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-   -   HY60 (https://www.audiobanter.co.uk/uk-rec-audio-general-audio/7606-hy60.html)

TonyL November 21st 08 12:41 PM

HY60
 
I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a data
sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails requirement but
no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I put a power supply
together what sort of current should I be expecting to supply to each
module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail transformer/rectifier/electrolytic
type of supply would be OK ?

Any gotchas with this project ?

Thanks

TonyL



Serge Auckland[_2_] November 21st 08 05:26 PM

HY60
 

"TonyL" wrote in message
...
I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a
data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I
put a power supply together what sort of current should I be expecting to
supply to each module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail
transformer/rectifier/electrolytic type of supply would be OK ?

Any gotchas with this project ?

Thanks

TonyL

Nice little amps!

Assuming that you're not going to be using these amps to drive some extreme
loads, then 30 watts into 8 ohms is a current of 1.94 amps, add a little for
the amp's overhead, and so you need a minimum of 2 amps per amplifier. If
you're building a single supply to power both amps, then I would go for a 5
amp supply. If the 'speakers you're going to use are closer to 4 ohms than
8, you may like to double the current capacity.

No particular "gotchas" with these as far as I'm aware, they do what they
say they do.

S.
--
http://audiopages.googlepages.com


Woody[_3_] November 21st 08 06:18 PM

HY60
 
"Serge Auckland" wrote in message
...

"TonyL" wrote in message
...
I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have
a data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W.
If I put a power supply together what sort of current should I be
expecting to supply to each module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail
transformer/rectifier/electrolytic type of supply would be OK ?

Any gotchas with this project ?

Thanks

TonyL

Nice little amps!

Assuming that you're not going to be using these amps to drive some
extreme loads, then 30 watts into 8 ohms is a current of 1.94 amps,
add a little for the amp's overhead, and so you need a minimum of 2
amps per amplifier. If you're building a single supply to power both
amps, then I would go for a 5 amp supply. If the 'speakers you're
going to use are closer to 4 ohms than 8, you may like to double the
current capacity.

No particular "gotchas" with these as far as I'm aware, they do what
they say they do.

S.
--
http://audiopages.googlepages.com



Agreed. Of their time superb amps. They were later replaced with a power
MOSFET version which had a somewhat higher slew rate, but nontheless the
HY was a very good amp.

Just make sure, as above, that the supply can provide the current. You
should even consider a regulated supply as (and I'm sure someone will
enlighten us) you will get better and cleaner bass. Although the HY60s
have built-on heatsinks it would still be wise to attach them to a
chassis that is capable of dissipating at least some of the heat.

I built a dual mono MOSFET power amp based on the Ambit boards
containing a Hitachi design. It was good and provided 110wpc without
difficulty. I then built the regulated supply designed by the late great
John Lindsey-Hood and fitted that - and the aural difference was
dramatic, and not least that it did 110W into 8R and 220W into 4R. The
PSU design also provides d.c. offset protection for the speakers. I
think I have a copy of the circuit of anyone wants it.


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com



Phil Allison November 21st 08 09:18 PM

HY60
 

"TonyL"

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a
data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I
put a power supply together what sort of current should I be expecting to
supply to each module ?


** Class AB amps are typically about 65% efficient at full output - with
78.5% ( pi/4 ) being the theoretical maximum.

So, at 30 watts max sine wave output the DC power consumption is around 46
watts.

With +/- 25 volts rails, a DC current rating of 1 amp per amplifier ( ie 50
watts) will be fine.

Go for a toroidal tranny with twin, 18 volt secondaries wired in series (
for 18-0-18) rated at 3.3 amps (or 120VA) for a stereo amp - the extra AC
current is need in the conversion from AC to DC.

Filter caps need to be around 10,000uF - at 35 volts for safety.

BTW:

Forget the mad answer Serge posted.



...... Phil










Phil Allison November 21st 08 09:30 PM

HY60
 

"Serge Auckland"


Assuming that you're not going to be using these amps to drive some
extreme loads, then 30 watts into 8 ohms is a current of 1.94 amps,


** That is the rms AC current in the load - not the DC supply current.

add a little for the amp's overhead, and so you need a minimum of 2 amps
per amplifier.


** Nonsense.

Each DC supply rail only delivers current to the amp on alternate half
cycles and it is the average value of that half sine wave current that is
the DC supply current.

The average value of a half sine wave is 0.318 ( 1/pi ) times the peak
value.

30 watts at 8 ohms requires 2.74 amp peak.

2.74 times 0.318 = 0.87


...... Phil







Serge Auckland[_2_] November 21st 08 11:45 PM

HY60
 

"Phil Allison" wrote in message
...

"TonyL"

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a
data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I
put a power supply together what sort of current should I be expecting to
supply to each module ?


** Class AB amps are typically about 65% efficient at full output -
with 78.5% ( pi/4 ) being the theoretical maximum.

So, at 30 watts max sine wave output the DC power consumption is around
46 watts.

