Slewmaster - CFA vs. VFA "Rumble"

WOW , EvenC !!!
I am a minimalist , You go with 7 pair + 80V rails .... I would go with 3 pair
with 55V rails and a 18" 2R/50mm Xmax sub. I might match the 7 pair taking into account SOA and moving that amount of air in a 2.1 system.
That leaves 100hz and up - just 1 pair per channel , a nice 65v rail 100w/ch
system. I'm sure I could hit 120db 20hz - 20k.



And Yes , I am standardizing my slewmaster designs.

I will show the top contenders soon. One better Wolverine/Badger and one
CFA from hell.:D

OS
 
HELLRAISER CFA - TEAM RED

The rumble becomes political (joking).

Team red is a nice fast CFA.
5ppm - 20Khz@4R

- Q1-4 /BCxxx all run 1.5ma , tempco negate.

- Red led + Q5/7 - CCS's , also negate.

- Dual red led's and Q9-12 negate the Cascoded VAS (hawksford).

- R17(200K 10 turn) one adjustment for 4.25mA VAS idle.
It adjusts portion of the total hawksford current through led's.

The main IPS section is all R/C/Q/D 1,2,3....

The output/power section is all R/C/Q/D 101,102 .....

The Aux/Servo/addon section is all R/C/Q/D 201,202 ....

When someone speaks of Q1xx , I know they refer to a output device.
Say U2xx , I think servo !!
This is the new standard for Slewmasters.

TEAM BLUE is next. Same 5ppm ...
OS
 

Attachments

  • Hellraiser CFA.jpg
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  • HELLRAISER.asc
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  • KT-Cordell models.txt
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SON OF BADGER / WOLVERINE - TEAM BLUE

I would build this one.

Keentoken and some new (cool - JJS) member helped me figure out
how to iron out the "blameless" overload/diode issue. Clipping is
officially tamed in this design. Diodeless self - clamping VAS.

This is a cascoded "blameless" similar to the badger/wolverine designs.
Some things were simplified , some were added (new).

Was able to get this one down to 1-2 ppm / 20khz without TMC. Just
simple CMC , even at 56-68pf is enough to get single digit PPM.

I will officially offer this to the forum as it's new "Badger" store design.
If me (and others) procede with this gift , it will be endowed with protection
and a servo. It will be made with few options as a well tested , rock solid
WORLD CLASS design - that can match ANY OEM golden/ audiophile
offering.

OS
 

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  • SOB.jpg
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  • KT-Cordell models.txt
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  • Badger 2020 2.asc
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SON OF BADGER / WOLVERINE - TEAM BLUE

Was able to get this one down to 1-2 ppm / 20khz without TMC. Just
simple CMC , even at 56-68pf is enough to get single digit PPM.

OS

Having a play with Son of Badger Wolverine in ltspice and using the Tian probe method for measuring the loop response I see about 3db gain margin and 34 degrees phase margin. This seems a little on the low side. Spooky has about 16db gain / 88 degrees phase margin.

Interested to hear your thoughts.....I had to use the toshiba models as I don't have your variants, not sure if this has any effect on the loop response.

I've added the Tian probe to your ltspice schematic. Add this trace to the waveform window after the simulation has run:

-1/(1-1/(2*(I(Vi)@1*V(x)@2-V(x)@1*I(Vi)@2)+V(x)@1+I(Vi)@2))


See attached
 

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  • Badger Wolverine_2020_Tian_Probe.asc
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  • Badger Wolverine_2020_Tian_Probe.jpg
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I would build this one.

Keentoken and some new (cool - JJS) member helped me figure out
how to iron out the "blameless" overload/diode issue. Clipping is
officially tamed in this design. Diodeless self - clamping VAS.

This is a cascoded "blameless" similar to the badger/wolverine designs.
Some things were simplified , some were added (new).

Was able to get this one down to 1-2 ppm / 20khz without TMC. Just
simple CMC , even at 56-68pf is enough to get single digit PPM.

I will officially offer this to the forum as it's new "Badger" store design.
If me (and others) procede with this gift , it will be endowed with protection
and a servo. It will be made with few options as a well tested , rock solid
WORLD CLASS design - that can match ANY OEM golden/ audiophile
offering.

OS

Give me the IPS pcb pattern and i promise a Weekend test:D
 
Having a play with Son of Badger Wolverine in ltspice and using the Tian probe method for measuring the loop response I see about 3db gain margin and 34 degrees phase margin. This seems a little on the low side. Spooky has about 16db gain / 88 degrees phase margin.

Interested to hear your thoughts.....I had to use the toshiba models as I don't have your variants, not sure if this has any effect on the loop response.

I've added the Tian probe to your ltspice schematic. Add this trace to the waveform window after the simulation has run:

-1/(1-1/(2*(I(Vi)@1*V(x)@2-V(x)@1*I(Vi)@2)+V(x)@1+I(Vi)@2))


See attached

Thanks for the Tian probe. I lost it.:eek: Way more accurate that what I use.

Yup , just like some builders of the Badger. They used high gain group
devices at Q1/2 , things were on the edge.
Depending on the (real world Hfe) choice of Q1/2 , on R3/4 we can "back off"
to 68R. Good - 1.3mhz with 72db margin. (below)

THD jumped from 5 to 11ppm (as expected).

As I have helped with any Badger errata's over the years , I always ask
the for details of certain devices.

Another pair of devices that could possibly affect stability in the real world
are Q13/14. This is what is nice about a "blameless" design , it can be
modified with just simple changes to passive components.

OS
 

Attachments

  • SOB tian.jpg
    SOB tian.jpg
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Hi OS,

I like Hellraiser :) But how in the hell did You found this color combination? My eyes are full with tears, when I try to read it...

Nice combination anyway, I use almost same in my amp.

Regards,
Sajti

Yes , tears.

Better tears ?? (below)

Also , on the Hellraiser ....
Q5/7 CCS's - depending on what RED LED you have and the real world properties of the semi's , the target
is 1.5ma current. This will set the IPS to optimum so that you can trim VAS I (R17) to 4.25ma.
Newer RED LED's have as much as 1.8 - 1.9 Vf old dim red's GaAs have 1.6 - 1.7 Vf , CCS Re has to increase
for newer red's.



OS
 

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  • Hellraiser CFA.jpg
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