Speaking about Single-Ended amps most of us would link this approach to non-low-impedance speakers. On the other hand, many of us will say that such speakers are usually not champions in bass reproduction. So, typical conclusion is that SE amps are for jazz and light music, not for rock or classics.
With my Paradigm Studio 100 v4 it would be better not to deal with SE. Nevertheless, as a stubborn child I try to adjust the SE Zen9 to difficult load. Why? Because I like Zen9 or FirstWatt F3 sound, and many others like it as well. For instance, LM3886 also sounds not bad, but it is not my preference.
With my Paradigm Studio 100 v4 it would be better not to deal with SE. Nevertheless, as a stubborn child I try to adjust the SE Zen9 to difficult load. Why? Because I like Zen9 or FirstWatt F3 sound, and many others like it as well. For instance, LM3886 also sounds not bad, but it is not my preference.
For those who think about more power from Zen9, I would propose to look at avionics LDMOS transistors manufactured by NXP (Philips).
They are 700W, 0,15deg/w, 75V, 45A, 9S, low parasitic capacitances (their usual application - 1 GHz amplifier).
But, be prepared for very high price. Datasheets are enclosed.
They are 700W, 0,15deg/w, 75V, 45A, 9S, low parasitic capacitances (their usual application - 1 GHz amplifier).
But, be prepared for very high price. Datasheets are enclosed.
fff0 said:
More like an F4 with a front end for voltage gain. You might want
to look at the A75 as an appropriate example.
I haven't done anything like this in quite some time because it hasn't
fit the First Watt agenda, but there's nothing particularly difficult
about it.
SE designs are possible, but realistically you will put much more work
into them to get the high current that is easily obtained from push-
pull followers.
Nelson of course is absolutely right, for providing enough punch at low frequencies the push-pull follower is an easiest way. Many people built and reported impressions about A75, for instance, Peter Daniel. But in general, for everyday listening, he prefers Aleph. Squeezing out enough bass from SE amp is time consuming and relatively expensive, but it is a price of preserving sweet middles and tops. Possible alternative to high-power SE is bi-amplification, but one can encounter unexpected difficulties on this way also. Did anybody test bi-amplification with A75 and FirstWatt F3 ?
Speaking about mechanical design of class A power amps I would like to vote in favour of monoblocks with external power supply. This idea is supported, in particular, by listenable positive effect of exsessive power transformers, and by possibility of using the same power supply for different amps. In my case I use the same power supply for both Zen9 (shown in post #4) and Zen4 (picture below).
Attachments
likeDIY said:
This trafo could be enough for one channel of Zen V9, if you connect two secondaries in series and deal with 48V AC. Also using of Shottki diodes in rectifier is recommended.
In my version of Zen V9 I use two trafos 48V-16A-AC. The excessively big trafos provide several advantages: better bass, less hum, less trafo temperature.
pro said:
I use a transconductance version of the V4 on e 5" 92 dB full range 300Hz 24dB LR crossover , with a bridged lm3886 driving a 12" woofer. The result is simply amazing.
I believe that it sounds good, but everything is relative and would be interesting if you compare with something classical, for instance PassLabs XA-60 + Revel Studio 2. As for me, with multi-amplification I am usually not sure that I have correctly adjusted the system.
My attempt to rise up the power of Zen V9 is aimed at using Zen V9 with big Revels or similar speakers.
I don't know. I built the whole system, both ampli have the same (low) gain, the active crossover is been made for the specific loudspeakers, choosen for the specific application, so is a system that maust sound all togeather. For comparison, I have a pair of Infinity Beta 20 a gainclone and an F5 that I have just finished building, but the sound is completely different, because, I think, the trans V4 on a full range is something incomparable with anything else. The speed of attack of the stringed instruments is absolutely incomparable, unless you spend monstrous amount of $$$$$$$$€€€€€€€€€£££££££££££ or what is the name of the money in your country, that from the flag looks Uzbekistan, is it?.
pro said:
I have built personally two versions of Zen V4 and two versions of Zen V9. With same types of output capacitors and same power supply, V9 sounds better, especially voices of the Three Tenors. I use either Paradigm Studio 100 v.4, or "light" Castle Acoustics Pembroke loudspeakers. I have also Velodyne CHT-12R subwoofer, but there is no need for it with Paradigms.
If you have built the F5, you could consider testing it with more precise speakers than the Infinity Beta 20. I believe that F5 must be very good with something like KEF, PMC, Revel ...
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.