Application of the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem

Universidad El Bosque.
Facultad de Ingeniería.
Circuitos Eléctricos I y Laboratorio.
Student: Santiago Jiménez J.

2 Channel Audio Equalizer Circuit (Audio Amplifier)

Equalization is a technique that is widely used in studios for sound productions and recording. Using
Audio Equalizer, we can control different frequency bands from an audio spectrum using linear filters.
Simply put using equalizer you can adjust which frequency ranges to allow and which range to reject
from the audio signal. This will modify the pace, tone and other different aspects in an audio signal.

Most used equalizers have 3 knobs to control the frequency ranges within bands such as bass, mid-
range and treble. But some high-end Equalizers have dedicated controls for each band of frequencies to
get more precise control. This Equalizer comes with three knobs where you can modify the audio signal
as per your preference.

Figure 1. Schematic of audio equalizer circuit.

This Equalizer circuit is comprised of four sections high pass filter, band pass filter, low pass filter for
filtering the signal frequencies and an audio amplifier to boost the output audio signal’s strength.

SIGNAL FILTERS:

In the first stage of the circuit incoming signal is fed into our circuit using RCA connector. The signal is
then fed through a series of filters High pass, Band pass and Low pass for filtering process. These filters
are used to cut off the respective frequency of the source signal in the admissible ranges. For example,
the high pass filter will only allow to pass the frequency which are higher than the set frequency(fc). This
fc is determined by the formula given below.
1
𝑓𝑐 = (2π ∗ 𝑅 ∗ 𝐶)
2
Let’s see how we choose the component values. As we know that the audible frequency range is from
20 Hz to 20Khz. So, in order to get 3 distinct EQ – bands we need to split this range into 3 different
bands. This gives us the approximate frequency value of 6.6kHz. Let’s take 7kHz for convenience. Now
we need to fix center frequency for all these three filters.

LOW PASS FILTER:

The center frequency of a low pass filter is 7kHz which means the filter should block signals above this
frequency. Using this center frequency, we need to find out the value of R & C. First off let’s choose the
value of the capacitor. Here we use a 0.1uf capacitor. So, we just must calculate the value of R.

So, we put those values in the equation to determine the value of Resistor R.

1 1
𝑓𝑐 = (2π ∗ 𝑅 ∗ 𝐶) → =
2 2𝜋 ∗ 𝑅 ∗ 0.1𝑢𝐹
1
𝑅=
4.396𝑥10−3
𝑅 = 220Ω (𝑊𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟)

HIGH PASS FILTER:

Let’s calculate the value of fc for high pass filter. The center frequency of high pass filter is fixed as
14Khz which means signal with frequency more than 14Khz will pass through this filter. Now to calculate
the Resistor used in High pass filter fixing the value of Capacitor C as 0.1uF and applying in the formula
gives
1
𝑓𝑐 =
2𝜋 ∗ 𝑅 ∗ 0.1𝑢𝐹
1
14𝐾ℎ𝑧 =
2𝜋 ∗ 𝑅 ∗ 0.1𝑢𝐹
𝑅 = 110Ω (𝑊𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟)

BAND PASS FILTER:

Now all that is left is band pass filter. This is quite tricky. So, in order to get the filter, set up for mid
frequencies between 7khz to 14khz we use a band pass filter. This band pass filter is built using a low
pass filter in series with a high pass filter. Keep in mind that center frequency of low pass filter used here
should be greater than the high pass filter which is in series with it. And we wanted to cover the
frequency range between 7.4kHz to 14.4kHz. To do this we should set the low pass filter center
frequency to 14.4kHz and the high pass filter to 7.4kHz. Notice the resistor values are swapped for Low
pass and High pass part of band pass filters.
Finally, we connect a potentiometer VR1, VR2 & VR3 parallel to each filter. This potentiometer will allow
us to adjust the gain for each signals individually in way we prefer. The resultant sum of these signals
will go to Audio amplifier to get amplified for output stage.

LM386 AUDIO AMPLIFIER:

We are using LM 386 audio amplifier IC in this audio amplifier. It’s cheap and easily available. It is used
in low power audio power amplification applications. Its internal gain is set to 20 but that can be
adjusted using a capacitor in between the gain pins (pin 8 & pin 1). A variable resistor can also be used
along with the capacitor for fine tuning of the gain.

Note:

I couldn’t create the schematic in the MultiSim software, that’s why I had to put an image of the circuit
from I find it, also in this kind of circuit where we are looking for a specific objective, like control
different frequency bands from an audio spectrum. Moreover, I consider saying that here it’s not
explained where the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem which we can see it in the speaker, this means
that at the output of the circuit its where the theorem works. Also, I couldn’t make a functional
simulation because the software doesn’t have the corrects components.