Any opinions on w_bb_r copper cap rectifiers?

Just wondering if anyone has some opinions of how these things sound... Looking at substituting one for a 5y3gt.  The long life is appealing, and most reviews I've read are positive.... The reviews overall indicate "slightly tighter bass" wich sounds appealing for my sta level build....  Thanks!

We had one to demo in a el cheapo supro amp that consisted of a 12ax7 preamp tube 5y3 rectifier tube and single power tube 6v6 or 6l6 I forget which. Anyway the change in sound was noticeable right away. No more noticeable sag, tighter bass and over all a more tighter sound. It was cool for sure

What does it have inside? A SS rectifier and a drop resistor? If just that I don't know if I would pay $20+ for that, you could build one either inside the amp or in an old tube taking the glass off and using the socket.

I use SS and tube rectifiers in my guitar amp, sounds pretty different, but no drop resistors there.

JS

It's supposed to be a bit more than that....  I'm leaning toward just getting a few and finding out if they sound different than just drop resistors and diodes

Thanks for the input pucho, I wonder if the difference would have been as noticeable if the rectifier tube that you subbed was a real high end one instead of what I'm guessing was a low end one.  The copper caps are supposed to follow the curve of the tube... At lease to some degree. 

I'd like to see one of those, as I'd like to see an overkill from prism inside as well, which is supposed to be also a couple of diodes and resistors but zener in this case. A friend has a prism converter and uses always the overkill off since he likes best how the input of the converters saturate directly, but who knows...In this particular case I don't think they are trying to emulate the curve, or at least they are not getting that, or the sound difference wouldn't be "...noticeable right away", as pucho pointed. They may be doing something fancier than just a bunch of diodes and a resistor though, I would probably try some caps in parallel with the diodes for example, but to find the proper value may not be easy, for really good implementation, if you find what it is please let us know!

JS

If you think it sounds like $zillion .. pay the man $zillion.

If you like the "hand made by virgins from solid Unobtainium" label, pay him $zillion too.

But don't open it up.

If you find its just a couple of diodes & a resistor,  the $zillion sound will vanish in an instant .. never to return. 

CJ opened a similar unit from groove tubes not too long ago. YOu can find his posting in the lab...

IIRC it was 4 diodes wired to the appropriate pins on the socket. you can see the photos and everything.

Ok, I've been convinced!  I was gettin a lill lazy with my diy here....  The impetus for starting this thread is a dual sta level build I've begun, and having an option for solid state rectification is an appealing thought... My experience with tubes is a bit limited, so a drop in sounded nice, if it was more than diodes and resistors.... But I'll start with a diy rectifier instead and see where that gets me sound wise

Thanks pucho I missed that thread, I'll take a look for it

So, the correct phrase in google and viola!  This looks fantastic.... God bless diyers and the internet.

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=225280

There is no 'sag factor' analogy for small signal amps as there is with instrument amps, especially a compressor that never hits an overload point on its output stage.  The first thing you will do substituting SS here is arrive at too high a voltage, which in turn means your meter won't align properly.  As well, most people seem to prefer the sound of tube rectifier in a small signal amp, besides, you would be deviating away from the goal of building a sta-level properly.  At very least to switch rectifiers you will have to sort out voltage matching and/or a wide enough range of meter alignment for the voltage extreme. 

It doesn't glow. So it can't be any good.

PRR said:

It doesn't glow. So it can't be any good.

Click to expand...

You could add an LED, what's the problem? you have the 5V close already too.

JS

Thanks emrr for pointing out the metering issue, I hadn't considered that previously... And don't worry, I have some tube rectifiers around, I won't ruin a cpl of sta levels over this, I just want to hear the difference for myself and in order to do so I needed a decent starting point for a rectifier.