Power supply Linear or Switching

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Nico Ras

Nico Ras

Member
Joined 2005
Hi Guys,

I have been using SMPS in my listening class A amps for two years now and will never go back to big transformers. Who inspired this was NUUK. The SMPS is +-40V at 30 Amp continuous rated. The sound is so much more fluid and bass is much tighter and controlled.

I was sceptical in the beginning but after making the change, I was immediately converted.

Kind regards

Nico
 
T

The golden mean

Member
Joined 2004
Williams Audio said:
Hi all,
I see this combat is not balanced, but still, speakers of ribbon and ESL nature are the heavy loads, and for a long bass replay say at 30Hz, 50% duty cycle of loud volume will be need very high currents for long time, as you can see what is my occupation, be sure I know a thing or two about high pwr SPS at high voltage.
In any case take a look at VICORE there are exotic in this field.
In any case if you find some thing good, be kind and let me know.
Best regards and happy weekend
Williams
Click to expand...

There are some interesting statements on the subject here:

http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/A-decent-lightweight-amp-at-last_topic24766_page3.html
 
Steve Dunlap

Steve Dunlap

Member
Joined 2008
Williams Audio said:
Hi all,
OK, if is so good show me what you have done!
Did you make a SPS for +/-45Vdc at 2A, with 30 A peaks capability for 50% duty cycle at a complex load?
If is that easy why not using it, if is that cheap let do it, if is that good every body should have it in their amps,
Not to forget PC SPS is made by millions of one design and the high currents are at low voltages, the sound blasters have a separate PS unit with on boards; High quality regulators that sense the noise and spikes and a servo loop cancel the noises.
So, if some body has a simple good SPS for a high pwr amp, I will be the first one to get in touch and build it
Any one can help?
Best regards
Williams
Click to expand...


You started off talking about class A amps. The power supply load you now describe will never happen with class A.

What you are asking for can and has been done. It can be manufactured cheaply, made reliable and safe for the consumer. I worked on a design project to do just this. The design belongs to the company I worked for, so I can not post it. I assure you, if you are serious about having the supply you describe designed, there are many engineers that can do it. Don't expect it for free.
 
h_a

h_a

Member
Joined 2006
So, if some body has a simple good SPS for a high pwr amp
Click to expand...

See, it's a bit hard to help you if you ignore replies ;)

SMPS need somebody that has the knowledge, does the pcb-layout, tests it, does a group buy and writes a tutorial with the specs for the inductors that you will need to wind yourself.

If that is not a real show-stopper, than I don't know :D

Anyway, the couple of noise plots I've seen so far (Infineon) are much noisier (still!) than a stock psu. Don't forget that a lot of SMPS also have a linear regulator at their output, so max current and slewing is mostly affected by this regulator and not the SMPS.

I would stay away from it (for most amps, I'm not talking PA).

Have fun, Hannes
 
E

emanuel_hr

Member
Joined 2008
For lower noise one should try a LLC resonant SMPS. The waveform is more sine-like thus it has a lot less harmonic content. Also a high switching frequency(1Mhz) should also help(easier to filter out and much higher than audio bandwidth), though the design becomes even more challenging.
Indeed, adding a linear reg after the SPS will ruin the efficiency.
 
tiefbassuebertr

tiefbassuebertr

Member
Joined 2005
tiefbassuebertragung.de
emanuel_hr said:
For lower noise one should try a LLC resonant SMPS. The waveform is more sine-like thus it has a lot less harmonic content. Also a high switching frequency(1Mhz) should also help(easier to filter out and much higher than audio bandwidth), though the design becomes even more challenging.
Indeed, adding a linear reg after the SPS will ruin the efficiency.
Click to expand...
some user's claim, that today's SMPS for all kind of power amp units are clearly better than linear power supplies, no matter how large the 50/60 Hz transformer is and no matter how big the capacitor bank (consist of best available electrolytic capacitors) is designed.
Examples for such SPS modules are this:
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/smps...-module-us-version-300w-24v-120v-p-12848.html
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/smps...oard-2x64v-12v-33v-18v-25v-1500w-p-14838.html
https://www.hypex.nl/p/technology/smps/
https://silo.tips/download/dps-400-52-switching-power-supply-for-audio
check out also images from post #2355 under
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/diy-progress-report.4486/page-118#post-6903323

Is this true ?
Are there test reviews for both power supplies compared to the same power amplifier ?

some URLs
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/audiopower-dpa-400-sound-pressure-improvements.198134/
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/switch-mode-power-supply-for-good-amplifiers.305455/
 
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