Series can be done excellent too, but not with the limited power available from a logical cost and size tube assortment. Its all a matter of having a clear approach of what we want for a range of applications, having a concept.
it works and sound good but with some problems, first with the gas tube, then the layout (it oscillates) then it is noiser than your shunt 😡
Solid state does current and voltage easier and better. The PSU must be a daft thing doing nothing of its own as much as possible. And its difficult with tubes since they are high impedance devices with heating needs.
Salas, does the output impedance of the prefilter (before the shunt) matter? In other words what is the input impedance of your shunt? I need to drop a lot of voltage so my prefiltering will have a very high output impedance, is this OK?
Yes its OK. The input impedance is in the many MegOhm. An ideal current source has an infinite output impedance in parallel with the source. The 9610 is no slouch, nor ideal. They all worsen with frequency but stay very high.
Hello Salas,
A few days ago we traded a couple of posts about IXCY 10M45’s and voltage regulators over on another thread. I thought that I would drop by and slip a foot into the conversation.
All voltage regulators are voltage dividers. Series regulators control the top resistance. Shunt regulators control the bottom one. After checking it out this is the part that floors me, Shunt Regulators routinely shunt several times the connected load to ground. No wonder there is reduced over shoot and ringing and trash on the B+ due to control devices. They do not have to work nearly as hard stopping and starting.
I was thinking similar thoughts when I designed a tube headphone power triode to idle at 150 volts and 50 ma when only 0.010 watts output is needed. I suppose the word shunt applies here as well.
DT
All just for fun!
A few days ago we traded a couple of posts about IXCY 10M45’s and voltage regulators over on another thread. I thought that I would drop by and slip a foot into the conversation.
All voltage regulators are voltage dividers. Series regulators control the top resistance. Shunt regulators control the bottom one. After checking it out this is the part that floors me, Shunt Regulators routinely shunt several times the connected load to ground. No wonder there is reduced over shoot and ringing and trash on the B+ due to control devices. They do not have to work nearly as hard stopping and starting.
I was thinking similar thoughts when I designed a tube headphone power triode to idle at 150 volts and 50 ma when only 0.010 watts output is needed. I suppose the word shunt applies here as well.
DT
All just for fun!
Salas:
Thank you for all your work.
Can 3μF be used for C3? I have a pair in my part box,
Thank you
Bob
Thought I put up something positive on this thread again... I am running the older, first version of the Salas shunt reg in two of my headphone amplifiers,
one being an Aikido and the other one a breadboard to try different pentodes on triode mode.
Well, i settled on the C3G that I already use in yet another headphone amp (OTL) and, after some parts chasing and having to find suitable output transformers, I eventually got it playing music, and very fine it does!
short facts: shunt reg set up to 80mA, 35mA and 170V into the load... C3G triode wired with 150R and Oscon in the cathode, 880R gridstoppers, vintage Grundig SE output transformers that reflect about 10K to the tube with my 300 Ohm Sennheisers, heaters DC regulated.
Initilally had some hiss and then probably low level oscillation, but after changing the layout a bit (transformers in // to have short leads to the HV regulator) and tying the heater reg to ground it started to perform.
In fact it sounds very very good... as expected it is absolutely quiet, resolution and low level detail is near maximum, timbre is very natural and rich, and this thing is FAST! I have yet to find another tube that does cymbals and hihat better than the C3G...
Shostakovich gave me the goose bumps today, Marcin Wasilewski was playing nice and mellow, and Eiving Aarset proved that it doesn't collapse when the going gets tough...
So credits again to Salas for being such a nice and inventive guy...
one being an Aikido and the other one a breadboard to try different pentodes on triode mode.
Well, i settled on the C3G that I already use in yet another headphone amp (OTL) and, after some parts chasing and having to find suitable output transformers, I eventually got it playing music, and very fine it does!
short facts: shunt reg set up to 80mA, 35mA and 170V into the load... C3G triode wired with 150R and Oscon in the cathode, 880R gridstoppers, vintage Grundig SE output transformers that reflect about 10K to the tube with my 300 Ohm Sennheisers, heaters DC regulated.
Initilally had some hiss and then probably low level oscillation, but after changing the layout a bit (transformers in // to have short leads to the HV regulator) and tying the heater reg to ground it started to perform.
In fact it sounds very very good... as expected it is absolutely quiet, resolution and low level detail is near maximum, timbre is very natural and rich, and this thing is FAST! I have yet to find another tube that does cymbals and hihat better than the C3G...
Shostakovich gave me the goose bumps today, Marcin Wasilewski was playing nice and mellow, and Eiving Aarset proved that it doesn't collapse when the going gets tough...
So credits again to Salas for being such a nice and inventive guy...
Attachments
Hello
Nice to see one of the first in the SHV gang again in the thread!
Nice success. Some are targeting headphones small amps too. That will hearten them. Nice build and photo too.
Nice to see one of the first in the SHV gang again in the thread!
Nice success. Some are targeting headphones small amps too. That will hearten them. Nice build and photo too.
Great to hear its working with tube sized OPT's, I guess its time for me to start building.
How short of a lead are we talking from HV reg to OPT? This will influence my case decisions.
You can see on the pic... the transformers facing towards you and two thin leads going to the left.. about 80mm I guess. But it was a big difference to before when I had the xformers placed on either side of my tube 'platform' and leads were very different in length... couldn't get rid of some strange symptoms.
Right, I was afraid myself that it wouldn't work but was surprised that there is absolutely no lack of bass. Maybe not as tight as solid state (M3) but still very defined and punchy... 😉
Last edited: