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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2013 1:56:17 GMT
Shaun's recent comments about SQ improvement when using Cree SiC 8A diodes in the PSUs for the 15W Class A amplifier, have started me thinking about which rectifier diodes are likely to sound best in PSUs for preamps, HAs, DACs etc. At present I have been favouring the SF11 or SF12 because of it being much faster than the 1N400x or UF400x as well as having a slightly lower forward voltage than a 1N400x.. I intend trying some of these www.ebay.com/itm/50-x-MUR120RLG-MUR120-120-Ultra-Fast-Rectifier-Diode-1A-200V-Free-Shipping-/180856039635?Does anybody else have any suggestions for rectifiers to be used in this area ? Do Schottky diodes such as 1N5819 necessarily sound better than a fast recovery diode ? Regards Alex
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Will
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Post by Will on Jul 10, 2013 20:36:24 GMT
SiC diodes seem to be the current darlings for rectifiers, but they only seem to come in to220, to247 or smt packages.
When I get home, I'll have a look at a linear PSU I have, made by a particular PSU chap, and let you know what they are.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 11:08:59 GMT
A couple of days ago I fitted ES1D (SF14) surface mount 1A diodes in place of the existing SF12 diodes in Will's dual regulated PSU ,which I am using with my external +5V JLH PSU for my Corsair Voyager USB memory sticks. Tonight I re-ripped some of my test CD tracks to a Corsair Voyager, and then listened to them through the Class A HA. Tracks such as "Hold the Line-TOTO" and "Tangled Up in Blue-Bob Dylan" from the Sony BluSpec series are easily the best that I have ever heard them.
The Fairchild ES1D diodes are ultra fast at only 15nS Reverse Recovery time, and with a quoted capacitance of only 7pF. They are a little fiddly to fit unless the PCB is designed for Surface Mount devices though.
Alex
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 18:48:49 GMT
Eeeee, that be interestin' Alex. I currently have bog standard diodes in my external +5V JLH PSU. I bought a handful of the Vishay ES1D, they match your 15nS recovery and only lag slightly on quoted capacitance at 10pF. ( they were the cheapest 15nS option at Farnell España by a mile ) Hopefully I’ll get a chance to pop them in tonight ( home brewed PSU boards so will probably end up under-slinging them for ease of stuffing, ahem, I mean robotic style perfect placement )
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 22:00:42 GMT
Eeeee, that be interestin' Alex. I currently have bog standard diodes in my external +5V JLH PSU. I bought a handful of the Vishay ES1D, they match your 15nS recovery and only lag slightly on quoted capacitance at 10pF. ( they were the cheapest 15nS option at Farnell España by a mile ) Hopefully I’ll get a chance to pop them in tonight ( home brewed PSU boards so will probably end up under-slinging them for ease of stuffing, ahem, I mean robotic style perfect placement ) Hi Chris The PSU for the JLH that I changed the diodes in, already had the advantage of having SF12s fitted. I have been using the SF11/SF12 in all my small PSU PCBs. It's quite fiddly to fit these, even with a PCB like Wills which has quite an open layout . You will likely need to place one end right at the end of an existing copper land, solder that end, then run a short wire to the other end. Yesterday it took me ages to solder wires on to both the ends of another couple of diodes. Those hands can get quite shaky when you are old. I intend trying them in one of the PSU PCBs for the S.C. DAC. .I will try it with the PSU PCB that supplies +-15V to the DAC PCB. 2 diodes will be mounted underneath, and the couple with wires attached, on top of the PCB Regards Alex
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 22:13:20 GMT
Hi Chris The PSU for the JLH that I changed the diodes in, already had the advantage of having SF12s fitted. I have been using the SF11/SF12 in all my small PSU PCBs. It's quite fiddly to fit these, even with a PCB like Wills which has quite an open layout . You will likely need to place one end right at the end of an existing copper land, solder that end, then run a short wire to the other end. Yesterday it took me ages to solder wires on to both the ends of another couple of diodes. Those hands can get quite shaky when you are old. I intend trying them in one of the PSU PCBs for the S.C. DAC. .I will try it with the PSU PCB that supplies +-15V to the DAC PCB. 2 diodes will be mounted underneath, and the couple with wires attached, on top of the PCB Regards Alex Hi Alex, Pretty similar to what I was thinking after pulling one of the boards for a look see. Shaky hands? I'm so piggin' myopic I can't see if they're shaking or not, they're always blurry ps Do tell how the SC DAC turns out with those diodes in!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 22:27:35 GMT
Hi Chris TBH, I don't expect to hear any change at that location. With the +5V JLH supply it is connected to a PC with heaps of EMI.