With +/- 25 volts rails, a DC current rating of 1 amp per amplifier ( ie
50 watts) will be fine.

Go for a toroidal tranny with twin, 18 volt secondaries wired in series
( for 18-0-18) rated at 3.3 amps (or 120VA) for a stereo amp - the
extra AC current is need in the conversion from AC to DC.

Filter caps need to be around 10,000uF - at 35 volts for safety.

BTW:

Forget the mad answer Serge posted.



..... Phil

My brainstorm, sorry. However, if 4 ohm loads are to be used, a higher
power supply rating is advisable.

S.

--
http://audiopages.googlepages.com


Jim Lesurf[_2_] November 22nd 08 08:10 AM

HY60
 
In article , Woody
wrote:

I built a dual mono MOSFET power amp based on the Ambit boards
containing a Hitachi design. It was good and provided 110wpc without
difficulty. I then built the regulated supply designed by the late great
John Lindsey-Hood and fitted that - and the aural difference was
dramatic, and not least that it did 110W into 8R and 220W into 4R. The
PSU design also provides d.c. offset protection for the speakers. I
think I have a copy of the circuit of anyone wants it.


That isn't really a matter of changing to an actively regulated PSU. Just
one of ensuring the PSU has a low output impedance and ripple even when the
current demand is high. if the "aural difference was dramatic" then I'd
suspect something was wrong with the unregulated PSU you'd used.
Unregulated supplies can give the advantage of providing higher peak
transient powers. Given that music tends to have higher crest factors than
test sinewaves that can be quite useful. However the amp has to be built to
cope.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Change 'noise' to 'jcgl' if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html


Eeyore November 22nd 08 08:22 AM

HY60
 


TonyL wrote:

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a data
sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails requirement but
no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I put a power supply
together what sort of current should I be expecting to supply to each
module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail transformer/rectifier/electrolytic
type of supply would be OK ?


Yes.

You can work out the current for yourself of course, but then it varies
depending on whether you plan to drive it hard continuously or just play light
orchestral.

Graham


Eeyore November 22nd 08 08:27 AM

HY60
 


Serge Auckland wrote:

"TonyL" wrote in message

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a
data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I
put a power supply together what sort of current should I be expecting to
supply to each module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail
transformer/rectifier/electrolytic type of supply would be OK ?


Nice little amps!

Assuming that you're not going to be using these amps to drive some extreme
loads, then 30 watts into 8 ohms is a current of 1.94 amps, add a little for
the amp's overhead, and so you need a minimum of 2 amps per amplifier.


2 amps at +/- 25V ? That's 100W of DC per amplifier. Even run continous sinewave
it won't need that ! You're forgetting the current is shared between the + and -
rails.

1 Amp at + and - 25V per amp would do very adequately even for continuous
sinewave duty.

Graham

p.s don't forget to derate the transformer VA rating for the non-sinusoidal
currrent draw. Allow an ~ extra 30% VA over the DC watts.

Graham


Eeyore November 22nd 08 08:30 AM

HY60
 


Phil Allison wrote:

"TonyL"

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a
data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I
put a power supply together what sort of current should I be expecting to
supply to each module ?


** Class AB amps are typically about 65% efficient at full output - with
78.5% ( pi/4 ) being the theoretical maximum.

So, at 30 watts max sine wave output the DC power consumption is around 46
watts.

With +/- 25 volts rails, a DC current rating of 1 amp per amplifier ( ie 50
watts) will be fine.


Agreed 100%


Go for a toroidal tranny with twin, 18 volt secondaries wired in series (
for 18-0-18) rated at 3.3 amps (or 120VA) for a stereo amp - the extra AC
current is need in the conversion from AC to DC.

Filter caps need to be around 10,000uF - at 35 volts for safety.


I'd be happy with 4,700uF if it's only driving 8 ohms.


BTW:

Forget the mad answer Serge posted.


Quite so !

Graham


Eiron November 22nd 08 09:39 AM

HY60
 
Eeyore wrote:

Serge Auckland wrote:

"TonyL" wrote in message

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a
data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I
put a power supply together what sort of current should I be expecting to
supply to each module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail
transformer/rectifier/electrolytic type of supply would be OK ?

Nice little amps!

Assuming that you're not going to be using these amps to drive some extreme
loads, then 30 watts into 8 ohms is a current of 1.94 amps, add a little for
the amp's overhead, and so you need a minimum of 2 amps per amplifier.


2 amps at +/- 25V ? That's 100W of DC per amplifier. Even run continous sinewave
it won't need that ! You're forgetting the current is shared between the + and -
rails.

1 Amp at + and - 25V per amp would do very adequately even for continuous
sinewave duty.


What if you want to listen to the latest Metallica album? That's 1.4A
per HY60 per rail, or twice that using 4 ohm speakers.
Best to get 4 car batteries, just to make sure.

