How much capacitance does your amp have per watt?

heiney9

nadams wrote: »

I do see the points of everyone who posted in this thread... I just figured it'd be fun to compare amps with a somewhat arbitrary figure. What I should've detailed is the type of amplifier, and the voltage of the caps. However, pretty much all the ones I've seen have been in the 65vdc range.

And the point of "today's watts aren't like yesterday's watts" is pretty much what I was trying to convey. You can have a "200wpc" receiver today that doesn't have nearly the cap backing that a 70 or 90wpc receiver did 30 years ago.

But then there's the thought that (12) 10,000 uF caps are a better solution to the older days of (4) 30,000 uF caps of the same voltage.

H9

lanchile

Fongolio wrote: »

Speaking in very general terms, and primarily solid state, doesn't large capacitance more or less equal larger dynamic headroom?

Not really! as I said before it is NOT only how much capacitance is in your amp but the desing after the power supply.
I will put it this way.

if you have a car filled with a tank of 50 gallons of gasoline and the engine is all out of alignment and some of the wheels are smaller than others....get my point here.

lanchile

heiney9 wrote: »

But then there's the thought that (12) 10,000 uF caps are a better solution to the older days of (4) 30,000 uF caps of the same voltage.

H9

you got that right! Now we have better caps than before (faster/lower ESR) and the quality is way better than those 40 years ago caps. The only problem is these caps are expensive that is why "NOT" many companies use them. and when you find an amp using these caps....They ask for big bucks. But again.. I have seen amps costing $$$$ and they use cheap caps lol.:rolleyes:

But again: this is not only for caps...it is everything else too.

FTGV

Fongolio wrote: »

Speaking in very general terms, and primarily solid state, doesn't large capacitance more or less equal larger dynamic headroom?

Well certainly as ken mentioned the greater the reserve the less likelihood that the supply voltages will drop substantially on demanding transient peaks.

FTGV

lanchile wrote: »

Now we have better caps than before (faster/lower ESR) and the quality is way better than those 40 years ago caps. The only problem is these caps are expensive that is why "NOT" many companies use them.

Which caps are you refering to as "expensive"?Most modern electrolytics intended for power supply usage from the likes of Panasonic,CDE,Nichicon and UCC have much lower ESR's then those from many decades ago.

lanchile

FTGV wrote: »

Which caps are you refering to as "expensive"?Most modern electrolytics intended for power supply usage from the likes of Panasonic,CDE,Nichicon and UCC have much lower ESR's then those from many decades ago.

Well I use in my amps Mundorf caps!

nadams

I didn't think that low ESR mattered much in audio caps. I recap computer components as a hobby and side business, and obviously low ESR matters there.

And yes, I understand that more capacitance does not raise wattage output, it is merely how much backing headroom the output transistors have before they have to rely on the peak output of the transformer for all their power.. Transformers can't react as quickly to power demands as capacitors can.

lanchile

nadams wrote: »

I didn't think that low ESR mattered much in audio caps. I recap computer components as a hobby and side business, and obviously low ESR matters there.

And yes, I understand that more capacitance does not raise wattage output, it is merely how much backing headroom the output transistors have before they have to rely on the peak output of the transformer for all their power.. Transformers can't react as quickly to power demands as capacitors can.

yeap!!! you got it right!;)

Fongolio

lanchile wrote: »

Not really! as I said before it is NOT only how much capacitance is in your amp but the desing after the power supply.
I will put it this way.

if you have a car filled with a tank of 50 gallons of gasoline and the engine is all out of alignment and some of the wheels are smaller than others....get my point here.

I think you misunderstood my question. I was not speaking in terms of overall output power, only in terms of the role of capacitance in the output stage. Capacitors store energy (amongst other things) that is released on demand. When a music passage has many dynamic peaks and dips in a short period of time larger capacitance (in whatever form) should give the unit the "dynamic headroom" to meet the demand of the music, provided of course there is an ample power supply (transformer) to keep up with the rapid charging and discharging of the capacitors. Correct? I think FTGV understood my query.

lanchile

Fongolio wrote: »

I think you misunderstood my question. I was not speaking in terms of overall output power, only in terms of the role of capacitance in the output stage. Capacitors store energy (amongst other things) that is released on demand. When a music passage has many dynamic peaks and dips in a short period of time larger capacitance (in whatever form) should give the unit the "dynamic headroom" to meet the demand of the music, provided of course there is an ample power supply (transformer) to keep up with the rapid charging and discharging of the capacitors. Correct? I think FTGV understood my query.

Correct! and I am sorry I misunderstood your question.