If I understand correctly, biasing a single-ended Class A amp "hot" doesn't change its gain at all, it just lowers its headroom (clips earlier).
What about a Class AB push-pull amp? Besides increasing heat and lowering component life, does running an AB amp "hot" have any effect on its gain? Doesn't increasing the bias level on an AB amp increase the time where both active elements (transistors or valves) are conducting at the same time? What occurs to the output signal when both elements are conducting and pulling current through opposite ends of a center-tapped output transformer? Don't they cancel each other out? Is the idea with eliminating crossover distortion to have one element slowly "fade out" (end its conduction cycle) just as the other one is beginning? Except at zero, the two should never be conducting the exact same amount of current, correct?
Thanks.
What about a Class AB push-pull amp? Besides increasing heat and lowering component life, does running an AB amp "hot" have any effect on its gain? Doesn't increasing the bias level on an AB amp increase the time where both active elements (transistors or valves) are conducting at the same time? What occurs to the output signal when both elements are conducting and pulling current through opposite ends of a center-tapped output transformer? Don't they cancel each other out? Is the idea with eliminating crossover distortion to have one element slowly "fade out" (end its conduction cycle) just as the other one is beginning? Except at zero, the two should never be conducting the exact same amount of current, correct?
Thanks.