--
Eiron.

Rob November 22nd 08 09:41 AM

HY60
 
Eeyore wrote:

TonyL wrote:

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a data
sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails requirement but
no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I put a power supply
together what sort of current should I be expecting to supply to each
module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail transformer/rectifier/electrolytic
type of supply would be OK ?


Yes.

You can work out the current for yourself of course, but then it varies
depending on whether you plan to drive it hard continuously or just play light
orchestral.

Graham


Do you think most off the shelf amplifiers are designed to be driven
hard continuously, and if not, how is the sound affected?

I still don't understand this 'all modern amplifiers sound the same'
thing - hence the question!

Thanks, Rob

Jim Lesurf[_2_] November 22nd 08 11:32 AM

HY60
 
In article , Rob
wrote:


Do you think most off the shelf amplifiers are designed to be driven
hard continuously, and if not, how is the sound affected?


I still don't understand this 'all modern amplifiers sound the same'
thing - hence the question!


The problem with such vague and sweeping assertions or questions is that
any 'answers' can only either also be vague and sweeping, or be based on a
set of a assumptions that may not always apply.

I would suspect that different amplifiers will be designed on the basis of
a range of various assumptions about what the amp is to cope with.

Ignoring the "modern" I can make a clear distinction.

When Ted Rule designed the Armstrong 600 series amps he made them to work
up to about 40wpc continuous. But with small heatsinks, so you could only
get high levels for a modest time. Reason being that at the time most audio
fans listened to music with a high peak/mean ratio and with a wide dynamic
range. Generally with speakers that were not a difficult load.

But when I designed the 700 I made them work up to much higher sustained
levels, into lower loads, and gave them far bigger heatsinks. Reason being
that by c1980 people wanted to play louder music on less efficient speakers
with more awkwards impedances. And ever more of the music audio fans were
choosing had started down the hill to having boooger-all dynamic range and
peak/mean ratio.

Some amps will clip or current limit in situations where another will not.
Some will have their output modified by variations in load in a different
way to others. etc. You may or not notice any difference, depending on the
use circumstances.

I agree that "all modern amplifiers sound the same" is as daft an assertion
as "all amplifiers sound different to the other". The reality, though, may
be that many 'modern' amplifiers used in many situations produce results
which the users would be unable to distinguish simply on the basis of the
sound.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Change 'noise' to 'jcgl' if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html


TonyL November 22nd 08 11:51 AM

HY60
 
Eiron wrote:

What if you want to listen to the latest Metallica album? That's 1.4A
per HY60 per rail, or twice that using 4 ohm speakers.
Best to get 4 car batteries, just to make sure.


He he ! You mean that horribly limited/compressed offering ??

My music tastes are fairly eclectic....Bach to techno. Hey, Bach was that
guy who did all that synth stuff....right ?

I've already got an audio setup and this HY60 project is by way of interest.
It is also going to be a junk box project and I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a 27-0-27
volt secondary and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s. So, in practice, power
supply rating has turned into a moot point for me. There will be oodles of
amps.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

TonyL



Rob November 22nd 08 03:43 PM

HY60
 
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Rob
wrote:

Do you think most off the shelf amplifiers are designed to be driven
hard continuously, and if not, how is the sound affected?


I still don't understand this 'all modern amplifiers sound the same'
thing - hence the question!


The problem with such vague and sweeping assertions or questions is that
any 'answers' can only either also be vague and sweeping, or be based on a
set of a assumptions that may not always apply.

I would suspect that different amplifiers will be designed on the basis of
a range of various assumptions about what the amp is to cope with.

Ignoring the "modern" I can make a clear distinction.

When Ted Rule designed the Armstrong 600 series amps he made them to work
up to about 40wpc continuous. But with small heatsinks, so you could only
get high levels for a modest time. Reason being that at the time most audio
fans listened to music with a high peak/mean ratio and with a wide dynamic
range. Generally with speakers that were not a difficult load.


As it happens, I got one of those (1974, a receiver) on ebay recently,
works perfectly. I just use it for radio with some Dynaudio speakers.

But when I designed the 700 I made them work up to much higher sustained
levels, into lower loads, and gave them far bigger heatsinks. Reason being
that by c1980 people wanted to play louder music on less efficient speakers
with more awkwards impedances.


Not sure I understand - are you saying the 700 series could play music
at high levels for sustained periods, whereas the 600 series could play
music to similar levels, but only for short periods, beyond which they
broke?

And ever more of the music audio fans were
choosing had started down the hill to having boooger-all dynamic range and
peak/mean ratio.


Don't understand that.

Some amps will clip or current limit in situations where another will not.
Some will have their output modified by variations in load in a different
way to others. etc. You may or not notice any difference, depending on the
use circumstances.


