ICEpower Announces the Release of its First Generation SC400A2 Amplifier Platform

Since its founding in 1999, ICEpower has been a principal driver of the evolution of Class D amplification through successive generations of proprietary modulation and feedback topologies. The new Super Conductor architecture represents the latest milestone in this legacy, built to raise the objective standard for Class D audio performance.

While recent industry trends have highlighted ‘fully digital’ Class D concepts, ICEpower’s engineering approach is rooted in the reality that loudspeakers fundamentally require analog voltage and current. Recognizing that the switching cycle of any Class D amplifier is inherently analog, the Super Conductor topology therefore corrects signal errors directly in the analog domain. By maintaining a completely analog signal chain, modulator, and feedback path utilizing the highest-performance operational amplifiers available, the platform delivers a newfound level of signal purity.

As CTO Patrik Bostrøm explains, “It is an analog Class D amplifier with a Globally Controlled Oscillation Modulator (or GCOM) as a core, and two nested second-order negative feedback loops around it”. “Nested negative feedback loops aren’t new in themselves, but having a fourth-order slope which also joins the slope of the output filter presents challenges. It has required a lot of work.”

The unyielding nature of this design required carefully curated components and a surgical approach to layout precision. “We have gone all in using the best capacitors, MOSFETs, resistors and OPAMPs,” says Boström. “Everything has been scrutinized, measured, and tested. The SC400A2 truly has a state-of-the-art performance and that is why we call it The Super Conductor.”

The result of this rigorous approach is a Super Conductor topology that delivers an unprecedentedly low noise floor – so low in fact that ICEpower had to build entirely new testing systems simply to measure it. The distortion and noise of the amplifier were so low that it was buried in the inherent noise floor of the industry reference Audio Precision equipment we normally use for audio measurements. This process revealed a staggering THD+N of 0.0002% at 100W across the entire audio band, and a smooth frequency response with a -3dB corner frequency above 100kHz.

SC400A2 achieves total signal integrity with no coloration or alteration, making it a product capable of unlocking significant, quantifiable performance gains in the most demanding, reference-level audio systems.

EASY INTEGRATION WITH 750S

To perfectly complement the SC400A2 module and fully realize its potential for audio manufacturers, ICEpower is concurrently releasing the 750S Universal Power Supply as a standalone, off-the-shelf module.

“750S is a compact universal power supply based on a power factor correction stage, an LLC stage and a flyback auxiliary converter capable of supplying more than 20W,” Boström explains. “It also has very low leakage current thanks to the soft switching LLC stage and this helps keep the noise down in the complete system.”

Together, SC400A2 and 750S represent a highly optimized platform, compact enough to fit into technically complex designs, whilst applying absolutely no mis-coloration to the overall audio signal. In both modules, ICEpower has simplified circuitry and focused on a compact, versatile form factor to give manufacturers a sonically transparent amplifier module and accompanying power supply that is straightforward to incorporate into their products, including high-end streaming amplifiers, active speakers and studio monitors. .

ICEpower makes this industry-leading, high-precision technology scalable for the world’s most demanding audio brands. Manufacturers need not invest time and money into complex research, drastically reducing a product’s time to market while focusing on what matters most: delivering uncompromising performance and total reliability from their products.