[spritzer]

That would work with two umbilical cables and some careful wiring. 

 

[kevin gilmore]

The stax mafia absolutely knows how to do a fully regulated all tube power supply.
It would look a lot like mikhails gas tube electrostatic supply, except it won't blow up.

For each of the 2 high voltage supplies you need
2 x 5u4
2 x 6l6
1x small pentode
2x 0a3

Plus a bunch of caps and transformers.

Gets expensive and large in a hurry.

Solid state still beats it by a large margin

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Thanks for the explanation Dr Gilmore. Like i said to Spritzer, i was just curious why it hadnt been done, not that i didnt think you guys were capable of such a thing

 And i figured that even if you could, that it probably had something to do with the solid state power supply being better regardless.
 
Thats good to know Spritzer...maybe ill stick with just making some of my own boards for a KGSSHV after all. Though being a guy who loves quality i was looking at the place in Illinois to get my boards made rather than china.

 

[Victor Chew]

Greatly understand what you are getting at. Keeping it to the solid state for the PSU makes a lot of sense to me as well.
 
I am really looking forward to this project taking off.

 

[FrankCooter]

As much as I love tubes, with the advent of low noise high voltage Schottky diodes, it's pretty hard to make a case for vacuum rectifiers anymore. The only remaining advantage of vacuum rectifiers is the inherent soft start, which can be accomplished by other means.
 
Tube regulators are more of a gray area. Gas regulators are noisy, inaccurate, and bulky. Zeners can be noisy too, but the noise can usually be easily shunted with a large capacitance that cannot be used on a gas regulator.  As a pass device in a series regulator, a tube is going to require a seperate filament winding and eat up 100V or more of the B+ and generate a bunch more heat. A solid state device in this position is more accurate, requires only a relatively small voltage drop, has no filament requirement, and is much less bulky. The solid state regulator will be smaller, cheaper, and measure better than a comparable tube regulator (although it is not difficult to build a tube regulator , that at least for audio purposes, has excellent measurements). The tube regulator has the advantage of usually being more rugged than its solid-state counterpart. Some people, me included, feel that solid-state series regulators, no matter how well they measure, can impart a signature (usually referred to as a glare) to some audio circuits.
 
The underexplored area in the high voltage regulator field is the shunt regulator.It's rarely used in audio circuits, but it might be worth looking at for a "no holds barred" electrostatic amp.  Both vacuum tube and solid-state shunt regulators seem to be free potentiental sonic effects. The big disadvantage of shunt regulators of either type is that they consume as much power as the amplifier itself. I'd like to see a professionally designed hybrid shunt regulated power supply that was capable of driving a top tier electrostatic amp. Everything solid-state except the shunt device, which would probably have to be something considerably beefier than a single EL34. 

 

[Victor Chew]

I am a little concerned that the toriods might buzz; and if its under the amp, the tubes will not like the vibrations. Using additional neoprene bases will certainly help, but may not eradicate the vibrations totally. Best if the transformers are totally quiet and vibration free, but my experience with them have been otherwise. Just a little concerned that the high voltage may pick up the unwanted noises. 

 

[milosz]

TUBE POWER SUPPLIES
 
Tube rectifiers are fast and quiet, generally speaking, but so are the right silicon diodes.   And a silicon diode doesn't need half an amp at 12 volts just to heat it....
 
As far as a tube regulator goes, I can't think of any sonic advantage over solid state. The only (non-sonic) advantage I can think of is a tube regulator is often more forgiving of a short than solid state, so if you wire the thing wrong, with a tube regulator you may get glowing red plates instead of open or shorted transistors.  But we never wire things wrong.....  

 
Tube power supplies make a lot of heat.  So, if you live someplace cold, then maybe...
 
Of course, there is an aesthetic aspect- the purple pink plasma in a gas regulator is pretty, and mercury rectifiers can be quite lovely too.  But that seems hardly worth the expense , trouble and heat.

 

[FrankCooter]

Mercury vapor rectifiers are a world in themselves. It's not just about the pretty blue glow. They are toxic, dangerous, and probably illegal. Totally impractical in the modern world.If you break one, you'll need a full professional hazmat clean up that will cost thousands of dollars. However, for the fanatic,they are also probably the finest rectifiers ever made. Unlike vacuum rectifiers, they have a very low impedance. There is no heat except for the filament. In operation, they are cold to the touch. Ionized mercury has a constant voltage drop of about 15V regardless of current draw. Essentially you get a free regulator inside the bottle. If you've ever heard an amp with a mercury rectified power supply you won't forget it. In a "brute force" power supply, substituting  mercury rectifiers for either vacuum or solid state rectifiers yields  a subjectively bigger, bolder, more dynamic sound that is instantaneously recognizable by even a casual listener.  Again, these things are horribly dangerous and toxic and even in their  day were never intended for anything but industrial use.  I've been searching for an equivalent substitute. Haven't found one yet. So far. series regulators of any type aren't the answer. Perhaps some sort of shunt regulator.
 

 

[kevin gilmore]

I have a hybrid shunt regulator supply that is all solid state, with feedback from
the shunt element to control the constant current source so that it it capable
of running with no load. shunt element could be a tube but the only practical
ones are likely eimac ceramic triodes. Especially for the higher voltages.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Thats good to know Spritzer...maybe ill stick with just making some of my own boards for a KGSSHV after all. Though being a guy who loves quality i was looking at the place in Illinois to get my boards made rather than china.

 
I would stick with the fab houses in the far east as all the boards I've seen made in the USA have been of very bad quality. 

 

[spekkio]

Is there something wrong with me if I prefer the SRM-252S to the SRM-323S on my O2 mk1? I don't know why but the 323S just sounds more muffled and 'distant'. The 252S is closer and more engaging.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

 
I would stick with the fab houses in the far east as all the boards I've seen made in the USA have been of very bad quality. 

 
Heh, true enough. I meant that i was going to go through Imagineering, since Dr Gilmore had said they made some of the best boards he had seen. Though having never ordered a PCB before, even the first page of that quote section was a bit daunting 

 
 

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

Is there something wrong with me if I prefer the SRM-252S to the SRM-323S on my O2 mk1? I don't know why but the 323S just sounds more muffled and 'distant'. The 252S is closer and more engaging.

 
You should like whatever sounds good to your ears and not feel pressured by what people say you're supposed to like.
 
The important thing is to keep an open mind and be sure to preface your opinions appropriately.

 

[kevin gilmore]

I think imagineering does a better job with better etching.
A couple of other boards I have seen had shorts.

Since I am in Illinois I would have to pay 10% sales tax which is why
I don't do boards anymore. Lil- knight also does boards in vietnam

kgsshv amp board on board heatsink version 8.25 x 6.25 inch 285 holes
kgsshv amp board off board heatsink version 7.2 x 3.9 inch 234 holes
kgsshv power supply board 9 x 7.5 inches 362 holes
universalpower board suitable for kgsshv or megatron or bae... 10.6 x 7.47 440 holes
megatron board 9 x 9 inches 403 holes

i always go for 3 oz copper.

 

[jaycalgary]

I put my O2 Mk1's away for a few days to listen to the Sr-x  pro's. I think it is a really fun combination to have because going back to the O2's just wowed me with its strengths and the Sr-x pro's are a great experience themselves. I think it will be great to bounce back and forth between the two contrasting experiences for a long time to come. Just wondering how many factory Sr-x pro's would you guess that are out there?