I've been using a NAD 3020 perfectly happily for the past couple of
months. At low levels I would not claim to be able to differentiate
between the NAD and any of the SS amps I have (or had, I suspect). But
at higher levels I'm pretty sure something's going on - things that I
identify as difference. Won't bore anyone with adjectives but it's to do
with bass in the main.

I agree that "all modern amplifiers sound the same" is as daft an assertion
as "all amplifiers sound different to the other". The reality, though, may
be that many 'modern' amplifiers used in many situations produce results
which the users would be unable to distinguish simply on the basis of the
sound.


I'd agree with that on the whole. I'm pretty sure that the speakers I
use (Dynaudio) contribute to my 'amplifiers can vary' experience/thesis.

Rob

Jim Lesurf[_2_] November 22nd 08 04:14 PM

HY60
 
In article , Rob
wrote:
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Rob
wrote:



When Ted Rule designed the Armstrong 600 series amps he made them to
work up to about 40wpc continuous. But with small heatsinks, so you
could only get high levels for a modest time. Reason being that at the
time most audio fans listened to music with a high peak/mean ratio and
with a wide dynamic range. Generally with speakers that were not a
difficult load.


As it happens, I got one of those (1974, a receiver) on ebay recently,
works perfectly. I just use it for radio with some Dynaudio speakers.


I use one also for a radio in the room where I have the computer I've
typing on now. Use it with a Freeview DTTV box as a tuner. Gives nice
results with a pair of Spendor LS3/5A's. :-)

But when I designed the 700 I made them work up to much higher
sustained levels, into lower loads, and gave them far bigger
heatsinks. Reason being that by c1980 people wanted to play louder
music on less efficient speakers with more awkwards impedances.


Not sure I understand - are you saying the 700 series could play music
at high levels for sustained periods, whereas the 600 series could play
music to similar levels, but only for short periods, beyond which they
broke?


No. Sorry if what I wrote wasn't clear. The distinctions were

1) One amp would only go to a level characteristed by about 40wpc for
sustained medium term use. Whereas the other goes to 200wpc.

2) One can only sustain this for a relatively short time before it
overheats, whereas the other can run at the higher power for much longer.

3) The spec values were just for 8 Ohm loads. For 'difficult' loads the
difference is more marked - unless you play the music at levels low enough
to escape the relative limits of *both* amplifiers. Thus the 700 will run
happily for long periods playing music at levels into loads where the 600
would either cease playing, or sound unhappy due to clipping or saturation.

If you drove an early 600 to its limits like this, then it might fail. More
likely blow a fuse. Later versions include a thermal cutout. The 700 had a
cutout on all models.

And ever more of the music audio fans were
choosing had started down the hill to having boooger-all dynamic range
and peak/mean ratio.


Don't understand that.


Have a look at the articles on clipping and dynamics on my website (and in
many other places on the web). These show how a lot of modern commercial
recordings and broadcasts have their level dynamics compressed into a tiny
'always loud' range. This wasn't the case for most of the music audio fans
played before c1980. It means modern source material tends to require to
amplifier to play relentlessly at high power, whereas older (more naturally
recorded) material tends to be at a lower level more of the time with
occasional peaks to the highest powers. This makes a big difference to the
power dissipations and levels of waste heat the amp has to get rid of.

Some amps will clip or current limit in situations where another will
not. Some will have their output modified by variations in load in a
different way to others. etc. You may or not notice any difference,
depending on the use circumstances.


I've been using a NAD 3020 perfectly happily for the past couple of
months. At low levels I would not claim to be able to differentiate
between the NAD and any of the SS amps I have (or had, I suspect). But
at higher levels I'm pretty sure something's going on - things that I
identify as difference. Won't bore anyone with adjectives but it's to do
with bass in the main.


Some NAD models 'soft clip' although I have no idea if that is relevant in
your circumstances. Two amps may sound indistinguishable at low power
levels as neither is struggling to drive the load. At a higher power one
may start to clip or limit whilst the other doesn't - and that can make an
audible difference.

I agree that "all modern amplifiers sound the same" is as daft an
assertion as "all amplifiers sound different to the other". The
reality, though, may be that many 'modern' amplifiers used in many
situations produce results which the users would be unable to
distinguish simply on the basis of the sound.


I'd agree with that on the whole. I'm pretty sure that the speakers I
use (Dynaudio) contribute to my 'amplifiers can vary' experience/thesis.


That can happen if you over-drive some of the amps, or if some of the amps
being used have a relatively high output impedance. Either can cause a
difference which is measurable and/or audible.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Change 'noise' to 'jcgl' if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html


Eeyore November 22nd 08 05:27 PM

HY60
 


Rob wrote:

Eeyore wrote:
TonyL wrote:

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a data
sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails requirement but
no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I put a power supply
together what sort of current should I be expecting to supply to each
module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail transformer/rectifier/electrolytic
type of supply would be OK ?


Yes.

You can work out the current for yourself of course, but then it varies
depending on whether you plan to drive it hard continuously or just play light
orchestral.


