ABSTRACT
The great divide in solid-state amplifi er technology has always been between the effi cient but imperfect Class-B approach and the beautifully linear but dishearteningly ineffi cient Class A.
It is indisputable that Class A power amplifi ers have the potential to give the best linearity, (though a good many designs have thrown this away by using non-linear small-signal circuitry) but they are usually impracticable due to their high power dissipation. A Class-A amplifi er can be 50% effi cient with a maximum sinewave output, but when reproducing a real music signal this falls to one or two percent.