Kind Regards Alex
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 23:18:25 GMT
Not the tidiest job but one board done! As it turned out, on my board I could snip the old diodes out, bend the legs down to the board and trim them, to leave the exact gap required for the SMD diodes; Before Prepared Done! Just need to pop it back in and do some ripping....
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 23:33:02 GMT
Not the tidiest job but one board done! As it turned out, on my board I could snip the old diodes out, bend the legs down to the board and trim them, to leave the exact gap required for the SMD diodes; Before Prepared Done! Just need to pop it back in and do some ripping.... Hi Chris Great idea ! I won't be doing that with mine though, as I am running low on SF11/12 diodes. Let's hope that what I did hear wasn't just due to my BP at an optimum level last night. I certainly didn't imagine the differences, but my BP is quite variable lately,. and hence my hearing can be all over the place.. I was watching the girls in bikinis at Palm Beach in "Home and Away" last night, when I noticed part way through, that the soundstage had markedly improved. I then decided to do new rips while my hearing was still O.K. Regards Alex P.S. 50-x-MUR120RLG-MUR120-120-Ultra-Fast-Rectifier-Diode-1A-200V-Free-Shipping Have one to sell? Sell it yourself 50 x MUR120RLG arrived yesterday, but it will be a while before I get around to trying them.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 23:36:26 GMT
Showing your age Alex! I wouldn't have noticed anything to do with hearing while watching nubiles in bikinis and clitares
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 23:43:45 GMT
Showing your age Alex! I wouldn't have noticed anything to do with hearing while watching nubiles in bikinis and clitares Hi Chris I feel sure you would still hear your wife complaining about your perving! Regards Alex
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 23:57:08 GMT
♫ Oh mercy ♫
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2013 1:43:53 GMT
Hi Chris This time I managed to get it going without stuffing up something else in the process. The DAC sounds very good with DTV at present, immediately from switch on, even with the Class As from cold as well. I will need to do more in depth listening this evening to see if I can hear an improvement or not. Regards Alex
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2013 13:49:25 GMT
Hi Alex,
I just gave the 5v JLH supply a whirl with the new diodes. I only changed one board and left the other as was. That way I was able to do 2 fresh rips as my system is now with the only difference being one USB port had the new diodes. So, one rip for each port and both played back via the changed diode port.
Not exactly difficult to spot the difference! More energy, more dynamic and some more clarity too.
The first track I used was Porch Light by Robert Cray, others followed suit. Very worthwhile.
I have a feeling my SC DAC and SCHA/Amanero/PK combo are going to receive similar treatment!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2013 21:31:40 GMT
Hi Alex, I just gave the 5v JLH supply a whirl with the new diodes. I only changed one board and left the other as was. That way I was able to do 2 fresh rips as my system is now with the only difference being one USB port had the new diodes. So, one rip for each port and both played back via the changed diode port. Not exactly difficult to spot the difference! More energy, more dynamic and some more clarity too. The first track I used was Porch Light by Robert Cray, others followed suit. Very worthwhile. I have a feeling my SC DAC and SCHA/Amanero/PK combo are going to receive similar treatment! Hi Chris That's what I found too, but I didn't want to say too much, so that you wouldn't be biased by my report. There also appears to be a further small improvement in detail with them in the analogue PSU for the S.C. DAC, but without unbalancing the presentation. I have already suggested their use to Will, based on their specs mainly, for use with his super low noise 1A voltage regulator that he intends using in another project. Kind Regards Alex Texas TPS7A4100 reg - www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tps7a4700.pdf
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2013 23:19:52 GMT
Hi Alex,
Any reason you didn't try the psu for the digital side of the SC DAC?
