[mcgsxr]

I know that it is meant for DAC, transports, etc, but what happens if you plug an amp into it?

I just bought a gainclone, and it sounds fantastic through the Felicia, and without it, there is a frustrating buzz from the trans.

Am I in any danger or anything?

[samplesj]

Didn't Occam say that the voltage would sag fairly badly if it was loaded too high?

If that is the case then you could measure and make sure you are still close enough to 110-120V.

[Occam]

I know that it is meant for DAC, transports, etc, but what happens if you plug an amp into it?

I just bought a gainclone, and it sounds fantastic through the Felicia, and without it, there is a frustrating buzz from the trans.

Am I in any danger or anything?

It will flip over and burst into flames  
Yust kidding.

Assuming you're using propery sized fuses on your Felicia, 1amp slo-blows or 1.5 amp fast blows, a fuse will simply pop. I don't think you're endangering either gainclone or the Felicia. The Achilles heel of the Felicia design is her poor voltage regulation, the output voltage sagging with increased load.  This means that when overdriven, your output rails on the gainclone will sag, and would manifest itself as compressed dynamics.
Iff'n you like the sound of your Felicia powered gainclone, I wouldn't be concerned. A lot would depend on the speaker load.

The buzz from your transformer on the gainclone might be indicative of DC on your AC mains, as Felicia, being galvanically isolated, prevents the passage of DC. Is the tranny on your gainclone a toroid which is quite succeptable to dc induced buzzing. But first try tightening the tranformer's fixings to the chassis. Does this buzz, sans Felicia, happen all the time? The usuall source of DC on the mains is light dimmers. If you have any, try turning all the dimmers off. (though if its your neighbor's dimmers, you're screwed). If it actually is DC on your line, Kevin at Diycable.com , (he has a circle here) sells a dc blocker, and a seach on the Lab for 'dc blocker' will give you a diy version.

I'm pleased as punch that Felicia benefits your gainclone. She has done quite nicely on small switching ps switching amps (Teacs, etc..) but you're the first to comment on her powering an amp, other than LoanWolf's Baby Sophia.

[samplesj]

Let me ask a related question.  How close to the rated VA will a component start to sag?

I know there is the MPJA transformer, but someone else found the little brother to the Signal (A41-43-24).  I thought I remember reading some concern about the quality level of the ones that MPJA had though.

I want to build a couple to power my SB3 and Benchmark.  The Elpac I'm using for the SB3 is 0.16 amps so its basically 20watts.  The Benchmark is rated as 16 maximum (seems low, but thats what it says in the manual).

The smaller Signal transformer is rated for 43 VA so we can expect 21VA if we use it for balanced.  So is 16-20 too close to 21?

I guess I could try the smaller Signal ones since its only $20 for 4, but I just wondered if anyone had a good feel for how much was too much.

edited to correct MPJA from MPAA

[mcgsxr]

Guess I can drop the fire extinguisher and just concentrate on the music then!  Thanks!

There are two toroids in there (here is a link to my eBay score... http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5842971249&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1) so that could be it.  I will take a look at how they are secured, and turn a wrench or two.

The previous owner of the house had a wood working setup in what is now my listening room, so I suspect it is the pair of 8 foot florescent lights that are causing the irritation - as the bulbs die, the fixtures themselves actually hum too... I have not tried plugging the amp in elsewhere, so I cannot comment otherwise.

The speaker load is my Visaton b200's on DIY open baffle, and are a 6 ohm load as I recall, and are very efficient.  I don't have to turn the SB volume past 12 or 14 (out of 40, not out of 10 you Spinal Tap fans!), to get it loud enough for 90% of my listening.

It was a remarkable transition, inserting the plug into the Felicia - the word I would use is dimensionality - all of a sudden, there was a marked increase in the "roundness" and depth of the sound.

In fact, I find it way better on the gainclone, than I do on the stock SB PS... interesting.

Thanks all,