Are there any guitar amps with regulated power supplies?

[bikehorn]

I've been into tube and solid state audio amps these days and everyone in that hobby wants a stiff power supply with next to no ripple, sort of the opposite of the purposely underspecified power supplies used in many guitar amps. I always wondered if any guitar amps used regulators to have low background hum. It's an idea I've been wanting to try but don't know what the outcome would be like. Many people describe the sound of an audio amp with a regulated PS as having more bass definition, improved clarity and punch, etc by comparison to a regular unregulated supply. Some DIYers have done A/B testing with audio gear and there's been a marked difference in sound by their accounts. I just wonder if it would actually sound good on a guitar amp since a lot of the 'sag' that people associate with regular supplies would be gone.

[Shask]

I guess Im trying to understand what you are saying The power supplies in amps are filtered, just some more than others. Amps known as being "tighter" generally have more filtering, such as Soldano, VHT, etc... While some like many Mesas have much less filtering.

 

Of course, any of that is kinda stereotypical, and it all depends on the entire design.

 

But, I guess I dont understand the question, because all amps have filtered supplies, just varying amounts of filter/ripple....

[bikehorn]

I guess I wasn't too clear...a typical guitar amp and most audio amps have unregulated power supplies. That is, they only use passive components like capacitors, inductors and resistors. A regulated supply is one that uses active devices like tubes or transistors to tightly control output voltage. The end result is a very stiff and quiet power supply that wavers very little under demand, which would otherwise be very difficult to achieve even if you had a massive bank of capacitors. The only downside is the output voltage has to be less than the input voltage(thus you 'waste' some in the regulator and may need a bigger transformer), and by a certain amount to ensure it can regulate under all conditions that it would be expected to encounter, and you need to dedicate some chassis space/heater current/more tubes(or maybe transistors) for the power supply.

 

This is an excellent page on tube regulators that covers everything from basic ones without line regulation and more complex error amplifier designs.

 

http://members.aol.com/sbench/reg1.html

[starsnuffer]

We perfer our tube amps to remain as true to form as possible.

 

Those of us who prefer regulated power purchase power regulators like Furmans and the like to use with our rigs to provide steady AC current with no noise. This doesn't mean that the output section in the amp does not strain under load.

 

You also have to keep in mind that "sag" is very often a preferred trait in a tube amplifier. This is when the power section strains under load. If the power supply somehow kept up with this, then tube amps just wouldn't sound like tube amps, and you might as well go sterile state.

 

 

The creation of music is all about options and personal taste. Those who prefer to simply listen (audiophiles) have different needs. While there are certainly people who like the sound of stiff power sections, it doesn't seem to be the type of thing preferred by people who enjoy good tube amps.

 

 

-W