Distortion is one of the most common effect types, but it comes in a host of shapes and sizes. Let’s examine some of the science behind it… When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...

The almost universal choice in semiconductor power amplifiers is for a unity gain output stage, and specifically a voltage follower. Output stages with gain are not unknown, 1 but they are not common.

Intermodulation distortion is one of the most interesting signal analyzer measurements. Often abbreviated IMD, it is an important metric of linearity for a wide range of RF and microwave components.

This is an excerpt from “Self on Audio,” by Douglas Self, used with permission from Newnes Publishers, a division of Elsevier. For many years I felt that the output stages of power amplifiers ...