Amplifier : more capacitance = more current provided to headphones ?

[cfranchi]

All amplifiers are specified using W @ a given ohm value, but is total capacitance value more representative about how much current are provided to the headphone ? And so more capacitance the better ?

I have HE6se and like all planars they love power, I’m wondering about pairing it with speaker amp audio-gd A1 which has a huge capacitance of 80 000 uF.

 

[rlw6534]

All amplifiers are specified using W @ a given ohm value, but is total capacitance value more representative about how much current are provided to the headphone ? And so more capacitance the better ?

I have HE6se and like all planars they love power, I’m wondering about pairing it with speaker amp audio-gd A1 which has a huge capacitance of 80 000 uF.

My understanding is that capacitance in AC is like a storage/surge tank for power. It stores energy and allows the current to exceed the basic power supply's capability for brief periods, i.e. allowing dynamics and transients, which are fundamental in music waveforms.

Quoting from another source:

"The point of power supply capacitors in an amplifier is to provide a backup "reserve" for transient peaks. At some point, in any amplifier, you can tax the power supply with a big bass transient -- running out of current and/or causing the rail voltages to sag. Basically, the storage caps stay charged during normal operation and are available to meet short term transient demands without allowing the rail voltages to drop."

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Glancing at the product page, the 80,000uF spec is the total capacitance inside the amplifier. Capacitors serve different functions in different parts of the circuit. A large portion of that capacitance is likely in the power supply where caps are used to smooth rectified DC for low noise on the output. They also specify that there are no coupling capacitors. The capacitance in the amplifier isn't going to give any information in terms of available current in the output stage, the rated power into X impedance is more telling. The peak power can be calculated for the specified load by Ohm's law.

P = I*V and V = I*R, therefore I = SQRT(P/R)

For 120W into 8ohms, the peak current is 3.87A. Over on ASR, the this headphone needed 1.37V to reach 94dBSL. That's around 28mA, or 38mW. Even with the higher impedance load, rest assured this speaker amp will be able to supply plenty of current to drive the headphone, overkill. For the amp to effectively supply current to the headphone in response to instantaneous voltage changes, it should have a low output impedance. Given a speaker amplifier is designed to drive a much more difficult load (8ohms), it will assuredly have a low enough output impedance to adequately damp / drive a 50ohm headphone.

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

All amplifiers are specified using W @ a given ohm value, but is total capacitance value more representative about how much current are provided to the headphone ? And so more capacitance the better ?

I have HE6se and like all planars they love power, I’m wondering about pairing it with speaker amp audio-gd A1 which has a huge capacitance of 80 000 uF.

Nope.

Here is the simplified version of what is stated above. Think of your headphones as being a beer glass and your capacitor is a giant bucket filled with beer. Now let's say that you are really thirsty and you want your beer glass filled instantaneously. This is the equivalent of your planars trying to play a big bass note and wanting to suck a huge amount of current all at once.

If your bucket is too small, you won't fill the cup. You will actually have to wait for the bucket to fill back up somewhat for it to continue pouring with a good flow.

What we really want is for the bucket to be big enough so that it can fill your cup in one go. There are ways of calculating the proper size of bucket one would need, but generally speaking, capacitors are so cheap that it is easier to simply make the bucket 10 times bigger than it would ever need to be.

Now remember, the bucket will only pour enough beer to fill your mug. The bucket is not there to give you any more beer than what you ask for. God knows, we wouldn't want to waste any beer. It is only there to give it to you as quickly as possible.

So no, capacitors are not going to give you any extra power. But they will give you that power quickly which makes the amplifier SOUND more powerful than it actually is. However, there is a diminishing return after a certain point.

At 0.08F, you have a bucket the size of a honda civic trying to fill your beer mug. It's on the borderline of being a waste of money honestly.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Next time, I will explain with beer

 

[ThanatosVI]

Nope.

Here is the simplified version of what is stated above. Think of your headphones as being a beer glass and your capacitor is a giant bucket filled with beer. Now let's say that you are really thirsty and you want your beer glass filled instantaneously. This is the equivalent of your planars trying to play a big bass note and wanting to suck a huge amount of current all at once.

If your bucket is too small, you won't fill the cup. You will actually have to wait for the bucket to fill back up somewhat for it to continue pouring with a good flow.

What we really want is for the bucket to be big enough so that it can fill your cup in one go. There are ways of calculating the proper size of bucket one would need, but generally speaking, capacitors are so cheap that it is easier to simply make the bucket 10 times bigger than it would ever need to be.

Now remember, the bucket will only pour enough beer to fill your mug. The bucket is not there to give you any more beer than what you ask for. God knows, we wouldn't want to waste any beer. It is only there to give it to you as quickly as possible.

So no, capacitors are not going to give you any extra power. But they will give you that power quickly which makes the amplifier SOUND more powerful than it actually is. However, there is a diminishing return after a certain point.

At 0.08F, you have a bucket the size of a honda civic trying to fill your beer mug. It's on the borderline of being a waste of money honestly.

We should start doing everything audio related with beer analogies

 

[Whazzzup]

But a whole swack of capacitors look cool if you take the top off