When he was still there, I discussed this topic a length with the former designer who made the initial design changes with the SLI-80 introducing ss rectification. I owned a SLI-80 Sig with many mods and before the rectification change was made official on that amp. I did like the presentation and bloom, and decided not to make the rectifier mod from tube to ss on mine. I instead sold that amp along with another high power Cary and moved to tube monos with ss rectification. While my new amps are a little faster with more bass control, sometimes I do miss the characteristics of tube rectification, often times finding myself looking to pick up another amp with it to swap in/out every once in a while. Grass may seem greener. A different sound, I like both for different reasons, fwiw.
Using solid state rectifiers on Cary SLI80 Amplifier
One might wonder why experimenting with such a high performing amplifier as this SLI80 Signature is but I would like to try this to see if doing so will tighten bass and/or percussive sounds from things like drums and piano. I’ve tried raising the bias above the Cary recommended 75mA and the sonic difference was significant but, because the higher resulting voltages to the tubes would be continuous while operating, Cary recommended against it primarily because of predicted shortened tube life. I’ve taken their advice and adjusted the amperage down to 80 from the 90mA that I was trying. Now, based partly on Cary’s having switched to solid state rectification in their newer amps, I thought it made sense to try it on this older amp and need advice concerning exchanging the tube diodes with solid state replacements. What I’ve learned from several sources is that the resulting instantaneous power to the tubes and power transformer could cause damage or, at least, blown fuses. Without adding circuit protection that delays the impact, does anyone have experience with this modification or insight otherwise. I do have a variac to lessen the initial impact of this experiment if I decide to do so. Thank you.