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rocker 30 year of manufacture

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:24 pm
by onetracker
I stumbled upon a thread a few days ago discussing r30 year of manufacture vs. quality of build, components etc. but now I can't find it. if anyone has any info on this - either via a link or personal knowledge I would appreciate it.

mine is an '08 with Demeter xformers and no complaints from me.

OT

Re: rocker 30 year of manufacture

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:43 pm
by Jondog
Mine is an 08. Excellent build quality. My first one was an 06 I thnk. Don’t really see much difference internally that is of any real importance. The female spade connectors are brass instead of steel, no big deal. I think they started selling them around 2004. First ones had Mercury Magnetics transformers, but the Demeters are great transformers anyways.

Re: rocker 30 year of manufacture

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:19 pm
by Les Paul Lover
Orange upgraded the transformer specs around 2006 I think.

So a 2008 would have the improved transformers (demeter) like my RV50 or R30 (both 2009 I think).

For what it's worth, my AD15 has some of the lesser transformers (made around 2000) and still sounds fantastic. :mrgreen:

Re: rocker 30 year of manufacture

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:45 pm
by onetracker
thanks!

so they started with MM's, then to another brand, then back to Demeters?
i'm not geeking out on the transformers, I was just curious about how this amp evolved over its short life and what changes were made, for better or worse.

Re: rocker 30 year of manufacture

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 3:46 pm
by Jondog
I geek out on transformers! :D
Here's a photo of a Rocker 30 with stock MM transformers. Also the first ones came stock with 6Ca7's instead of EL34's, which is a great sound if you ever want to experiment.
Image
Not sure what was in between the MM's and Demeters, I've only ever seen the two. I'm think I heard Ade Emsley say they switched brands simply because it was cheaper and more convenient to get them made in the UK vs the MM's which are made in the US which does make sense. Patrick at MM says it's because Orange decided to go cheap :lol: I'm not sure what testing the Demeters go through, they're pretty robust considering the abuse I've put them through and I haven't heard of any going bad.
I've personally exchanged emails with Patrick Selfridge at Mercury inquiring about R30/RV50 transformers and he says their transformers are spec'd and tested to handle 50% more wattage than the what the model suggests. Having bought some MM transformers from Patrick for the Rocker 30 I can say they do look to be better quality, have heavier gauge wire on the OT as well, around 16-18g on MM, and something like 22g on Demeters. But as far as performance I can say that the Demeters are really good. I noticed a smoother sound with the MM's, but I ended up using the Rockerverb 50 OT so it was bigger than the Rockers 30 watt OT.
Some of his replies:
"Hi Jon,
Those were designed for the original Rockerverb 50's, and we were the
original supplier before they decided to go cheap.
Thanks!
Patrick "

"Hi Jon,
Thank you for choosing Mercury!
Yes, the OR-CH is the one.
As for the OT, do we need to match the existing mounting footprint?
If so, let me know the center hole to center hole measurement of the mounting screw holes. I want to see if they are using the same smaller 30 OT or the 50 watt size.
Thanks!
Patrick"

"All of our outputs are rated for 50% over spec wattage, so our 30 watt OT would easily do 55 watts if that is what your power supply gave it. All dependent on power supply.
Let me know.
Thanks!
Patrick"

Re: rocker 30 year of manufacture

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 4:25 pm
by PBA
Jondog wrote:
Tue Feb 27, 2018 3:46 pm
... "All of our outputs are rated for 50% over spec wattage, so our 30 watt OT would easily do 55 watts if that is what your power supply gave it. All dependent on power supply.
Let me know.
Thanks!
Patrick"
Interesting quote. 50% of 30 W is 15 W giving 45 W . Do you know what the "spec wattage" is? Clearly it must be higher to yield 55 W but presumably the same margin would then need to be subtracted to get back to stated amplifier power?

Re: rocker 30 year of manufacture

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 4:35 pm
by Jondog
PBA wrote:
Tue Feb 27, 2018 4:25 pm
Jondog wrote:
Tue Feb 27, 2018 3:46 pm
... "All of our outputs are rated for 50% over spec wattage, so our 30 watt OT would easily do 55 watts if that is what your power supply gave it. All dependent on power supply.
Let me know.
Thanks!
Patrick"
Interesting quote. 50% of 30 W is 15 W giving 45 W . Do you know what the "spec wattage" is? Clearly it must be higher to yield 55 W but presumably the same margin would then need to be subtracted to get back to stated amplifier power?
I wouldn't read too much into it, these were back and forth conversations. Basically, they test them for the wattages he says which would be a calculation of voltage and current passing through the transformer giving the wattage, not a percentage. I think he really meant double. More than likely spec them 50% below max testing.