ES Series Receivers Technical Background Version 1.
A new generation of A/V receivers Digital home theater continues to advance at breakneck speed. You can listen to upgraded surround sound formats, including Dolby Digital® EX 6.1 channel sound, dts® ES discrete 6.1 and dts Neo6:cinema. You can watch High Definition video from over-the-air broadcasting, cable, satellite, HDV camcorders, HD home videocassette recorders and HD digital video recorders. You can enjoy surround sound from as many as nine speakers.
Digital home theater and the ES Series The engineers of the Sony ES Series haven't simply witnessed the digital home theater revolution. They've been driving it forward. After all, it was Sony that launched and spearheaded so many of the entertainment formats that define digital home theater. We co-invented the Compact Disc, DVD and Super Audio CD. We're a global leader in professional High Definition production equipment, as well as a leader in HDTVs. We've launched consumer High Definition camcorders.
S-Master Pro amplifier with 32-bit DSP The video signal in home theater is increasingly digital from the latest digital cinematography in Hollywood through digital transmission channels to digital television display panels. The audio in home theater is increasingly digital from the microphone mixing console through the distribution channels, to the digital inputs and digital signal processing of your A/V receiver.
Why Digital Amplification? After decades of engineering practice, the limitations and awkward characteristics of traditional amplifiers have become so familiar that most engineers don't even notice them: • Complexity. In the context of today's home theater receivers, you have digital source material processed through a digital preamplifier—only to be converted to analog prior to amplification. • Heat generation. Conventional power output transistors throw off much of their power as heat.
Input (Digital) DSP D/A convert LPF Volume Control Analog Power Amp Speaker Output Analog Signal Digital Signal The conventional A/V receiver is anything but simple. The signal must run through a gantlet of processes and stages. The Sony S-Master Pro amplifier is dramatically different. There is no Digital-to-Analog (D/A) converter.
carefully at the pulses, you'll see that where the audio waveform is positive, the pulses are mostly 1. Where the audio waveform is negative, the pulses are mostly 0. In this way, a 1-bit pulse stream can represent the audio signal. As with a DSD signal, a Low Pass Filter (LPF) is all you need to recover the original audio signal. In the diagram above, (A) represents the output power pulse stream. This combines two components, the original audio signal (B) and a noise component (C).
this way, jitter is completely eliminated—and the integrity of the original musical signal is restored. • DC Phase Linearizer (DCPL). Interaction between traditional amplifiers and real-world loudspeakers cause significant departure from phase linearity at frequencies below 30 or 50 Hz. These shifts have a subtle effect, creating warmer and more accessible bass.
o Instead of isolating the power amplifier because it runs too hot, the amps can be located anywhere in the chassis that makes the most sense. o With this new freedom in locating the amplifier, the circuit paths inside the chassis can be rationalized. In Sony's words, they can be made "short, simple and straight." • Minimum thermal modulation distortion. In traditional amplifiers, the output transistors must reproduce the waveform directly.
As a primary manufacturer of Large Scale Integrated circuits (LSIs), Sony has the freedom to pursue innovative thinking like S-Master Pro and then express this thinking in silicon. The result is Sony's own CXD9773Q. • Superior dynamic range. The previous S-Master Pro LSI achieved 24-bit processing at 1024 fs. This translates to an impressive 34 bits of resolution at the 48 kHz sampling rate (fs). The new CXD9773Q goes much further, with 32-bit processing at 1024 fs.
• Built in DC Phase Linearizer. Where Sony's 24-bit LSI required a second chip to contain the DC Phase Linearizer, this circuitry is built right into Sony's 32-bit design. The process is performed by Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) calculation, which processes more data in less time. In this way, Sony has taken the critically-acclaimed S-Master Pro amplifier to a higher level of precision and performance.
Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOS FETs), four per channel, for the STR-DA7100ES. The result is another measure of signal integrity. A detail of the power amplifier circuit board of the STR-DA7100ES. The twelve black chips are the MOS FET output transistors for three channels (4 MOS FETs per channel). Sony output transistors are remarkable for their internal wiring and bonding, their unique packaging and the way they're configured on the power amplifier circuit board. Consider the packaging.
The power MOS FETs in Sony's STR-DA7100ES are of a dramatically different design, 50 to 70% thinner than the transistors used for the DA9000ES. Even more important is the top molding of the transistor package, which is now 80% thinner than the previous design. The plastic itself is a resin of high thermal conductivity, designed from the outset to encourage the flow of heat, not block it.
be isolated from other circuits. On big amps, you'll usually find the output transistors bonded to heavy aluminum heat sinks somewhere at the back or sides of the chassis. Thanks to the cool running of Sony's S-Master Pro amplifier, the MOS FETs are located where the circuit topology is shortest and simplest—lined up side-by-side, right in the middle of the power amplifier circuit board.
