rectifier upgrade for sub amp?

[crippledchicken]

i'm looking for opinions on whether there's anything to be gained changing RS 803 8 amp 200v. inline bridge rect. to stealth 15 amp 600v. diodes in a 200 watt sub plate amp being low frequency only? thanks, crippledchicken

[Stocker]

Let's do some math, shall we?

Wait, we can't... what is the rail voltage inside the amp? What is the highest max and RMS power rating of the amp? Perhaps a better question is, do the combination of full-voltage rails, max current and minimum load ever exceed 8A from the transformer? For how long?

If you never get to 8A, you will probably only end up with a cooler set of diodes. If you occasionally get past 8A and the power supply capacitors can't keep up, you may have diodes that last a little longer (60 vs. 50? )

If you have the parts on hand, change them and see how it *sounds*

It is likely not going to make all that much difference.

[crippledchicken]

Originally posted by Stocker
Let's do some math, shall we?

Wait, we can't... what is the rail voltage inside the amp? What is the highest max and RMS power rating of the amp? Perhaps a better question is, do the combination of full-voltage rails, max current and minimum load ever exceed 8A from the transformer? For how long?

If you never get to 8A, you will probably only end up with a cooler set of diodes. If you occasionally get past 8A and the power supply capacitors can't keep up, you may have diodes that last a little longer (60 vs. 50? )

If you have the parts on hand, change them and see how it *sounds*

It is likely not going to make all that much difference.

hi stocker, thanks for the reply. it was just a question in general as i've done this with my wide band power amp with an audible improvement so, i just wondered if maybe someone had tried it on a limited band amp such as a sub type with an audible improvement. i don't think i have any problems with exceeding the rated values of the original rect. of course, i just finished building the sub so, i really don't know much about the amp other than i just looked inside and noticed the two 10k 80v. ps caps, and ran rect.# through a Google search to get values. this is one place that i wasn't sure if the high speed, soft recovery diodes would make much difference soundwise, due to the limited bandwidth. thanks again, crippledchicken