Now that we understood Bob's amazing amplifier circuit it was time to build a new amplifier around it. Because it was rated at 200 watts per channel into 8Ω and 400 watts per channel into 4Ω, we decided to name it the 200C.
This naming solution worked because the previous PS Audio power amplifier was the 2C so....
If you'll recall, Rick and I were already deep into the next generation of power amplifier design before Bob came along. We had decided to go all out with power supply construction because we knew how important the power supply is, especially to a power amplifier.
Consider that a power amplifier is a power supply first. In fact, the vast majority of any power amplifier is the big power transformer and all those capacitors that make up its power supply. The actual amplifier circuit is minimal compared to the heat sinks and power supply.
A power amplifier doesn't directly amplify music. Instead, it acts as a precise control valve that regulates the flow of electricity from a power supply to your speakers. This valve opens and closes rapidly in sync with the incoming audio signal, allowing just the right amount of power to reach the speakers at each moment. This controlled power delivery is what produces the amplified sound you hear.
So, the less in the way between the valve and the power supply it is controlling, the better the sound.
With that in mind I had dreamed up a wild scheme. Instead of circuit boards and wires connecting the all important power supply to the amplifier's power valve system, I imagined a row of 1/4" thick solid copper bars that would deliver that grunt power directly to those valves.
Here's a photo of those copper bars and the power supply capacitors connected directly to them. The little ovals with two holes are where the output power transistor "valves" would have gone. Note the little green strips between the copper bars. That's the whole amplifier circuit. Everything else inside is either the power supply or the valves that control its flow to your speakers.
Overall, between this novel construction technique and Bob Odell's amazing circuit, we were ready to take on the world! And, where would we find the toughest audience to prove our worth?
Why, of course, where it all began. In the home of Infinity founder and our good friend, Arnie Nudell. We got invited to bring the new amp and audition it against his crazy all vacuum tube system on the Infinity IRS.
Gulp.
