[Welborne]

The 30v/130w supply is much richer all around.  When I've seen the prototypes and they plug in and don't blow up, I will tell the forum all about the new models.

Oh, when you say "new models" you are actually talking about the "new" 30v/130w" power supply and not the Virtue Two amp, am I correct?

[1000a]

I have the 30v/130w power supply on my Virtue One and the difference is quite striking. It is more than worth the $150 upgrade.

I agree with Seth that it is 'richer' sounding. Just better, more detailed, fuller at lower volumes and more satisfying at higher volumes. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in it if they are moving up from one of the lower powered supplies. It's like getting a new amp, really.  aa

is this 30/130 vs the 24v or the 30/90?   thanks 1000a

[Cheerwino]

I have the 30v/130w power supply on my Virtue One and the difference is quite striking. It is more than worth the $150 upgrade.

I agree with Seth that it is 'richer' sounding. Just better, more detailed, fuller at lower volumes and more satisfying at higher volumes. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in it if they are moving up from one of the lower powered supplies. It's like getting a new amp, really.  aa

is this 30/130 vs the 24v or the 30/90?   thanks 1000a

Oh, good question.   I'm comparing the 30/130 to the 30/90.

I'm using single-driver Horn Shoppe rear folded horn speakers, so your results may vary.

[1000a]

I have the 30v/130w power supply on my Virtue One and the difference is quite striking. It is more than worth the $150 upgrade.

I agree with Seth that it is 'richer' sounding. Just better, more detailed, fuller at lower volumes and more satisfying at higher volumes. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in it if they are moving up from one of the lower powered supplies. It's like getting a new amp, really.  aa

is this 30/130 vs the 24v or the 30/90?   thanks 1000a

Oh, good question.   I'm comparing the 30/130 to the 30/90.

I'm using single-driver Horn Shoppe rear folded horn speakers, so your results may vary.

excellent   thanks,   

i am sure in my situation the 30/130s would be super- money is a little slow now- so i will have to wait some

[virtue]

You see, we had these 38v supplies laying around from the Sensation I project and Roger thought we ought to try dialing them down to 30v (and changing the output nib) and offering them with the smaller amps.  I strenuously objected based on price; I didn't want the ONE to be a $450 amp.  However, the upgrade frankly offers more sonic benefit than anything else we've tried; we could not NOT offer it.  They're still under powered.. we really wanted a 200w supply.  But none so far have passed all of our tests, including price.

These supplies are EXPENSIVE and require air-shipping from Asia.  They're well worth the money, but sometimes $150 is more than you have ... we get that and are considering options.

[Jason T]

I have a Two with both a 30v/90w and 30v/130w supplies.
the difference to me is obvious and not just the power difference.

The 130w ps really opened up . . well everything really.

I'm anxious to try batteries and am going to try my own thing so stay tuned 

 

[wmoore]

I have the 30v/130w power supply on my Virtue One and the difference is quite striking. It is more than worth the $150 upgrade.

I agree with Seth that it is 'richer' sounding. Just better, more detailed, fuller at lower volumes and more satisfying at higher volumes. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in it if they are moving up from one of the lower powered supplies. It's like getting a new amp, really.  aa

Thanks Cheerwino, Looking at getting the 130w supply. Can anyone else with a 130w supply share their experiences.

[Welborne]

Just placed an order of the 130w power 2 days ago, and they are on the way to Hong Kong. will post detailed report later.

[panomaniac]

Yes, please let us know!  The difference should be easy to hear on your system.

[yanspe]

Since I'm not an electrical / electronics engineer, I have a question on this "more power" topic. It's universally agreed that more power is what we all need but I'm confused which one is more important, amp or voltage. As an example, a 120 Watt power supply can be of a 24 Volt & 5 Amp OR 30 Volt & 4 Amp configuration. Is it better to have a higher operating voltage or on the other extreme, higher operating current? Sorry if this question is kind of trivial but like I said, I know jacks**t about this stuff. Any guru out there can elighten me on this? TQ.

[panomaniac]

Well it's been my experience that the more current the supply can supply, the better it sounds - even at moderate levels.  Amp ratings on PSUs are a guide, but I've not found them to be hard and fast.  Some 2.2A supplies sound better than 3A rated supplies. You have to take the ratings with a small grain of salt.

One thing that more voltage will usually give you is more headroom.  I.E., you can get louder on the peaks without clipping the amp.  But the higher current supplies tend to sound fuller, richer, more life-like.

