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In Reply to: Q Jr. is a 10A tranny, the Q is 15A posted by Quiet Earth on March 11, 2007 at 18:54:32:
Ah, Now that is something of note re/better parts if that is indeed the case. I think sometimes I put a little too much faith in add copy. and Equitech does very well with that. I had made an offer on a BPT ultra2 although the seller isnt going for it. I think part of the reason I am hard put to pay close to asking is because I really just havnt resolved the cost factor for this element of the overall system at this point. But, hearing what you are saying about parts quality of BPT has me leaning now in that direction, especially being that these systems are similar. Also, There is Exact Power to consider. A good review here of a EP1000.
Follow Ups:
The Equitech Son of Q is still a very nice unit. I still recommend it. It's just that you CAN get a fancier unit with BPT, but of course, you will pay for the difference.Regarding the other power device you were talking about - I have no idea what that is all about. I would hesitate using anything complicated, especially something with a feed forward design used along with a switching power suppy. Sounds like an oscillation just waiting to happen to me. Maybe people who actually own that combination can say otherwise.
Anyway, nothing bad about the Equitech stuff, even if BPT takes it a step further.
BPT may "take it a step further" with parts complement and tweaks but IMHO Equi=Tech Q type transformers are better that the Plitrons BPT uses. For one thing the Equi=Tech Q type trannies are twice the mass of the Plitron of similar ratings (60lbs versus 30-35lbs), most of it coming from a larger core. The Equi=Techs also exhibit very low inrush current and are very immune to DC on the power line. I have tried Plitron, Toroid Corp. of Maryland and Equi=Tech transformers for my DIY balanced power.
I have a Son of Q and a BPT BP-2ultra. Each one of these is a 15 amp unit and they both use Plitron trannies. The BPT weighs just as much as the Equitech, maybe more because of the heavier case. The Equitech has tripped the breaker a couple of times at turn on. The BPT never has. Not once. The BPT trannies costs a little more because they are not exactly the same OEM tranies that are in the Equitech units. They are a little better. After all of that, there is the ers paper, better wiring, wattgates, etc.To be honest with you, I have no idea what you're talking about. Either you have it backwards or my information is already outdated because the units that I own are a couple of years old already.
As good as my son of Q is, my BPT BP-2ultra is even better. But we agree to disagree. No problem : > )
Im re-realizing that you are talking about son of Q and not Qjr which is the one I was considering. I am getting an Ultra2 which is what you have been comparing the Q to. (not to Q jr, which weighs 48 lbs and is a 10 amp'er if I got it right.) I think I'm not doing too bad getting the Ultra 2 for what I'm paying. To go into a straight up Q would cost considerably more. The seller with the Q jr. who's in HI got back to me and said 550 plus shipping. that would be at least 600 maybe more from HI. A new Q jr is available online for 759 I think it was. And I didnt even look around for a better price than that.
The only other thing you might want to consider is the physical placement of your switching power amp and its case shielding. The noise from a switching power supply (in the amp) can be air borne.This kind of RF pollution won't be corrected with an AC power conditioner.
Im not sure that is really a problem with this amp. GCA 100 (PS Audio). Feel free to check out their data at PS auio site as I think there might be some info on that. Also, no need to apologize at all,, I, for one, apprectiate all the detail(s). I didnt realize that you had 2 Q's.
My original statement was about transformers, not about complete balanced power units. The BPTs do offer better parts options than Equi=Tech and that I can agree with. I don't know why you have a Plitron transformer in your Son of Q. Maybe because its the son and not the father -:). Equi=Tech makes their own trannies. In making the comparison I was talking about an Equi=Tech manufactured transformer versus Plitron, not one grade of Plitron versus another. The 20A Equi=Tech I have is 12" diameter and weighed in at 60lbs for the bare transformer. I know of other 15A and 20A Equi=Tech branded transformers weighing in at about 60 lbs. A 20A Plitron I had (again, bare transformer) was about 8" diameter, weighed in at 32 lbs and tripped a 20A breaker on the first 2-3 attempts to energize it. Its likely that BPT has spec'd their transformers from Plitron to have low inrush current. The Equi=Tech tranny has never tripped a breaker. Inrush current measured with my Fluke meter is a low 2.5 amps.
You know, it's been a while since I was doing my homework on all of this. I seem to remember that Equitech was developing their own recipe using an OEM Plitron transformer. I did not know that they wound their own. It's been so long now that I can't confirm or deny it. So, if I misled anyone here, I do apologize. But it all seems so academic with the original intent of this thread. We have gotten a bit off topic. My fault perhaps.I can still say with great certainty that :
1. I own three balanced transformers. Son of Q (15A), Son of Q Jr.(10A), and BPT 2 Ultra (15A).
The reason why I have three of them is because I have my home stereo, AND some home studio equipment, like synths, effects boxes, mixers, hard disk recorder, etc.
2. The Son of Q and the Son of Q Jr. sound the same to me. The only difference is that the Q has more wattage capacity than the Q Jr.3. The BPT sounds the very best to me on my home stereo. It may not weigh as much as the Equivilent equitech product. It may not have the same OEM transformer as the Equitech. It just sounds the best to me. I like it.
4. All three units are valuable to me. I would recommend any of them to the original poster. (I do think there are other issues to deal with when using a swithcing power supply. Shielding and proximity come to mind.)
I hope I haven't beaten this to death. I apologize if I have said anything wrong about Equitech.
Peace,
QEBTW, nice project you did there. I would be a little concerned about the caps being X or Y rated, but other than that, very nice job!
Hey, BPT used Auricaps in their products for a while, initially the "naked" caps then covering them with black heatshrink. Although the Auricaps were covered you could still identify them by their green endcaps and red and black leads.
Then it's the uh, ..... the, ....... the something or other. I forget.Thanks for the pic and the info! A picture is worth a thousand brain cells.
QE
I think you may be mistaking the PS Audio GCA class D amp with a power conditioner. As Al had mentioned it uses a switching device to generate the signal or something to that effect. Thats a very simplified generalization for me to make. Best thing is to go to PS Audio site to hear them explain it. Its basically a digital amp although certainly in a different league then whats been made up until now. The range and dynamics are quite good. And it is way efficient. PS is saying somewhere in the neighborhood of 85% and only gets barely warm to the touch. At any rate, Im not the person to go into detail as it all becomes a blur a short time after reading the details on it. And then how much hype can you believe?
I also realize that the Q jr is good and hear what you are saying about a BP being a step up.I just made a deal for a BPT ultra 2 thats 3 yrs old for $575 including shipping from over 3k miles away. The ultra 2 has 1800 watt capacity so have plenty of headroom. To me, that is a lot of money to pay for something that is not a front end component or an amp. I shall see if theres a noticeable improvement. The Q jr is reportedly essentially new and I made an offer but seller is busy and didnt respond to my first offer. Then I upped my offer thinking they were ignoring my first offer..And no response as of yet.
But,, considering what the Q jr would have cost (if they accepted) it would have been only $25 less than the BP-2. and the 2 has more to offer I think.
The Q jr ($749 at one site) is available for much less new than a BP2 (900+) I do like the Q jr too. Kind of partial to the ying yang thang. But, looks cant always win out.
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