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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: valve rectification v solid state posted by matt wp on June 7, 2002 at 01:11:13:
Great question, Matt!
It's not obvious that the sound of a component's power supply has an effect on the sound of that component's audio section. But in my experience it certainly does, and that effect extends all the way out to the AC power cord used to power the product, and beyond -- the wall outlet, etc.The parts of the power supply that are much closer to the audio section have sonic effects, too. As a designer, I have the pleasure (curse?) of hearing how all manner of component changes affect the sound: changing the brand of transformer will change the sound, changing the types of capacitors used in the power supplies will change the sound, heck, changing the brand of wire used to connect those bits together will change the sound. And, of course, the type of rectifier used will change the sound, too. Tube rectifiers and solid-state rectifiers sound very different from each other. They also perform very differently, too: tube rectifiers switch quietly, though they are not real efficient; SS diodes are very efficient, but tend to generate noise when switching. The noise can be tamed with snubbing networks, and it certainly gets filtered out by the following circuitry before it reaches the audio section, but the sonic effects remain. One of the easiest "tweaks" you can do to a product that has SS recifiers is to upgrade them to FRED (Fast Recovery Epitaxial Diode) types. These are also SS, but they switch very sweetly compared to regular cheap-n-easy rectifiers, and sound much, much better. Of course, if you like the sound of tubes, as I do, then the sound of a tube rectifier might be preferred. But, just to keep things interesting, rectifier tubes don't all sound the same. Just as one might prefer the sound of the Telefunken 12AX7 dual-triode over other brands in the audio section, one quickly finds that every brand of rectifier tube has its own characteristic sound. Which is what tube rolling is all about!
On one level I know that it makes no sense that the parts that comprise the power supply, assuming the power supply is well-designed and does its job as it should, should have any effect whatsoever on the sound of the audio section -- yet they do, which drives me nuts because it would make my job as a designer a whole lot easier. AC Mains cords, transformers, capacitors, rectifiers, the regulator circuit topology, the type of filtration (CRC, LC, etc.) all have, to my ears, very audible sonic effects.
Michael Elliott
Alta Vista Audio / Aria Ltd.
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Follow Ups
- Re: valve rectification v solid state - Mike Elliott 06:27:19 06/07/02 (3)
- Mike, stop answering questions and work on my preamp! ;-) - thegage 11:45:18 06/07/02 (1)
- What preamp? ;-) - Mike Elliott 22:53:52 06/07/02 (0)
- Mike - Really nice to see you here! Stick around. (nt) - Sondek 11:23:39 06/07/02 (0)
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