Do you think most off the shelf amplifiers are designed to be driven
hard continuously, and if not, how is the sound affected?


Professional ones like I design are.

The sound is affected in the worst case by its absence followed by a burning smell.


I still don't understand this 'all modern amplifiers sound the same'
thing - hence the question!


Well they don't. For a host of reasons, the simplest being that not all have as flat
a frequency response as others. Most valve amps' freq resp varies significantly with
load impedance dips and peaks (like speakers) due to relatively high output
impedance (it forms a filter) and would you expect an amp with 2% THD like some
audiophool SE tubed/valve ones to sound like an amp with 0.003% THD ?

Graham


Eeyore November 22nd 08 05:31 PM

HY60
 


Eiron wrote:

Eeyore wrote:
Serge Auckland wrote:
"TonyL" wrote in message

I've found a couple of HY60 amplifier modules in my junk box. I have a
data sheet which indicates a +/- 25v power supply voltage rails
requirement but no indication of current. Power into 8 ohms is 30W. If I
put a power supply together what sort of current should I be expecting to
supply to each module ? Presumably, a simple dual rail
transformer/rectifier/electrolytic type of supply would be OK ?
Nice little amps!

Assuming that you're not going to be using these amps to drive some extreme
loads, then 30 watts into 8 ohms is a current of 1.94 amps, add a little for
the amp's overhead, and so you need a minimum of 2 amps per amplifier.


2 amps at +/- 25V ? That's 100W of DC per amplifier. Even run continous sinewave
it won't need that ! You're forgetting the current is shared between the + and -
rails.

1 Amp at + and - 25V per amp would do very adequately even for continuous
sinewave duty.


What if you want to listen to the latest Metallica album? That's 1.4A
per HY60 per rail,


Don't be silly. Even Metallica isn't square waves with no dynamic range.


or twice that using 4 ohm speakers.


Who mentioned 4 ohm speakers. Other than you ?

Graham


Eeyore November 22nd 08 05:32 PM

HY60
 


TonyL wrote:

I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a 27-0-27
volt secondary and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s.


Do you also have a boxfull of heatsinks for them ?

Graham


Eeyore November 22nd 08 05:34 PM

HY60
 


Jim Lesurf wrote:

Woody wrote:

I built a dual mono MOSFET power amp based on the Ambit boards
containing a Hitachi design. It was good and provided 110wpc without
difficulty. I then built the regulated supply designed by the late great
John Lindsey-Hood and fitted that - and the aural difference was
dramatic, and not least that it did 110W into 8R and 220W into 4R. The
PSU design also provides d.c. offset protection for the speakers. I
think I have a copy of the circuit of anyone wants it.


That isn't really a matter of changing to an actively regulated PSU. Just
one of ensuring the PSU has a low output impedance and ripple even when the
current demand is high. if the "aural difference was dramatic" then I'd
suspect something was wrong with the unregulated PSU you'd used.
Unregulated supplies can give the advantage of providing higher peak
transient powers. Given that music tends to have higher crest factors than
test sinewaves that can be quite useful. However the amp has to be built to
cope.


Even pro amps with SMPSs don't make any serious attempt to regulate the rails.

Graham


Woody[_3_] November 22nd 08 05:47 PM

HY60
 
"Rob" wrote in message
...
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Rob
wrote:

Do you think most off the shelf amplifiers are designed to be driven
hard continuously, and if not, how is the sound affected?


I still don't understand this 'all modern amplifiers sound the same'
thing - hence the question!


The problem with such vague and sweeping assertions or questions is
that
any 'answers' can only either also be vague and sweeping, or be based
on a
set of a assumptions that may not always apply. I would suspect that
different amplifiers will be designed on the basis of
a range of various assumptions about what the amp is to cope with.

Ignoring the "modern" I can make a clear distinction.

When Ted Rule designed the Armstrong 600 series amps he made them to
work
up to about 40wpc continuous. But with small heatsinks, so you could
only
get high levels for a modest time. Reason being that at the time most
audio
fans listened to music with a high peak/mean ratio and with a wide
dynamic
range. Generally with speakers that were not a difficult load.


As it happens, I got one of those (1974, a receiver) on ebay recently,
works perfectly. I just use it for radio with some Dynaudio speakers.

But when I designed the 700 I made them work up to much higher
sustained
levels, into lower loads, and gave them far bigger heatsinks. Reason
being
that by c1980 people wanted to play louder music on less efficient
speakers
with more awkwards impedances.


Not sure I understand - are you saying the 700 series could play music
at high levels for sustained periods, whereas the 600 series could
play music to similar levels, but only for short periods, beyond which
they broke?

And ever more of the music audio fans were
choosing had started down the hill to having boooger-all dynamic
range and
peak/mean ratio.


Don't understand that.

Some amps will clip or current limit in situations where another will
not.
Some will have their output modified by variations in load in a
different
way to others. etc. You may or not notice any difference, depending
on the
use circumstances.


