Active RIAA Calculator

This article shows a basic skeleton circuit with only the main components involved in the RIAA response and calculation. The default values in the boxes are for the amplifier I am building, however you can alter them to see the result. The best way to use it is by entering the values of R1 and C1, that you know are readily and cheaply available, and the algorithm will calculate for you the required values for R2 and C2 in order to maintain RIAA response. You should also enter a value for the gain at 1 kHz that you require the circuit to produce, so it can calculate for you the best value of R3.

Circuit Parameters

R1(Ω)


C1(F)


Required Gain at 1 kHz

Calculated Parameters

R2


C2


R3


DC Gain

Corners Deviation

In this section, you enter the standard capacitor and resistor values you were able to find, or a closest match you can make, and it will calculate the corner values for comparison to see how much they deviate from the RIAA standard.

R2


C2





F1

F2

F3

When choosing standard component values, you should bear in mind that resistors, and metalized polyester film capacitors typically have 5% tolerance. You could use high precision components, however they cost more money, therefore you need to make sure whether the deviation caused by this tolerance is acceptable.