Bottom line - given the choice between a 2A/30V and a 4A/24V, I'd likely go with the 4A/24V.  Or 2 ampilifers each with a 2A/30V.

[yanspe]

Thanks panomaniac !!! 

More Current = Better Sound
More Voltage = More Volume

The power supply for my mobile workstation is rated 120 Watt at 18.5V/6.5A configuration and my current Virtue 2 power supply rating is 90 Watt at 30V/3A configuration. Will be interesting to compare them and I'll plan to do just that...

[Jason T]

I wanted to share this one with you guys.
from the looks of this thing it looks to be a killer quality power supply and for the price might be untouchable.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260292882720&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&salenotsupported

if someone buys one let me know your thoughts on it.
11Amps is a ton of current

[dvenardos]

I haven't heard one of these yet, but they come highly recommended and they will mod the output voltage to your needs. You could power a slew of virtues off of one:
http://www.redrocksaudio.es/e_main.html
Price is $169 on 1-10 and goes down from there.

[1000a]

Well it's been my experience that the more current the supply can supply, the better it sounds - even at moderate levels.  Amp ratings on PSUs are a guide, but I've not found them to be hard and fast.  Some 2.2A supplies sound better than 3A rated supplies. You have to take the ratings with a small grain of salt.

One thing that more voltage will usually give you is more headroom.  I.E., you can get louder on the peaks without clipping the amp.  But the higher current supplies tend to sound fuller, richer, more life-like.

Bottom line - given the choice between a 2A/30V and a 4A/24V, I'd likely go with the 4A/24V.  Or 2 ampilifers each with a 2A/30V.

Thanks for the simple clarity to help us non electro people.  Does anybody know the amperage (current) of the Virtue PS (30v/130w) or the (30v/90w) ?

thanks in advance 

[cliffy]

A very simple way of looking at the question is P=IV.  Power (watts) = Current (amps) x Voltage (volts).

130w=4.333a x 30v

90w=3a x 30v



Hope that helps!  That's about all of the EE I remember from my Circuits 1 class

[dvenardos]

Thanks for the simple clarity to help us non electro people.  Does anybody know the amperage (current) of the Virtue PS (30v/130w) or the (30v/90w) ?

I like to remember it as WAV(e).
W=AV

So the Virtues PS would be:
A=W/V
90W/30V = 3A
130W/30V = 4.3A

Full power:
200W/30V = 6.6A

[panomaniac]

Well "in theory" with two 4 ohms speakers (stereo) you could be drawing 12A peak, or about 10A rms.  But that's 110/WPC RMS, above the amp's rated power.  With loses and other things, you'll never get that high.

Still, a nice, high current power supply usually sounds best, even at middle volumes.  It may have something to do with peaks or just the ease and stability a big PSU has.

[1000a]

Thanks- panomaniac, devnardos and cliffy

That clears things up, I figured there was a math formula in there somewhere.  Having the 3 replies is excellent I have a clear image now.  Thanks again.   

other student questions:

So ideally my best performance short of custom built would come from (a Virtue tested or the like) "plug-in-play" (since making my own is out of my league) say 200w/30v = 6.6amp or possibly better 200w/24v = 8.3amp.  Problem is neither of these beasts seem to exist at this time or at least not one with the quality and lack of noise levels we need?  Correct?

Well "in theory" with two 4 ohms speakers (stereo) you could be drawing 12A peak, or about 10A rms.  But that's 110/WPC RMS, above the amp's rated power.  With loses and other things, you'll never get that high...........

The above qoute assumes a 200w/30v PS, correct?
What would you speculate my amperage is per mono amp with (1) 4ohm spkr. attached?
What is my output wattage per channel in mono block with the V1 and the 30v/90w, 85w per side?

I doubt this is possible  but, is there a way 2 (90w/30v) could be wired together (series or paralell or something) that would keep the voltage at 30v or lower (maintain about 180w total) and both be hooked to one Virtue amp? 

thanks in advance no rush 

[virtue]

Cosel makes a 300w PSU (enclosed but needs wires attached) that can be ordered in 30v trim from places like Allied.  A supply like this would be Virtue TWO nirvana.  If you can't get 300w... go up to 400w or 500w... no harm, no foul.  Using 2 power supplies is not a good idea until one of our hypothetical next models (mum's the word).