I've been using a NAD 3020 perfectly happily for the past couple of
months. At low levels I would not claim to be able to differentiate
between the NAD and any of the SS amps I have (or had, I suspect). But
at higher levels I'm pretty sure something's going on - things that I
identify as difference. Won't bore anyone with adjectives but it's to
do with bass in the main.

I agree that "all modern amplifiers sound the same" is as daft an
assertion
as "all amplifiers sound different to the other". The reality,
though, may
be that many 'modern' amplifiers used in many situations produce
results
which the users would be unable to distinguish simply on the basis of
the
sound.


I'd agree with that on the whole. I'm pretty sure that the speakers I
use (Dynaudio) contribute to my 'amplifiers can vary'
experience/thesis.

Rob




Have you got the 'soft limiting' switched on? If so turn it off and try
again.


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com



Eiron November 22nd 08 06:22 PM

HY60
 
Eeyore wrote:
Don't be silly. Even Metallica isn't square waves with no dynamic range.


or twice that using 4 ohm speakers.


Who mentioned 4 ohm speakers. Other than you ?


Serge and Woody mentioned them.

Haven't you heard, or heard about, the new Metallica CD?
It was in the news recently that it was so compressed that even heavy metal
fans were complaining, so pretty close to square waves with no dynamic
range.

Have some smilies for my next few posts, as you don't seem to recognize
humour. :-) :-) :-)

--
Eiron.

TonyL November 22nd 08 10:06 PM

HY60
 
Eeyore wrote:
TonyL wrote:

I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a
27-0-27 volt secondary and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s.


Do you also have a boxfull of heatsinks for them ?


Not since I raided my heatsink store for a previous project...a 13.8V 30A
transceiver supply. For this little project the metal enclosure will make an
adequate heatsink.

TonyL



Eeyore November 23rd 08 03:08 AM

HY60
 


Eiron wrote:

Eeyore wrote:

Don't be silly. Even Metallica isn't square waves with no dynamic range.

or twice that using 4 ohm speakers.


Who mentioned 4 ohm speakers. Other than you ?


Serge and Woody mentioned them.


But not the OP. Whom I hope is aware of the issue.


Haven't you heard, or heard about, the new Metallica CD?
It was in the news recently that it was so compressed that even heavy metal
fans were complaining, so pretty close to square waves with no dynamic
range.


I heard about the poor dynamic range.

It won't be square waves though, so no worse than full-power sinewave. And no
matter how hard you compress it'll probably still have 3 dB of dynamic range. I
speak as someone who has run such tests.

Graham


Eeyore November 23rd 08 03:09 AM

HY60
 


TonyL wrote:

Eeyore wrote:
TonyL wrote:

I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a
27-0-27 volt secondary and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s.


Do you also have a boxfull of heatsinks for them ?


Not since I raided my heatsink store for a previous project...a 13.8V 30A
transceiver supply. For this little project the metal enclosure will make an
adequate heatsink.


How do you KNOW that ? I'm a heatsink expert too btw.

Graham


Phil Allison November 23rd 08 04:00 AM

HY60
 

"TonyL"
Eeyore wrote:
TonyL wrote:

I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a
27-0-27 volt secondary and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s.


Do you also have a boxfull of heatsinks for them ?


Not since I raided my heatsink store for a previous project...a 13.8V 30A
transceiver supply. For this little project the metal enclosure will make
an adequate heatsink.



** Don't let Eeysore spook you with his BS.

Your regulator pass transistors do not have to dissipate much heat - maybe
up to 15 watts each, worst case. Long as the case is 1.5 mm aluminium, it
will be fine.

Use at least a 2,200 uF cap on the regulated DC output rails, so the output
impedance is low and the pass devices only see the average DC current.


...... Phil




Woody[_3_] November 23rd 08 07:39 AM

HY60
 
"Phil Allison" wrote in message
...

"TonyL"
Eeyore wrote:
TonyL wrote:

I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a
27-0-27 volt secondary and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s.

Do you also have a boxfull of heatsinks for them ?


Not since I raided my heatsink store for a previous project...a 13.8V
30A transceiver supply. For this little project the metal enclosure
will make an adequate heatsink.



** Don't let Eeysore spook you with his BS.

Your regulator pass transistors do not have to dissipate much heat -
maybe up to 15 watts each, worst case. Long as the case is 1.5 mm
aluminium, it will be fine.

Use at least a 2,200 uF cap on the regulated DC output rails, so the
output impedance is low and the pass devices only see the average DC
current.


..... Phil





Point of interest: the larger the value of a capacitor the more
inductance it has, so it is a good idea to put some small value caps in
parallel to reduce any high-frequency content on the supply lines.
Something like a 0.1uF polyester will do, and if you live in an area if
high RF (i.e. near a transmitter site of any sort) you might even
consider another 10nF ceramic as well. Best location for these caps (if
they are not already present) is where the power leads connect to the
amp PCB.