Building on this experience, the redesigned MOS FETs for the STRDA7100 use "sheet metal molecular bonding." In this design, the semiconductor and the three Source electrodes are connected by an aluminum sheet. (The other electrode is the Gate. The Drain on the bottom of the FET is die attached.) While the double wire bonding of the DA9000ES achieved a low resistance of 5 milliohms, the sheet metal bonding of the DA7100ES reduces this to just 1 milliohm or less.
HDMI inputs and switching Home video connections represent a definite hierarchy of picture quality. At the bottom rung of the ladder, almost not worth mentioning, is the RF connection, which conveys a home video signal to your television as TV Channel 3 or 4. Far better is the composite video connection. Better still is S-Video.
Image 3 cables Component Sound Analogue 6 cables TV STR etc DVD DVD TV STR etc HDMI 1 cable Sound Digital 1 cable i.LINK or SPDIF Before HDMI (left), you needed nine cables to get component video and 5.1-channel analog audio from your DVD player and into your receiver. If you wanted digital audio as well, that would mean a tenth cable. HDMI conveys both video and audio with full resolution and digital precision—all on a single cable! The options for audio are equally rich.
Next, the components communicate their input/output capabilities. Television with HDMI input DVD player with HDMI output What is your input capability? I can accept 720p video and 2channel audio at 48 kHz and 16 bits. Finally, the components agree on the highest available quality options for digital audio and video—and then automatically transfer content at that quality! Television with HDMI input DVD player with HDMI output OK. I can output those signals.
DVD player with HDMI output Television with HDMI input Receiver with HDMI input & output Television, what is your input capability? Digital Video 720p Digital Audio 2 channels 48 kHz 16 bits Now the receiver has two sets of audio capability to consider. The receiver itself can handle 6.1 channels of very high quality. As you would expect, the television can only handle two channels at somewhat more modest quality.
HDMI AUDIO [ AMP ] : Default HDMI AUDIO [AMP+TV] When you choose HDMI AUDIO [AMP], the receiver ignores the television's request for audio and submits its own audio specification back to the HDMI source component. HDMI AUDIO [ AMP ] Television with HDMI input Receiver with HDMI input & output DVD player with HDMI output Digital Video 720p Audio capability of receiver Digital Audio 2 channels 48 kHz 16 bits Digital Audio 6.
Choosing HDMI AUDIO [AMP+TV] sets up a different set of capabilities. In this case, the receiver ignores its own highest audio capabilities and passes the television's request for audio back to the source component. HDMI AUDIO [AMP+TV] DVD player with HDMI output Television with HDMI input Receiver with HDMI input & output Digital Video 720p Audio capability of television Digital Audio 6.
• AC Power. All components must be switched on in order for the system to work. You can't use HDMI connections through the receiver if the receiver is switched off. • Anti-piracy. To prevent the piracy of very high quality digital signals, HDMI also incorporates a security method called High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). This encrypts the signal so that only authorized devices can decode the data into pictures and sound.
i.LINK® Digital Audio Interface From the initial launch of Super Audio Compact Disc, the 1-bit Direct Stream Digital™ pulse train was always converted to analog prior to output from the player. While SA-CD players have included coaxial and optical digital outputs, these outputs handled CD signals exclusively. The SCD-XA9000ES was Sony's first SA-CD player to provide an i.LINK digital output for the 1-bit DSD signal. And the STR-DA9000ES was Sony's first receiver to incorporate an i.LINK digital input.
Controlling the signal flow with HATS The design of the interface is exceptional because communicating six streams of 2.8224 MHz digital samples raises exceptional challenges. Conveying 1-bit signals at such high data rates and synchronizing the signals with the receiver's master clock would normally expose the signal to the timebase errors called jitter. Jitter translates directly into time-based distortion of the audio waveform.
get all the benefits of digital transmission, without the exposing the signal to the potential for jitter-induced distortion. Dual i.LINK interfaces Where the STR-DA9000ES had one i.LINK interface, the STR-DA7100ES has two, in daisy chain configuration. However, source components should be connected in a one-to-one configuration. While it may be physically possible to daisy chain i.LINK interface source components as shown on the left, Sony cannot guarantee proper operation.
