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IXYS Bridge Rectifier Passive Components Review by rhyno


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Model: Bridge Rectifier
Category: Passive Components
Suggested Retail Price: $30
Description: Full Wave, Fast / Soft Recovery Bridge
Manufacturer URL: IXYS

Review by rhyno (D) on November 05, 2004 at 21:20:20
IP Address: 69.151.199.233
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for the Bridge Rectifier


i have a parasound 2200 mk 2 amp that i have tweaked the living hell out of, resulting in sound that is far closer to SOTA than any 2nd hand $500 amp should approach; its not surprising really, the 2200 is the same amp (in spirit, though not in execution) as the regarded JC1.

all of the following have made noticable improvments (not just differences, but positive differences) in the overall musicality of the amp: Vampire RCAs, superior electric binding posts, custom input wiring, Acme IEC & fuse, and the removal of unnecessary film caps on the input board.

another notable and very worthwhile mod was swapping the stock input stage bridges for IXYS. right off the bat, its obvious that these things have made the top end more linear (i.e. less SS-sounding); highs no longer have the whitish ring to them that most SS amps are guilty of. granted, it doesn't approach the musicality of my reference Wavac amp, but its worth stating that the drop-off between the 2 is no longer painful. it is quite a compliment to the IXYS product and the modded 2200 to be able to drop it into an all silver-wiring system headlined by wilson WP6s and have the overall presentation sound quite musical. --its not great by my standards, but my standards are pretty damn hard.

for anyone trying to postpone the next amp / component upgrade, or for anyone trying to remove that awful SS / digital sound from their system, swapping in a few IXYS soft recovery bridges may be just the ticket. this mod is well worth the effort, and just as effective (in a different way) than the auricap AC tweak i mentioned a week ago.

but do be careful; wiring a bridge in backwards is a great way to wreck your component.

rhyno


Product Weakness: cost
Product Strengths: smoother more linear highs


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: parasound 2200 mk2; wavac 572 SET
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): G&D custom
Sources (CDP/Turntable): G&D UTP1> Entec 3.0 Dac w/ TG Mods; Kenwood KT8300 tuner w/ mega-mods.
Speakers: Wilson WP 6s
Cables/Interconnects: TG 6-9 high purity ICs; TG HSR speaker cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections): all
Room Size (LxWxH): 15 x 11 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments: JRisch bass panels
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): TG Bybee based power conditioner; TG SLVR power cords
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner


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