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Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
Some may laugh under their breath when they hear the word BOSE. However, their modern OEM car audio stuff ain't perfect, but it ain't that bad. Take a look at this little amp that delivers a solid 200W to a 2 ohm sub-woofer. It is roughly the size of two Google Pixel 2 phones stacked on top of each other. Here the amp is compared to my giant sausage finger hand. Keep in mind that is an 8" sub next to it:
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Here are its rough dimensions once removed from it's enclosure:
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And here is the harness connecting to it. Notice that the black and red wires are primary power. They are 12 gage cables! This amp is so efficient that it doesn't need more:
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Are you ready to crack it open?
Ge0
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Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
Here is the heat sink with 4 screws and PCB removed. Notice that there is only a small area with thermal compound applied under the minimal fin stack:
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Here is the top side of the PCB. The ONLY component that needs serious cooling is the amplifier output ASIC. This is a 300W max integrated solution from Texas Instruments. It is so efficient that it only needs a 3/4" x 1/2" contact patch for its small heat slug on top of the package. This is freaking spectacular. Amps just a few years ago required 10" of heat sink to dissipate this amount of power due to inefficiency. What is more amazing is that the tracking power supply only needs minimal cooling at the edges of the PCB where you see the exposed copper. The power supply used to consume 1/4 to 1/2 of the heat sinks cooling capacity in older amps. It now needs next to nothing:
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The bottom side is nothing special. More heat sinking at the outer edges for the power supply
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For those of you who are wondering, the two large black rectangle things on the board are surface mount inductors that filter out high frequency crap prior to the final multi-stage class D amplifier output. They used to be large torriods in older amp designs. In more modern designs these aren't even needed. The size of the filtering capacitors has been reduced to nothing due to the much higher switching frequencies.
in summary, I've been an electronics engineer for over 20 years. I have a passion for car audio. I've designed my share of amps (Kicker ZR / ZX series + Soundstream stuff) and have an idea what tech is available. I left the trade 10+ years ago to pursue other interests. This latest advancement in technology has me sporting wood. Multi-channel amplifiers like the latest Audison, Helix, and Match series are extremely powerful for their package size. It's hard to believe that what used to take up most of your trunk and dissipate tons of heat can now be reduced into something as small as a pack of cigarettes or a few phones stacked on top of each other and run just warm.
Mind you the new solutions may generate a little more distortion as your classic A or A/B designs. But, if your are listening to .MP3 or streaming audio from online this is no longer a valid point. Your music source generates much more distortion as your tiny amps :). Enough said ...
Ge0
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
I agree with you 100%. Very cool post, thanks for sharing.
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
Thanks for sharing and nice writing. This to me is impressive. https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...ers/m-5dsp-mk2
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
I'm impressed with the biketronics amps. 180*6 in a 7"*5" package
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
Very interesting and well written, thanks!!
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
dunno about quality, the bose system sucks IMO
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
You said you have one to send to me so I can take it apart :)
I'd really like to get my hands on this: https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/h...s/v-twelve-dsp
Ge0
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
The Bose system in what vehicle? Their systems vary big time from vehicle to vehicle. It all depends on the price point the OEM was trying to hit vs. the trade off in quality at that price point. I've heard Bose systems in Cayman and 911 that were absolute garbage. However, the one in my Macan is almost tolerable. It actually does an excellent job playing back multi-channel DVD audio. But, that's a dying standard with not a lot of content to chose from.
Even though this Bose system ain't that bad I can't live with it and am removing it. That's why I'm showing these Gut Shots :)
Ge0
Re: Don't laugh. 2016 Porsche Macan BOSE sub-woofer amp
Thank you. Look for my write up on the main amp later today.
Ge0