Other New Features Analog Devices SHARC 32-bit decoding DSP Back in 1998, Sony became the first consumer products company to adopt the Analog Devices SHARC processor to a home audio product. In this way, our TA-E9000ES preamplifier became the first home audio component with a 32-bit floating point processor that had previously been limited to professional equipment.
Under ideal conditions, the SHARC DSP's dual core processing can double the operating speed. Unfortunately, most applications cannot take advantage of the full power of this dual core design. The issue is in the "compiler." Think of the DSP as a special-purpose computer. In order for the computer to perform meaningful task, software programs must first be loaded into the compiler.
STR-DA3100ES STR-DA2100ES Audio/Video Performance Series Receivers ES Receivers v1.
Short, straight and simple chassis layout. From Sony's early days in high fidelity, our engineers have understood that simpler is better. For this reason, they have aimed to keep internal point-topoint wiring to a minimum. The internal chassis layouts of the STR-DA3100ES and DA2100ES are outstanding examples of this "short, straight and simple " philosophy. Inputs pass directly from the back panel to the input selector, Optimum Preamplification (OP) processing and the power amplifier, in that sequence.
Sony's Optimum Preamplification (OP) circuit improves the signal-tonoise ratio across a broad range of volume control settings. The latest version of the OP design controls volume with twice the resolution of our previous design—0.5 dB steps instead of 1 dB In Sony's previous OP design, the volume control operated in precise 1 dB steps. However Sony found during critical listening at high volume levels that smaller steps are sometimes useful.
quality. At the same time, they're environmentally friendly designs, entirely leadfree and PVC-free. Sometimes size does matter, as in the oversized filter capacitors of Sony's STR-DA3100ES. Spider Ground Plate Amplifier designers often assume that the various circuits inside the chassis all "see" a common ground. Unfortunately, slight differences in grounding can have a subtle impact on the sound. That's why Sony created a Spider Grounding Plate for the STR-DA3100ES and DA2100ES.
One-plate/dual-pellet output transistors How do you combine the power of parallel output transistors with the "focus" of single-ended transistors? The STR-DA3100ES output transistors achieve this with a one-plate/dual-pellet design. Each of these is actually a pair of matched, high-speed transistors mounted to a common plate. In this way operating temperatures and current fluctuations remain perfectly balanced. It's another way that Sony fights thermal modulation distortion.
sF Fin Heat Sinks Identical aluminum heat sink fins resonate at the same frequency, subtly degrading output transistor performance. That's why the STR-DA3100ES uses a series of vertical ribs, spaced at staggered intervals. This diffuses resonance to maintain sonic integrity. Because the ribs from the letter S, we call this design the "S-form" or "sF" Fin design. The inside of the STR-DA3100 ES, showing the two sets of massive aluminum heat sinks.
When Sony's engineers discovered that the speaker terminal pigments and filters actually compromised anti-resonant properties, we took the fillers out. ES Receivers v1.
Continuing Features Of course, the latest ES Series A/V receivers reflect the lessons learned in two decades of ES Series refinements and improvements. These models have the full complement of ES Series decoding, Digital Signal Processing, control and integration technologies. • Silver cascade design (DA3100ES and higher). Sets the primary front panel controls at an angle, so that you can use them without uncomfortable bending and stooping to identify each one.
• 7.1-channel Cinema Studio EX modes (all models). Recreate the acoustics of the Hollywood dubbing stages where directors go to audition and approve their final sound mixes. • 7.1-channel Virtual Multi Dimension (all models). Recreates the effect of a full array of Surround speakers. • 12V triggers (STR-DA2100ES and higher). ES Series receivers are destined to be used in custom installations where curtains, screens and lighting "scenes" may require 12-volt triggers.
Features and specifications Feature STRSTRSTRSTRDA7100ES DA3100ES DA2100ES DA1000ES Power output, all channels driven into 8 ohms, 20 to 20,000 Hz S-Master Pro Amplifier 32-bit S-Master Pro process Power MOS FET output transistors, four per channel DC Phase Linearizer Dolby Digital® EX decoding dts® ES decoding dts 96/24 decoding Dolby® Pro Logic® decoding Dolby® Dual Mono decoding dts Neo:6 decoding Digital Cinema Sound™ circuit 32-bit Decoder 32-bit DSP A/V Sync OP Processing Auto channel grouping A/B s
Sony Electronics Inc. 16530 Via Esprillo San Diego, CA 92127 www.sonystyle.com © 2005 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Features and specifciations are subject to change without notice. Non-metric weights and measures are approximate Sony, Digital Cinema Sound, Direct Stream Digital and i.LINK are trademarks of Sony. Dolby, Dolby Digital and Pro Logic are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.
