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In Reply to: RE: power supply vs sound? posted by vinnie2 on February 23, 2015 at 05:35:57
as the PS is part of the so-called, signal path.
So-called as some seem to claim that only components that are in 'series' with the signal path are in the signal path and those in parallel to said series signal path are somehow not.
And it's interesting that a fair amount of effort is made to either deal with the PS one way or the other or, in the case of 'Utrapath' reduce the influence somewhat. Suspect that 'parafeed' reduces the effect as well, certainly seems to reduces noise, at least in my experience.
Let the screams and shouts begin!
Follow Ups:
"...as the PS is part of the so-called, signal path.
So-called as some seem to claim that only components that are in 'series' with the signal path are in the signal path and those in parallel to said series signal path are somehow not."
I've heard people sometimes saying that the power supply is "in parallel" rather than "in series" with the signal path, but I'm never sure what they mean. If you trace the AC signal current that flows through the output tube of a standard SET amplifier, it then flows into the primary of the output transformer, comes out of the other end of the primary, flows through the power supply (i.e., almost exclusively through the output capacitor), comes out of the power supply and then back into the output tube via the cathode resistor, thereby completing the closed loop. The power supply is really just as much "in series" with the signal path as the output tube itself is.
Chris
Then if you used the same really good psu for three set amps (just tweaking the B+ to fit) with three different output tubes you might not hear much difference between them if everything else was equal?
Edits: 02/23/15 02/23/15
But what's a 'really good psu'?
Tube? Semiconductor? Fast recovery semiconductor?
Me? I'm partial to tubes, with Mercury Vapor rectifiers or Damper Diodes, or better still, a combination of BOTH in a bridge configuration.
Tube regulation? No regulation? LCLCLC? CLCCL?
Perhaps one could build a 'really good psu' with any and all of the above, given proper care.
And all things being equal, they might all sound GOOD as well as different.
And all other things being equal perhaps they might all sound good and similar?
Edits: 02/23/15
If designed well with good parts selection, they 'MAY' all sound pretty good, but not necessarily the same.
But perhaps you need to build a number of power supplies and decide what you like.
Been there done that, and that is what started this whole thing. I have noticed way more change in the sound of amps when they had different opts and psu's than when the only difference was the output tube type. Made me wonder just which one was effecting things the most.
Edits: 02/24/15
No. The PSU is of significant importance, but there are other factors that matter.
We can certainly learn much from reductionist thinking, but when we are building systems, stystems thinking seems more appropriate.
Cheers.
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few." Shunryo Suzuki
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Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
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