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Modulus-686: 380W (4Ω); 220W (8Ω) Balanced Composite Power Amp with extremely low THD

Which volume of Linear Audio?
#5 I think.

I don't like the idea of leaving XLR Pin 3 floating. That means the inverting input of the differential receiver is floating.
I prefer to connect XLR Pin 3 to the RCA shell (along with XLR Pin 1). Unfortunately, it isn't possible to have both RCA and XLR connectors hooked up without using a switch to select between the two, though.

There may have been something inherent in Self's design that allowed such a setup to work, but I would not recommend it for any of my amps.
Tom
Thanks. Yes, I believe Self's differential input circuit was unusual. Not sure how. And yes, I see what you mean about leaving that pin floating when the RCA socket is used. Thanks.
 
I'm intending to drive my Modulus686 with 24VAC secondaries of my transformer.
  • What will be the final DC rail voltage after the power supply? What is the typical drop expected after rectification? I'm using IC bridges, not individual fancy diodes.
  • What is the peak AC output voltage I can expect the amp to deliver into 8 Ohms (for brief stretches of, say, 30 seconds) without clipping, in my case?
 
Any 686 builders out there looking to use switching supplies for their build? I have a lightly used pair of Meanwell 400-27 supplies available. PM me for details.

Those are nice supplies and work very well in the Modulus-686. My MOD686 amps are all powered by the RPS-400-27-C (caged version of the RPS-400-27). You'll get ~130 W into 8 Ω and 200 W into 4 Ω with that.

Tom
 
The answer to both questions depends on the properties of your mains transformer, your rectifier and your filter capacitors.

Exactly!

Assume I have a higher xfmr VA rating than what Tomchr recommends.

That doesn't give enough information to answer your question. We'll need to know:
  • Mains voltage
  • Transformer turns ratio
  • Transformer parasitics (at least DCR of primary and secondary windings)
  • The characteristics of the transformer core
  • Characteristics of rectifier diodes
  • Parasitics of power supply PCB and wiring
  • Capacitance (and ESR) of reservoir caps
  • Etc.
Throw all that into a circuit simulator and you'll probably get an answer that's reasonably close. Reality will still be slightly off from the simulation. Then throw in that your mains voltage may vary by ±10% in many parts of the world and all bets are off.

That said, the back-of-envelope answer to your question is "around 32-33 V most likely". It'll droop a volt or two if you run the amp at clipping levels with an 8 Ω load. That should be enough for around 170-180 W into 8 Ω.

If you would like greater precision in the numbers, use a switching supply, such as a pair of Mean Well RPS-400-27-C.

Tom
 
Thanks a lot for the first useful response. :D I needed a back-of-envelope answer. I guess I should have specified "I want a figure +/-1V, and with reasonable assumptions" when I asked. :)

My answer won't be accurate to ±1 V. Think about it... Mains variation alone would cause ±3.3 V variation.

If you want ±1 V precision, use a regulated supply.

Tom
 
My answer won't be accurate to ±1 V. Think about it... Mains variation alone would cause ±3.3 V variation.
Somehow, I have succeeded in confusing all of you about the context of my question. I don't need a very precise answer. I just wanted to know a "nominal" answer. I'm not trying to do anything with edge cases or corner cases. Sorry about this. You're of course correct that I won't get even a 10% accurate answer if I map the nominal to the real world. (I live in a country where the real mains voltage is often 30% lower than the nominal figure in many parts of the country. Voltage stabilizers are a household device in every household, and every store selling a refrigerator or AC will sell you a compatible voltage regulator too.)

But I just needed a nominal figure, with "reasonable" assumptions on xfmr, diodes, etc.
 
As a rough rule of thumb I multiply the transformer's secondary voltage by 1.5 to account for high line voltage, higher no-load voltage on the transformer secondary, and because it's an easy number to remember. If that number pushes any limits, then it has to be considered more thoroughly.
 
I don't like the idea of leaving XLR Pin 3 floating. That means the inverting input of the differential receiver is floating.
I prefer to connect XLR Pin 3 to the RCA shell (along with XLR Pin 1). Unfortunately, it isn't possible to have both RCA and XLR connectors hooked up without using a switch to select between the two, though.
I found this in Self's Audio Power Amplifier Design Handbook:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
Oh, that's a neat trick! Basically, you take a standard differential input and connect the single-ended input through a 100 Ω resistor to the non-inverting input of the opamp. When the XLR is unplugged, the opamp works as a buffer. Nice!

The obvious drawback is that the circuit won't work with both the XLR and RCA sources plugged in. It has to be one or the other.

Tom
 
We had a "similar" discussion some months back in the THAT thread, about the Witlock's JENSEN AN-003 note. That note shows an unbalanced to balanced interface that uses only a pair of resistors and a cap, no transformers involved.

I think the consensus was that
THAT Driver differential output > Balanced output > pseudo-differential cable
and
It's not the best way of doing things, but better than not doing it.
 
We had a "similar" discussion some months back in the THAT thread, about the Witlock's JENSEN AN-003 note. That note shows an unbalanced to balanced interface that uses only a pair of resistors and a cap, no transformers involved.



I think the consensus was that and
I'm confused here... We were discussing inputs and your response mentions output.