arcam alpha 8 toroidal upgrade ?

paul.42 · 28th March 2009, 02:49 PM

hi all,to start with i am quiet a beginner at all this electronics stuff,i have replace toroidals in my other amps and replaced caps,but now i would like to upgrade the output in a arcam alpha 8 power amp,i have some toroidals here,but i know that vacs are alot higher ,is there away of reducing the vacs on this toroidal i have,and or what would it do??the vacs on the standard part is 25-0-25,the one i have is 80-0-80,so a big difference ?can any one there help with this..

Michael Bean · 28th March 2009, 03:54 PM

What exactly are you trying to accomplish? I don't wish to dampen your enthusiasm, but it's not easy to substitute a higher voltage transformer into a device designed for a lower voltage for what should be obvious reasons. In order to do that you would have to re-wind the transformer scondary windings for a lower output voltage, or add voltage regulation to the power supply. Also, the substitute transformer would have to be physically much larger to be able to deliver the necessary current at the higher voltage output, it probably won't fit inside the chassis.

Let us know what you want to achieve, then you will get better assistance.

Cheers.

jaycee · 28th March 2009, 03:57 PM

It's not really feasible. You would have to unwind the toroid's secondaries to reduce the voltage. If you do this you're not going to be making full use of the core without doubling the existing secondary winding in order to carry more current.

Voltage regulation also isn't feasible. You would have too much heat from the regulator to deal with, and you would probably strangle the amplifiers power supply to the point where it would sound dreadful.

The Alpha 8 isnt the best to do this with anyway. The design of the amp is not suited to high power due to the IRF540 mosfets it uses, and the small heatsinking.

paul.42 · 28th March 2009, 05:23 PM

ok so what i'm after is more klout really,so what amp is the one to go for?

Michael Bean · 28th March 2009, 07:33 PM

Agian, what specifically are you trying to accomplish? We need more info.

paul.42 · 30th March 2009, 11:31 AM

ok,so i guess what i'd like to do is what rowemister has done to his marantz pm66 ki,look up marantz pm66 ki tweeks
so is the arcam still not the best choice of amp to up grade or should i look at marantz amps .??

jaycee · 30th March 2009, 10:05 PM

What you should do if you want more clout is buy an amp with a higher output wattage. Just adding a new transformer etc to anything is not going to get you that.

Alternatively, consider more efficient speakers.

28th March 2009, 02:49 PM	#1
paul.42 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2007	arcam alpha 8 toroidal upgrade ? hi all,to start with i am quiet a beginner at all this electronics stuff,i have replace toroidals in my other amps and replaced caps,but now i would like to upgrade the output in a arcam alpha 8 power amp,i have some toroidals here,but i know that vacs are alot higher ,is there away of reducing the vacs on this toroidal i have,and or what would it do??the vacs on the standard part is 25-0-25,the one i have is 80-0-80,so a big difference ?can any one there help with this..

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28th March 2009, 03:54 PM	#2
Michael Bean diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA	What exactly are you trying to accomplish? I don't wish to dampen your enthusiasm, but it's not easy to substitute a higher voltage transformer into a device designed for a lower voltage for what should be obvious reasons. In order to do that you would have to re-wind the transformer scondary windings for a lower output voltage, or add voltage regulation to the power supply. Also, the substitute transformer would have to be physically much larger to be able to deliver the necessary current at the higher voltage output, it probably won't fit inside the chassis. Let us know what you want to achieve, then you will get better assistance. Cheers.

28th March 2009, 03:57 PM	#3
jaycee diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Norwich, UK	It's not really feasible. You would have to unwind the toroid's secondaries to reduce the voltage. If you do this you're not going to be making full use of the core without doubling the existing secondary winding in order to carry more current. Voltage regulation also isn't feasible. You would have too much heat from the regulator to deal with, and you would probably strangle the amplifiers power supply to the point where it would sound dreadful. The Alpha 8 isnt the best to do this with anyway. The design of the amp is not suited to high power due to the IRF540 mosfets it uses, and the small heatsinking.

28th March 2009, 05:23 PM	#4
paul.42 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2007	ok so what i'm after is more klout really,so what amp is the one to go for?

28th March 2009, 07:33 PM	#5
Michael Bean diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA	Agian, what specifically are you trying to accomplish? We need more info.

30th March 2009, 11:31 AM	#6
paul.42 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2007	ok,so i guess what i'd like to do is what rowemister has done to his marantz pm66 ki,look up marantz pm66 ki tweeks so is the arcam still not the best choice of amp to up grade or should i look at marantz amps .??

30th March 2009, 10:05 PM	#7
jaycee diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Norwich, UK	What you should do if you want more clout is buy an amp with a higher output wattage. Just adding a new transformer etc to anything is not going to get you that. Alternatively, consider more efficient speakers.

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