Mains power voltage drop to reduce usage?

[Commander Kinsey]

Shut up woman.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I am sure it was.

My point being, as a then audio engineer designing high power amplifiers for hifi and PA as well as guitar use, there is *some* merit in it.

In particular the wonderfully cheapskate British (valve) guitar amplifiers of the 1960s and 1970 were capable of extremely loud 'attack' sounds, before the cost reduced power supplies sagged back to the RMS power figure (times two, on account of the total overload).

In short, a 100W RMS Marshall was subjective louder and had more 'attack' than an equivalent 100W RMS transistor amplifier.

Also the softer overload meant that you could get even more out of it for a given level of distortion

[Commander Kinsey]

I never knew Marshall was British. A rare thing - decent British products.

Seems they still use valves too! Have we really not developed transistors as good as valves?

[tony sayer]

We had a couple of home made cabinetted Tannoy 15 inch monitor gold's many years ago for a rather upmarket sounding disco and very good that was too!

Driven by a water cooled QUAD 303 power amp:)

Well IIRC it was the hot summer of 1976 and it the amp did get u hotter then to ought to have done so it was often placed with its fins in a bowl full of cold tap water! it worked very well the amp, made in 1967 is still here in daily use!..

Yes it ought to have been air cooled but it was very hot and sweaty in most locations so the water cooling was used!

[Commander Kinsey]

How did that not short it out?

P.S. WTF? "it the amp did get u hotter then to ought to have done"

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ive had similar transistors; heat sinks over 100°C...

Try Botswana discos Tony. Now THAT is hot and sweaty!

[Commander Kinsey]

What body parts did you notice were sweaty?

[tony sayer]

The fins on a 303 are round 40 mm long and they were the only bits under water..

Too hot to touch, it was a domestic hi-fi amp not really for high power use tho they did around 50 watts raise the HT reg. rail a little..

The old Tannoy's are very efficient speakers!

[tony sayer]

In article [e-mail], Commander Kinsey [e-mail] scribeth thus

I had to go into a night club in town back in the summer most all girls in there were bikini clad!..

[Commander Kinsey]

Mmmm.....

[Commander Kinsey]

When people strip that far they might aswell go further. I was disappointed to find out "naked" snowboarding days often means bikinis. I think it's an American thing - they think you're naked if you're in swimwear or underwear. What normal people call naked, Americans call "completely naked".

[Joe]

To keep it seasonal:

"The main reason Santa is so jolly is that he knows where all the bad girls live."

G. Carlin

[Commander Kinsey]

Unfortunately he can be arrested for that.

[tony sayer]

Humm thou might!, but remember back to that time when its was around 40 centigrade?. It was around that time, meeting an old mate of mine who was running the sound system. It seems these days that the women folk are very scantily clad not like what it was like when i were young you know;!...

[Commander Kinsey]

If only the world ran out of raw materials for clothes.....