F5 power amplifier

[sangram]

IIRC some Perreaux amps were also SMPS-based. Specially some of their best ones.

The well-regarded MiniWatt also uses a SMPS - and it's a tube amp with only 2.5 watts, so one assumes super-sensitive speakers will be used, ones that would tell tales of power supply noise if there were any.

[Melon Head]

I think there is real merit in trying to improve the performance of switch mode power supplies for audio use. The big benefit I see is the high efficiency.
While I agree shunt regulators offer pretty spectacular performance, trying to implement one for a class A amplifier can be a real pain in terms of the amount of heat that is dissipated. The heatsinks required can be as large as those used in the amplifer itself.
If you look at some of the reviews these days on top quality pc power supplies (switch mode of course), you will notice they have improved tremendously.
Seasonic, while manufacturing their own brand of powersupplies, also manufacture power supplies for the best brands in the business. A lot of them are capable of 1000W, the only problem is they don't have the necessary output voltages for amplifiers.
I am sure though, some bright spark around here would know enough to mod them to produce the voltages we are interested in.

[CBRworm]

Don't almost all high power car amps (some of which are good) use SMPS? They can be very quiet and clean if filtered properly.

[bobodioulasso]

The main drawback is that SMPS are not really easy to DIY.

[mrevie]

Apologies if this is an irrelevant post due to previously covered topics, but how suitable would the attached regulated power supply (based on the zen v3 regulator) be for use in an F5?

[chrismercurio]

Originally Posted by jleaman

sorry smps psu's are not meant for amplifiers, computers or other things THATS it.!

I have heard many amplifiers better than the Linn Klimax, but it was nice sounding and cool running with tons of power for driving just about anything. And like Mark said after your blast, it uses an SMPS. Opinions are great....as long as the spirit of good will and helping one another is maintained. There are several high end amplifiers that use them including tube, solid state, and 12vdc auto applications. Look around and consider the possibilities...

To be honest I was a little surprised when the question was posed but was equally curious to see what might come out of the community of extremely bright folks that hang around here.

Chris

[bobodioulasso]

Originally Posted by mrevie

Apologies if this is an irrelevant post due to previously covered topics, but how suitable would the attached regulated power supply (based on the zen v3 regulator) be for use in an F5?

You can see among Babowana's posts as i know he has built one and opened a thread at this purpose.

[Melon Head]

Originally Posted by bobodioulasso

The main drawback is that SMPS are not really easy to DIY.

Yes you are right about that, but we don't necessarily need to build one from scratch. We just need enough info to mod a pc power supply to give us the voltages we need.

To get a feel for what is achievable have a look at the link Seasonic M12D 750 W Power Supply Review | Hardware Secrets
Have a look at figure 19 and 20.
23mV p-p of noise isn't great but it isn't bad either, espescially when you consider this is the level of noise at the maximum specified power output (ie 750Watts) of the power supply. Things improve quite a bit when you operate them at less than 100%.

[Melon Head]

Now, consider what could be achieved if we put our own CLC or CRC (or even pure capacitor smoothing) power supply at the output.
It would not be very difficult to reduce that 23 mV p-p noise to below 1 mV p-p noise, and that is at 100% of the rated power output of the switchmode power supply.

Now to put things further into perspective, consider what would happen if you tried to run a 750VA transformer at 750W continuous. I have never tried this but I know it wouldn't be pretty.
Using Nelsons rule. To run 750 Watts continuous you would need a 1500VA (1.5 kVA) transformer, as a bare minimum.
Now, a 1.5 kVA transformer is not cheap.
I think if we want to seriously consider this furher then we should start up a new thread dedicated to it.

[tinitus]

In my world its more simple

ClassD needs a very fast supply
ClassAB also needs a fast supply, but less
ClassA is on continiously and doesnt depend as much on such a fast supply

Switcmode seems ideal fore classD, yet some who have tried both switchmode and ordinary supply with big trafo on classD have stated that traditional trafo and caps sounds better
Switchmode is cheap, light and small, if thats what your priority
I am though very careful not to put too much weight on such statements

I might consider THELs regulated supply in his new symmetrical version, takes AC directly
Though, I still remember mr Thel himself writing that traditional oldstyle supply being the best sounding, if you dont need the voltage regulation
When a man who makes his living selling regulated supply designs say he favours traditional supply, then I tend to believe the man
Sure, might be nice to have the option to be able to change supply voltage easily

Issues
does a regulated supply still need a big trafo, or would it work juast as well with smaller trafo ?
Burning 100watt continiously or maybe more, would such a regulated supply get very hot ?