Sjöström Audio DIY forum

Your SSR04 uses 2200uF. I started out with around double that, but it didn't sound right. Too slow and heavy. At around 2000uF it's already much better. I'd like to try and reduce it further, but ripple will keep increasing. I have an LTSpice model of my rectifier bridge and smoothing caps that sit before the SSR01. By varying the load it is quite easy to see the resulting amount of ripple. Can you give some guidance of the maximum amount of ripple that you'd recommend is okay for the SSR01 to receive?

I'll take a look. The current consumption looks like it's around 15-20mA.

Rephrasing the question, how much ripple can I feed the SSR01 (30V version) before the SSR01 begins having trouble rejecting it?

For inspiration you can check how SSR04 is designed.

Important for design: What is the max current consumption of your amps?

Hi Per-Anders,

I'm trying to figure out how to best provide unregulated DC power to the SSR01 boards. I am using a toroidal transformer and a basic discrete full wave bridge rectifier with some smoothing caps before the SSR01.

I'd like to know how much smoothing is necessary. Or better, the minimum amount of smoothing I can get away with. Can you advise about the minimum total size of the smoothing capacitance required for optimal operation of the super regulators? Or would you advise to maximise smoothing capacitance given the available space on my boards?

The application at hand is the 30V version I ordered the boards for. I want to use it for a minimalistic phono stage, so the load is pretty insignificant. But I'd like to know this number for different voltages / applications too. Is there relatively straightforward way of calculating that for different voltages? What are the relevant variables in determining the minimum smoothing capacity?

Thank you for looking into this.

BTW and off-topic: please find some other way of ascertaining that I am not a robot. These letter combination images are impossible to read, also for a living breathing if ageing human in need of reading glasses...

Hej Per Anders!

I would like to increase the gain about 6dB. Would I increase R51 to do this?

I am using a MM cartridge and the preamp is working pretty well (still have an issue with the right channel DC offset without input termination).

Thank you,
Dan

Per Anders:

The RIAA stage came up fine for the left channel. On the right channel RIAA section I still have some offset on the output when the preamp has 10mv at TP1. For now I inserted a 10UF capacitor in series with R93, and the main output DC is now fine.

On the preamp DC servo amp IC1, when my test oscillator is set to 20hz, I see a sine wave on the output pin 6, as well as a little at C9. Would this AC audio correction signal "subtract" the from the main signal low frequency audio? Either way I added 10uF across C9 to make the correction voltage pure DC.

I'm listening to the preamp now-sounds clean. I will then look for the cause of the right channel DC offset and eliminate the audio coupling capacitor.

Good progress this weekend! Thank you again for your assistance!!

Cheers,
Dan

Hi Per Anders:

Adding 330PF capacitors directly at the base of T35 and T36 (paralleling C17 andC18 except close to the transistors) reduces the oscillation at the output of the preamp section without affecting the frequency response at 20KHz. Earlier I tried an 0.1uf capacitor and 10KHz was attenuated by more than half, so that was no good.

I am wondering if the physical distance of C17 and C18 to the bases of the emitter followers allows the oscillation?

On to the RIAA section!

Thank you,
Dan

If you use the keywords "emitter follower oscillation", I'm sure you can find something.

I think you can put that aside and try to get the RIAA stage to get working properly.

Per Anders:

Each transistor is mounted between 0.6cm to 1cm above the board.

I thought being an emitter follower, which normally having gain less than 1, could not oscillate?

Thank you,
Dan

Emitter followers can oscillate under certain conditions although it's much easier with power mosfets. How near the pcb have you mounted the transistors?