John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part III

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Certainly creating full galvanically isolated power systems with separate isolated grounds is beyond the experimenter. A good stand-in requiring little specialized knowledge is to purchase one of the isolation transformers in a box.
I still worry that the opportunity for making things worse (and dangerous) is there for the average punter. In a studio you can make sure everything inside the padded door is under your control. With a domestic unit there is always the chance of them doing something daft with a mix of isolated and non-isolated power outlets and not even enough understanding!


I know to many here I sound like an ignant McMuffin recommending transformers in the audio path, but in my experience, when they are needed they do far more good than any collateral damage, and Jensen's work really well. In general most Jensen transformers, especially the line level units are used in balanced audio transmission which implies mostly professional audio systems, and many studios already have well-designed power distribution separate from noise-generating circuits..

Just to be clear I believe audio transformers are good when used correctly and when the installation is large enough to have problems.
 
Someone a few dozen pages ago mentioned starting a thread for all the good driver magnetics stuff.

Since a lot is your high-level kowledge, what thinks you jn?

Cheers,
Jeff
While I am not opposed to it, it seems that threads which get very technical go about ten posts then die on the vine. I am very interested in transferring what I've been lucky to learn to the next generation. There doesn't seem to be much interest. Kind of like the Cuba sonic attack thing..

Jn
 
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Certainly creating full galvanically isolated power systems with separate isolated grounds is beyond the experimenter. A good stand-in requiring little specialized knowledge is to purchase one of the isolation transformers in a box.


Cheers!
Howie


Hi Howie,

I frequently use as a separate transformer -- useful also for ultra low T&M test levels -- the exceptional isolation transformers made by TOPAZ Ultra-Isolation Transformer mfr.

They are often available on e-Bay at various VA ratings. Highly recommended for ground isolation. The best in that category IMO.


THx-Richard
 
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The effects I have diagnosed attributable to an isolation transformer alone (no filter) are:

2) Improper grounding and poor transformer isolation inducing leakage current.

EQUI=TECH says:
Our most recent NEC code addendum, now recognized as Article 647 in the 2002 NEC provides for recognized and accepted use of these transformers and the associated wiring methods.

Article 647 in the 2002 NEC says
647.6 Grounding.
(A) General. The system shall be grounded as provided in Section 250.30 as a separately derived single-phase 3-wire system.

Section 250.30 in the 2002 NEC
Separately Derived Systems | IAEI Magazine


Kind of like

YouTube


George
 
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gpapag, I wanted to say this sooner but if you use one driver to drive another, I suggest you add a lot of mass to the master driver, as it's variable electrical damping may contaminate the measurement.

Thanks
As is now (no added mass, no fibreglass in between), close acoustic coupling of these two drivers has this transfer function.
I think of using driving LF signal at 73Hz (resonance) and 3100Hz HF at the monitored driver

George
 

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Hmm. I thought the idea was to connect the cones with a shaft of some sort and drive them directly. I would think the other driver's behavior will be less important with air coupling though.

It would probably be better to have them coupled through a box that was stuffed with old socks, then you don't have to contend with reflections affecting the coupling between cones. But then again, what do I know. I guess you had the idea of putting a sheet of cloth or or something between them?

BTW, what is the deal with that EI core like magnet structure I see on older speakers? It is good, bad, ugly?
 
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It would probably be better to have them coupled through a box
Easy to compare how behaves as a microphone at low frequency and 10kHz the speaker that drives the other. Don't forget it is powered by an amplfier, so hightly damped by its low ouput impedance for reflexions of the 10 KHz. And we don't care, anyway, this speaker is only here to make the menbrane of the one we measure moving at low frequency, while we measure what's happens at 10KHz.
I am not sure the resonnance frequency of the assembly is the best choice for the low frequency: we want maximum excursion and maximum coupling (IE very low frequency), we don't care about maximum acoustic power.
 
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Hmm. I thought the idea was to connect the cones with a shaft of some sort and drive them directly. I would think the other driver's behavior will be less important with air coupling though.

Well, I thought of starting with the easy to do/no damage acoustic coupling and see how it goes.
Next step, stuffing the area btn cones with pillow filling material.

BTW, what is the deal with that EI core like magnet structure I see on older speakers? It is good, bad, ugly?

The construction you see was common for small wide band alnico magnet drivers. It worked well (a common problem after many years and some bad handling is mechanical position shifting of the alnico barrel. Coil rubs or stucks.)

I am not sure the resonance frequency of the assembly is the best choice for the low frequency: we want maximum excursion and maximum coupling (IE very low frequency), we don't care about maximum acoustic power.

I would prefer to use lower freq but I am afraid at very low frequences (1-10Hz) there will be increased pressure leakage, thus not maximum coupling (I may be wrong though.

Don't forget it is powered by an amplfier, so hightly damped by its low ouput impedance for reflexions of the 10 KHz.

Yes. In these measurements here, the driving source has an Ro of 150 Ohm

George
 

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I have 132 4 inch drivers uncommitted. I was thinking about attaching two of them at ends of a sonotube or pvc about a foot long to remove magnetic interaction (perhaps a copper screen in the middle as well. Well sealed, I can use one to drive the second acoustically.
jn
While this arrangement would attenuate the magnetic interference, it would add a multi-pole acoustic transfer function of the tube, with the first one at about 565Hz for a tube length of 1 foot at room temperature.

Regards
 
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While I am not opposed to it, it seems that threads which get very technical go about ten posts then die on the vine. I am very interested in transferring what I've been lucky to learn to the next generation. There doesn't seem to be much interest. Kind of like the Cuba sonic attack thing..

Jn


Some however do keep going and articles like Scott's on digital RIAA are a much viewed reference for some of us for whom the day job means we keep forgetting. But I agree that some of these topics rapidly become a graveyard. I have some theories on how to prevent that that I have tested in a limited form.



I've got to polish up my forgotten groundwork before I can start to understand the advanced stuff sadly. Still no time like the present :)


And yes I still intend to start a grounding thread one day...
 
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