How robust should power supplies be for powerful amplifiers? Big dif. b/w Tube / SS?

[caesar]

I love high powered amplifiers. And, for those wondering why, this is not about any macho thing, like meeting and leaving the party with the girl with the biggest b..... Instead, it's about getting great sound via at least 2 paths. First, big power eliminates clipping, which sounds awful on ss. Second, it's about having complete control over the speaker so it can reach its potential and make the recording sound like real music. When the capable speaker can start fast, stop fast , decay properly, generate bass that is deep, thunderous, and tuneful, the highs that are sweet and not brittle, etc., it sounds more real.


How robust should the power supply be for high powered amplifier? What is the trade off between power supply size and availability of current when needed ? Does a 240 v line ( or international equivalent) make a difference? Does the weight of the amp correspond to size of power supply, or heat sinks/ metal work, or something else?


Are there big differences in power supply design between tube and solid state amplifiers?

 

[asiufy]

Does a 240 v line ( or international equivalent) make a difference?

I only have experience with this bit. I have a dedicated 230v line in my room, for amplifier use only.

Every single amp I've tried improved on the 230v line, the most dramatic improvement was with the darTZeel.


alexandre

 

[Atmasphere]

The supply should be pretty robust. Does not matter if its tube or transistor. A good power supply will reduce IMD, which means the amp will sound smoother. There can be a correlation between the robust qualities of the supply and weight, but in these days of class D operation that is not cast in concrete.

The low frequency pole of the amplifier should not be lower than the low frequency pole of the power supply. If it is, modulation of the supply can occur and IMD will result.

 

[Matias]

I understand that the more powerful the power supply is, meaning larger toroid(s) and more capacitance on the bank, the closer the power doubles when impedance halves.

Example:
small power supply: 200W in 8 ohms, 300W in 4 ohms
big power supply: 200W in 8 ohms, 390W in 4 ohms.

That means that when the output transistors start draining lots of power (low impedances), the power supply doesn't choke them. That should reflect in higher damping factor for low frequencies, and sonically more and better bass and body to the music.

Also agree that 240V is better for amps. It uses less current and therefore has less resistance losses on the AC current. Actually 240V should reduce losses on everything that comes before the power supply: the internal wiring, IEC connector, power cables, receptacle, wall cables even circuit breakers. Removing chokes before the power supply should again improve dynamics and bass.

Heat sink size is proportional to heat dissipation, which is designed to cool the transistors. It depends on the bias power (full class A or class AB with class A up to X Watts) and the amp power.

So if you add the 2 factors, heatsink size for powerfull amps + big powerful power supply, then yes, the heavier the amp the better. Of course adding a 1 inch thick aluminum sculpted chassis adds nothing to the power, maybe to ressonance control etc.

(Please correct me if I am wrong)