I may get flamed, but in this high-noise environment in which we live
these days, such little bits of additional help, whilst probably not
making any audio difference may help prevent the clicks and bangs.


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com



Dave Plowman (News) November 23rd 08 08:24 AM

HY60
 
In article ,
Woody wrote:
Point of interest: the larger the value of a capacitor the more
inductance it has, so it is a good idea to put some small value caps in
parallel to reduce any high-frequency content on the supply lines.
Something like a 0.1uF polyester will do, and if you live in an area if
high RF (i.e. near a transmitter site of any sort) you might even
consider another 10nF ceramic as well. Best location for these caps (if
they are not already present) is where the power leads connect to the
amp PCB.


I may get flamed, but in this high-noise environment in which we live
these days, such little bits of additional help, whilst probably not
making any audio difference may help prevent the clicks and bangs.


These sort of small value caps are also fitted to prevent RFI emission
*from* the device.

--
*A woman drove me to drink and I didn't have the decency to thank her

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Jim Lesurf[_2_] November 23rd 08 10:46 AM

HY60
 
In article ,
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Woody wrote:
Point of interest: the larger the value of a capacitor the more
inductance it has, so it is a good idea to put some small value caps in
parallel to reduce any high-frequency content on the supply lines.
Something like a 0.1uF polyester will do, and if you live in an area if
high RF (i.e. near a transmitter site of any sort) you might even
consider another 10nF ceramic as well. Best location for these caps (if
they are not already present) is where the power leads connect to the
amp PCB.


I may get flamed, but in this high-noise environment in which we live
these days, such little bits of additional help, whilst probably not
making any audio difference may help prevent the clicks and bangs.


These sort of small value caps are also fitted to prevent RFI emission
*from* the device.


Can also help suppress snap noise from the bridge diodes if you haven't
already shunted the diodes with suitable RF caps.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Change 'noise' to 'jcgl' if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html


Eeyore November 23rd 08 10:55 AM

HY60
 


Woody wrote:

"Phil Allison" wrote
"TonyL"
Eeyore wrote:
TonyL wrote:

I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a
27-0-27 volt secondary and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s.

Do you also have a boxfull of heatsinks for them ?


Not since I raided my heatsink store for a previous project...a 13.8V
30A transceiver supply. For this little project the metal enclosure
will make an adequate heatsink.



** Don't let Eeysore spook you with his BS.

Your regulator pass transistors do not have to dissipate much heat -
maybe up to 15 watts each, worst case. Long as the case is 1.5 mm
aluminium, it will be fine.

Use at least a 2,200 uF cap on the regulated DC output rails, so the
output impedance is low and the pass devices only see the average DC
current.


Nonsense. The output Z of the regulated outputs is so low that there won't
be enough ripple for those caps to do any useful job.


Point of interest: the larger the value of a capacitor the more
inductance it has, so it is a good idea to put some small value caps in
parallel to reduce any high-frequency content on the supply lines.
Something like a 0.1uF polyester will do


Which then creates a high impedance resonant circuit at some high frequency
depending on the ESL.

This is classic *BAD ADVICE*. If you NEED low ESL use a low ESL cap such as
for switching supplies..

Graham




Eeyore November 23rd 08 10:56 AM

HY60
 


"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

Woody wrote:
Point of interest: the larger the value of a capacitor the more
inductance it has, so it is a good idea to put some small value caps in
parallel to reduce any high-frequency content on the supply lines.
Something like a 0.1uF polyester will do, and if you live in an area if
high RF (i.e. near a transmitter site of any sort) you might even
consider another 10nF ceramic as well. Best location for these caps (if
they are not already present) is where the power leads connect to the
amp PCB.


I may get flamed, but in this high-noise environment in which we live
these days, such little bits of additional help, whilst probably not
making any audio difference may help prevent the clicks and bangs.


These sort of small value caps are also fitted to prevent RFI emission
*from* the device.


Wrong place though.

Graham


Eeyore November 23rd 08 10:59 AM

HY60
 


Phil Allison wrote:

"TonyL"
Eeyore wrote:
TonyL wrote:

I'll probably go for a
regulated supply simply because I have a nice transformer with a
27-0-27 volt secondary


VA rating ?


and a boxfull of 2n3055s and MJ2955s.

Do you also have a boxfull of heatsinks for them ?


Not since I raided my heatsink store for a previous project...a 13.8V 30A
transceiver supply. For this little project the metal enclosure will make
an adequate heatsink.


** Don't let Eeysore spook you with his BS.

Your regulator pass transistors do not have to dissipate much heat - maybe
up to 15 watts each, worst case. Long as the case is 1.5 mm aluminium, it
will be fine.


That's 60W of heat to get rid of. More in fact than the HY60 modules will
generate into 8 ohms by a factor of at least 2. The *thickness* of the case is
almost irrelevant. It's the SURFACE AREA that counts.