Cheers
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2013 23:40:22 GMT
Hi Alex, Any reason you didn't try the psu for the digital side of the SC DAC? Cheers Hi Chris I wanted to first see if it was all worthwhile. I may be demoing the Oppo 103 and DAC for an E.E. friend this weekend, and I don't want to tempt fate with further changes until then. I will play around with these diodes in the Class A HA in coming days, before deciding if I want to try the same with the Class A preamp. This is a fairly inexpensive tweak isn't it ? I can just imagine some E.E.s getting all uptight as these things can't possibly make any audible improvements,and they can take measurements to prove it ! Kind Regards Alex P.S. My E.E. friend does NOT fall into that category.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2013 15:28:40 GMT
Hi Alex,
Draggin' along in behind here, just popped the ES1D diodes into the same psu as you had. I found I'd also only used standard diodes here too! Obviously never got around to that one. (digi side has UFs)
After first listening as-was at work to tune in to the sound (and comparing it to the work rig). For installing I used the same method as before, just had to remove the main caps on the Jaycar psus to give enough room to work. The result was a pretty generous spoonful of the same improvement I experienced on the JLH psu, rather pleased with that. Contemplating the the digital psu now...
PS never noticed before (didn't think to check) but do your main caps on the psus get pretty warm?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2013 16:24:24 GMT
Ooooooh, Alex! Digi psu done. I never really got the same bass weight from the SC DAC that I do from the Amanero/PK combo, though other aspects were superior. With this mod, enter the bass, nice tuneful, controlled, precise and digs deep if it's there. Did a tidier job this time. I can't wait to get it home and try on a better coaxial signal.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2013 21:21:34 GMT
Ooooooh, Alex! Digi psu done. I never really got the same bass weight from the SC DAC that I do from the Amanero/PK combo, though other aspects were superior. With this mod, enter the bass, nice tuneful, controlled, precise and digs deep if it's there. Did a tidier job this time. I can't wait to get it home and try on a better coaxial signal. Hi Chris It's good to see that you are also getting worthwhile improvements with these SM diodes. I haven't really checked the temperatures of the PSU electros, although recently I found a Suntan cap with a domed top and replaced it. It was on the PSU PCB closest to the transformers. It wouldn't have helped that the cat often had a sleep on top of the DAC though. Let's hope that it sounds even better at home with a superior source. Kind Regards Alex P.S. Next time I need to fit leads to both ends where they can't be surface mounted, I am going to use long nose pliers with a rubber band around the widest section of the handles to keep the little buggers still for soldering.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2013 23:55:06 GMT
Ooooooh, Alex! Digi psu done. I never really got the same bass weight from the SC DAC that I do from the Amanero/PK combo, though other aspects were superior. With this mod, enter the bass, nice tuneful, controlled, precise and digs deep if it's there. Did a tidier job this time. I can't wait to get it home and try on a better coaxial signal. Hey Chris, That solder job on those little buggers looks fantastic. INFO: On my amps I have used MUR860 or BYQ28E depending on type of amp. regards Greg
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2013 0:03:00 GMT
Hi Greg Shaun likes the Cree C3D08060A–Silicon Carbide Schottky Diode, but you can't probably afford them anymore. Kind Regards Alex
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2013 1:15:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2013 1:46:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2013 1:53:48 GMT
Hi Greg They looked good until I checked their forward voltage at rated current. Regards Alex
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