Anyone here remember the Boothroyd Stuart Meridian 105 monos? Well, I happen to have an identical pair of power supplies in addition to the originals in my set. These amps are known for superb transparency/musicality. However their slim design allows for a mere 250va toroidal transformer in the case, and hence they are a bit lean on the bottom end. Sooo..., I was thinking to combine the power supplies for some serious bottom end. My question is whether there would be an advantage and if so, in series or parallel? TIA
Can you add an additional power transformer to an amp to increase output?
Can you add an additional power transformer to an amp to increase output?
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According to me you should not add an extra transformer ..
in series you will get a bigger voltage ( if connected correctly ) and all the electronic of the amplifier will not work in these conditions.
in parallel you may ge a bigger current .. bigger power ... but will the amplifier work in these conditions ... I am affraid it will not.
Do no try to make a horse when what you have is a rabbit.
transformer in parallel is a tricky thing ... most of the time you must start with a pair of identical transformers ... otherwise they will not split load current 50% - 50% and one transformer will overheat...
in series you will get a bigger voltage ( if connected correctly ) and all the electronic of the amplifier will not work in these conditions.
in parallel you may ge a bigger current .. bigger power ... but will the amplifier work in these conditions ... I am affraid it will not.
Do no try to make a horse when what you have is a rabbit.
transformer in parallel is a tricky thing ... most of the time you must start with a pair of identical transformers ... otherwise they will not split load current 50% - 50% and one transformer will overheat...
Bob Stuart himself has mentioned the 105s will "motor" with a bigger transformer. I have owned these since 1978 and can attest to their lack of thunder. Very fast, articulate, and resolving , yet keep you yearning
The second pair of power supplies are proper to the set, they are actual 105 oem power supplies, so identical.
I came across a thread on Pink Fish where repair of the 105s was the topic. The op said he was in touch with Bob Stuart and the lean bottom end was discussed, dated around 2003.
You may find this helpful. Linear Power Supply Design
Unless you are listening at very high volumes to bass heavy music, the PSU should be supplying adequate current
Unless you are listening at very high volumes to bass heavy music, the PSU should be supplying adequate current
I would be inclined to place the blame (if any exists) at the lack of smoothing capacitance.
Is the 105 AC coupled or DC coupled at the input? DC servo?
What are the filter values at the input, NFB and PSU?
They are all linked and will affect the bass.
I believe it is more complex than that.
One can have flat response through the audio band and yet different implementations will sound different.
My last post points at the filtering as being a possible cause for apparent bass quality/extension/level.
Wrong assumption.
1) your current power supply is more than adequate.
Doubling or tripling it will certainly yield some improvement, nobody denies that, but improvement will be slight.
2) Going from Slim to Thunderous?
No way. Improvements will be slight.
3) If anything, the "Slim Bass" is probably a Designer´s choice, wouldn´t be surprised that it is in part responsible for
I very much suspect increasing "thunder" will detract from everything else.
And as Andrew T mentioned, there may be a ton of circuit design choices and elements keeping bass tight, completely unrelated to power supply (which is more than adequate to begin with.
4) you state
but truth is you are referring to "something you read on Internet" by somebody who "claims" having spoken with "the man" himself.
Way too flimsy and unreliable as an argument.
But do as you please, you seem to be already self-convinced so put 20 power supplies in parallel if you have them and that makes you happy.
After all, it´s your party, and as Annie Lennox would say: "who am I to disagree"?
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (Official Video) - YouTube
Whoa...How have you concluded I am self convinced? I started the thread for direction, so far answering questions you're all asking. Which I am thankful for, including yours especially. You've addressed underlying factors I was concerned with if I went forward with it. The manual states improved performance can be had by placing each amp at the speaker with short cables and plugging each amp separately into a wall receptacle. As it is, they are daisy chained together and plugged into the switched outlet on the matching 101 pre. So they sit stacked. Bottom end is not really a concern with the current availability of great powered subs. Extension is great as is so that's not at issue either. Slam is the issue here and as I've stated..."I have these additional power supplies". Thanks for your input.
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