You are NOT a proper designer and stop pretending to be one.

Graham


Phil Allison November 23rd 08 11:37 AM

HY60
 

"Woody"


Point of interest: the larger the value of a capacitor the more inductance
it has,


** ********.


so it is a good idea to put some small value caps in
parallel to reduce any high-frequency content on the supply lines.


** Purest Crapology.


Something like a 0.1uF polyester will do,



** Does absolutely NOTHING.

Very silly mythology ......



...... Phil



tony sayer November 23rd 08 11:41 AM

HY60
 
In article , Jim Lesurf
scribeth thus
In article , Rob
wrote:
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Rob
wrote:



When Ted Rule designed the Armstrong 600 series amps he made them to
work up to about 40wpc continuous. But with small heatsinks, so you
could only get high levels for a modest time. Reason being that at the
time most audio fans listened to music with a high peak/mean ratio and
with a wide dynamic range. Generally with speakers that were not a
difficult load.


As it happens, I got one of those (1974, a receiver) on ebay recently,
works perfectly. I just use it for radio with some Dynaudio speakers.


I use one also for a radio in the room where I have the computer I've
typing on now. Use it with a Freeview DTTV box as a tuner. Gives nice
results with a pair of Spendor LS3/5A's. :-)


Dontcha tink they deserve better then the BBC artefact induced BBC
freeview distortion;-?...

--
Tony Sayer

Phil Allison November 23rd 08 11:55 AM

HY60
 

"Eeyore"
Woody wrote:
"Phil Allison"

** Don't let Eeysore spook you with his BS.

Your regulator pass transistors do not have to dissipate much heat -
maybe up to 15 watts each, worst case. Long as the case is 1.5 mm
aluminium, it will be fine.

Use at least a 2,200 uF cap on the regulated DC output rails, so the
output impedance is low and the pass devices only see the average DC
current.


Nonsense.



** Both claims are 100% true.


The output Z of the regulated outputs is so low...



** False.

It depends very much on the type of regulator topology.

A zener controlled emitter follower is not very low Z

- PLUS cannot SINK any current at all.



that there won't
be enough ripple for those caps to do any useful job.



** You clearly have no idea how the idea works.

Large electros are essential.

****wit.


...... Phil








Phil Allison November 23rd 08 12:05 PM

HY60
 

"Eeysore CRIMINAL NUT CASE LIAR "

Phil Allison wrote:



** Don't let Eeysore spook you with his BS.

Your regulator pass transistors do not have to dissipate much heat -
maybe
up to 15 watts each, worst case. Long as the case is 1.5 mm aluminium,
it
will be fine.


That's 60W of heat to get rid of.



** You have NOT done the math - you lying ss.

15 watts max, per device with BOTH channels running at full output.

The average DC current is under 1 amp per channel.


The *thickness* of the case is
almost irrelevant.



** No it is NOT you LYING ****wit.

**** OFF !!



....... Phil







Arny Krueger November 23rd 08 12:35 PM

HY60
 
"Eeyore" wrote in
message

Even pro amps with SMPSs don't make any serious attempt
to regulate the rails.


Why should they?




Jim Lesurf[_2_] November 23rd 08 12:42 PM

HY60
 
In article , tony sayer

wrote:
In article , Jim Lesurf
scribeth thus



I use one also for a radio in the room where I have the computer I've
typing on now. Use it with a Freeview DTTV box as a tuner. Gives nice
results with a pair of Spendor LS3/5A's. :-)


Dontcha tink they deserve better then the BBC artefact induced BBC
freeview distortion;-?...


Well, to me the results on R3 sound preferrable to the results via
FM. And of course Freeview is a more logical choice than FM for
World Service and R7 since they aren't available here on FM.

Maybe I notice the drawbacks of FM more easily than yourself.

But don't let me interrupt you using every occasion to re-grind
you personal axe... Just that your worries aren't mine. I just
enjoy the music, etc. :-)


Slainte,

Jim

[1] Primarily since I use this to listen to R3. Plus World Ser

--
Change 'noise' to 'jcgl' if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html


Phil Allison November 23rd 08 12:46 PM

HY60
 

"Arny Krueger"
"Eeysore Lying ****wit "

Even pro amps with SMPSs don't make any serious attempt
to regulate the rails.



** Shame how so many of them do - you know nothing ASS !!

Like all the ones with PFC corrected PSUs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The the whole Powersoft range, Crown CE4000 & some QSCs et alia .....



Why should they?



** Makes the power output independent of AC voltage sag for one.

Makes "universal" AC voltage operation possible too.



.... Phil






Eeyore November 23rd 08 01:06 PM

HY60
 


Arny Krueger wrote:

"Eeyore" wrote

Even pro amps with SMPSs don't make any serious attempt
to regulate the rails.


Why should they?


Indeed. No need whatever.

Graham




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