rectifiers....what exactly are they?

[horax]

I don't want the high tech mumbo jumbo...what is a rectifier, dual, triple, etc, and why should I care?

All I know is that they are super expensive and people seem to love them, but what do they do that other amps don't?

 

[muswell_hillbilly]

Short answer: rectifiers convert AC voltage available at the wall outlet to DC voltage needed by the amplifier

 

[Frodebro]

The rectifier itself is the circuit that converts AC voltage to DC. For Mesa, the Rectifier series was originally loosely based on a Soldano SLO 100, which itself drew inspiration from Mesa Mark series amps.

Anyway, the Rectifier amps offer the choice between a solid state (diode) rectifier or a tube rectifier with the flip of a switch. Solid state is able to better keep up with current demands, giving the amp a tighter feel with less sag.

As far as single, double and triple rectifiers, that simply relates to the output wattage of the amps (50 watts single, 100 watts dual, 150watts triple).

 

[Asmith]

All amps have at least one rectifier, different types are availiable though. Solid State (SS) usually use 4 silicon diodes that cost pennies. T

The ones a company would boast about is a Valve (UK) or Vacuum Tube (US), they are usually the equivalent of 2 diodes and are large as far as valves go. They cost more because a rectifier valve is more expensive to produce, they require an additional valve socket on the chassis, they require power because they have heaters to make them work and they also drop voltage. This means you need a transformer that can handle more power since a rectifier can eat 10 watts on the heater alone. If you want a specific DC voltage after the rectifier then you need to feed it a larger voltage because they reduce the voltage which again means you need a better transformer to accomodate more power. Finally typical preamp and power valves in an amp run the heaters on 6.3V but if you used for example a GZ34/5AR4 the heaters need 5V You'd either need additional circuitry to reduce 6.3V to 5V or a separate part of the transformer that puts out 5V as well as 6.3V which means more money in the transformer.

To sum up you need a bigger transformer, and a rectifier valve and socket.

 

[uriah1]

To sag or not to sag

 

[24 track]

as diodes pass current in one direction only , a bridge rectifier is an arrangement of 4 diodes arranged to break down the A/C voltage supplied by the input transformer current to a fixed D/C voltage to supply the correct voltage to the components of the amp a tube rectifier does a similar thing in a tube format eg ( 5AU4 tube is a rectifier tube). a rectifier is a specialized piece of equipment

certain amps may have upto 3 input stages that can be ganged to produce a certain sound , and if each preamp section has its own rectifier stage then the amp , like the mesa triple rectifier has a ton of possible output power .

a capacitor will allow A/C current to flow through it and will block D/C current , when the caps fail as in the filter caps on an amp the capacitors allow D/C to pass through and this can cause damage to the rest of the curcuit , which is why old amps get a full cap replacement , due to the filter caps drying out causing a failure

this is a super readers digest explanation

 

[Fiesta Red]

I get rectifiers every time I eat too many jalapeños.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

To sag or not to sag

I'm gonna image-google that!

Spoiler: First match!

Not what I expected!

 

[muswell_hillbilly]

as diodes pass current in one direction only , a bridge rectifier is an arrangement of 4 diodes arranged to break down the A/C voltage supplied by the input transformer current to a fixed D/C voltage to supply the correct voltage to the components of the amp a tube rectifier does a similar thing in a tube format eg ( 5AU4 tube is a rectifier tube). a rectifier is a specialized piece of equipment

View attachment 615245



certain amps may have upto 3 input stages that can be ganged to produce a certain sound , and if each preamp section has its own rectifier stage then the amp , like the mesa triple rectifier has a ton of possible output power .

a capacitor will allow A/C current to flow through it and will block D/C current , when the caps fail as in the filter caps on an amp the capacitors allow D/C to pass through and this can cause damage to the rest of the curcuit , which is why old amps get a full cap replacement , due to the filter caps drying out causing a failure

this is a super readers digest explanation

And the beauty of the center-tapped secondaries on our amplifier PTs is that we get full-wave rectification with only 2 diodes:

From: https://www.elprocus.com/full-wave-bridge-rectifier-versus-center-tapped-full-wave-rectifier/

 

[nixdad]

Smush.

 

[galaxiex]

I get rectifiers every time I eat too many jalapeños.

That would be rectumfire...

.

 

[Sanity Inn]

an analogy for you

let's say you borrowed money from a loan shark. while you have this "currency" you do as you wish with it, spend it, save it, whatever, BUT, you have to pay the lender back, if you don't pay it back on time, technically sending the " currency" back in one direction when stipulated, the A/C " accruing currency " lender is going to send a 'rectifier" to have a chat with you, and depending on the type of rectifier they send, you WILL expend much energy converting your loan back to the lender.

at least that's what I learned in electronics class lolol