I think first you have to seperate the tube amps from the transistor units as they have very different requirements.First they need a stable B+ high voltage supply usualy upwards of 240volts for a preamp and a seperate low voltage supply for the heater circuit some using voltage regulation.Many designers prefer to incorperate in line inductors and by the time you get recifiers and storage caps for both high and low voltage circuits.Its getting both costly and heavy.Then you have to seperate the transistor guys into those that use switch mode supplys and those that like the high current transformer and massive energy storage supplys some also using inductors.Linn uses a lot of switch mode designs they sound good when effectively used but surely savings in cost as well as size,weight and efficiency are factors.I like to think the power supply is a critical part of the circuit and not the area to cut cost.
Preamplifier power supply
Hi folks, should a preamplifier have a BIG (that is: an overkill power supply) to sound dynamic and authoritative? I'm asking this because some experts would say "yes" while others would say "no". Recently a well known audio journalist (Anthony Cordesmann?) said that the preamplifier doesn't have to have a big power supply because it doesn't have to deliver lots of energy (in the form of current). A preamplifier can sound "dynamic" even with very modest power supply --> for example the built in preamplifier in the Benchmark DAC. But some manufacturers rely on a truly overkill power supply in their reference preamplifiers: MBL, First Sound Audio, BAT, VTL, LAMM, Mark Levinson. So who is right?
Chris
Chris