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In Reply to: RE: I thought you'd made your choice, ... posted by Lew on March 14, 2016 at 14:41:28
Well Low, after lots of reading I have decided to change my mind. Is that OK??
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read up on and what you like about them. Everyone has different likes and dislikes, so try some and write down what you like and don't like about each. Then choose the one/s you like that sound best. There is no short cut for this process.
There is nothing wrong with changing your mind and the members don't mind helping but you keep asking which are best, how they compare, and changing directions every few days. We are here to help but you need to do some research and experiments on your own too. This will cost you a little bit of time and money but you will know first hand what sounds best to you in YOUR gear and that is the fun of it!
Lew and some others have given you some good advice so all you need to do now is the leg work. Post back and let us know the results.
As for me, the best sounding Hexfreds were the Harris types (no longer in production) but for bridge rectifier packages I always go IXYS.
I have heard good things about the UF types but I have never used them. I will have to try those soon since I'm getting back into upgrades again.
Going from standard diodes to the IXYS diodes in the Trip lite PS for a dac is a very worthwhile improvement. Smoother less distorted in general and I would say the big difference is in instrument body, a nice smooth thickness from top to bottom. Musical. People like these diodes a lot for good reason. Don't know if they are better than Schottky's but they are very nice. Tweaker
I will go with the IXYS DSEI. Every time they come up it seems people like or love them. What I wanted to know is if anyone has listened to any of the other, likely newer diodes in the IXYS line. If someone had raved or does rave about them I might go with another model of IXYS. It seems not so far. I am not going crazy on ABing diodes. I'll get these and live with them. I would like to know if there is any actual evidence that higher rated diodes have more noise as I believe Lew has stated. I don't see noise characteristic in the specs, at least I don't think they are there. Bigger is often better, IMHO. Thanks, Tweaker
O-scope and even hear a difference in less brightness and harshness with more information detail. The noise will be present in ringing and you can actually see this with scope. Like I have said, Only you can determine which will sound best to your ears. I have tried the Cree and in some gear I didn't like it and in others it sounds good.Don't get hung up on specs and go with your ears. Like Tubes, their specs are not great but tubes sound wonderful. One of the best speced and lowest distortion preamps (I will not say who designed it) but was the worst sounding preamp I have ever heard to my ears. So it all comes down to what we like and what works in our system.
Bigger parts or larger values don't always equate to better sound. Also if the other components in the circuit/s after the PS are adding noise or harshness to the sound, all that hard work will be for not!
Give the Diodes you like a try and let them break in for at least 100-150 hrs. before making a final judgement on them. Some diodes change in sound (can be dull sounding at first) and after a while they will open up and sound nice.
Edits: 03/16/16
Do you see more noise on a scope with the same diode model with a higher v or a rating. That is the question. Also thanks for the heads up on the break in thing. Good reminder. Tweaker
It's good practice to use diodes that are rated for ~3X or at most ~4X the voltage put out from the transformer, if using half-wave rectification. The voltage seen by the diode will be 1.414 times the max AC voltage seen at the transformer secondary with no load. (V is higher with no load.) In full-wave rectification, two diodes are in series, so it is very safe then to use diodes rated for only 2X the expected voltage from the transformer. My point earlier was more about current rating than about voltage rating. For this application, 100V or 120V diodes (no matter what type you choose) should be very safe.
you just need to do the experiment with the parts and scope. It may be very slight difference and one you may not even be able to hear. So don't stress on specs. If you can't measure it then just go with what sounds best to your ears! it's really not that big of a deal if the specs are slightly better or worse! Why worry about it? Pick one that was suggested and go with it.
Bigger or higher V rating doesn't always mean better, it will handle better and last longer due to a safe operation range. You need to get that thought out of your head, just because it may have been the case with some parts doesn't mean that's the golden rule! UF types sound like a good deal and you should try those.
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