you everything you need to know. You need to do that work for yourself.

Again, please don't be offended. We all had to start somewhere. I've been a professional design engineer for many years and I still wouldn't try to design my own audio system.

You might want to check out Elliott Sound Products, http://sound.westhost.com. Rod Elliott has written a huge number of very educational articles on all kinds of audio-related subjects. They are not an electronic design course though.

Regards

Kris

 

[rinchan6]

Its OK Kris. I understand my lack of Information

Before anything else, there are lots of books which are written by many authors. I do not know exactly which one of those would really help me out. I mean, I need a recommendation of which books should I spend my time and effort. A recommended author would be great. Thank you.

 

[(*steve*)]

We have a book review thread that you might like to read.

Here.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

Yes you should definitely check out that thread that Steve linked to, and you should Google relevant keywords - best books to learn electronic design, etc - to try to find other people's recommendations.

I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations, apart from Art of Electronics (#3 below).

I searched for introduction to electronics in the books section of amazon.com and found a few possibilities:

1. A well reviewed introductory book: http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Start...2146&sr=1-9&keywords=introductory+electronics

2. This one covers fundamentals, DC circuits, and AC circuits: http://www.amazon.com/Introductory-...957&sr=1-19&keywords=introductory+electronics

No doubt there are more. Perhaps you should visit a local bookshop (if they still exist) and have a look through all the books in the electronics section and see which ones will teach you useful things.

I also searched for circuit design and found quite a few that look good. It would be worth checking out anything that matches that search phrase unless it covers a topic you're not interested in, such as RF, IC design, digital electronics, VHDL, and microcontrollers. I would also avoid "circuit cookbook"-type books and books for "makers" and "for dummies", except as basic starters. Here are a few I thought looked good from the first ten pages of search results.

3. Art of Electronics (Horowitz and Hill) is a classic and well-regarded book that covers many important aspects of electronic design: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Electroni...id=1397558062&sr=1-25&keywords=circuit+design

4. This one has good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-...id=1397557362&sr=1-11&keywords=circuit+design

5. This one sounds like it has a pretty broad scope: http://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Desig...qid=1397557362&sr=1-1&keywords=circuit+design

6. This one sounds very appropriate for you but maybe not yet: http://www.amazon.com/Analog-Circui...id=1397561781&sr=1-60&keywords=circuit+design

The following books look good but may be beyond your level at the moment:

7. http://www.amazon.com/Design-Operat...id=1397561872&sr=1-74&keywords=circuit+design

8. http://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Ana...-24&keywords=circuit+design#reader_0124058663

9. http://www.amazon.com/Science-Analo...id=1397557982&sr=1-15&keywords=circuit+design

10. http://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Desi...d=1397561992&sr=1-106&keywords=circuit+design

11. http://www.amazon.com/Trade-Offs-An...id=1397561959&sr=1-92&keywords=circuit+design

I'm not sure that I've linked to the latest editions of those books, so before you buy any of them, make sure there's not a later edition or a cheaper version available.

 

[rinchan6]

Thank you very much steve and Kris I really appreciate your help. We will be in one thread again someday. Cheers.