Breakthroughs
Intercooler®
As new Lab.gruppen amplifiers produced increasingly higher output power, heat dissipation became an increasing concern. The SS 300 and SS 1000 employed passive cooling systems, but the significant power boost of the SS 1400 prompted the first use of a fan and a conventional cooling tunnel. However, Lab.gruppen engineers determined that this design had an inherent flaw: increasing temperature as air moved through the tunnel resulted in uneven cooling of the output devices. This problem led to development of the Intercooler, first implemented in the SS 1300.
Here, the heatsink comprises thousands of tiny copper fins that dissipate heat far more efficiently than large aluminum fins. Also, the Intercooler — with output devices embedded — is mounted transverse to the airflow, so all devices benefit from uniform cooling.
LAB 1200 Quattro and EC
The LAB 1200 Quattro caught the attention of Concert Sound who requested a modified version to power the extensive bi-amplified stage monitor system designed for Eric Clapton’s 1987 world tour. This became the LAB 1200C. Eric Clapton continues to tour exclusively with Concert Sound and Lab.gruppen and is pictured here at the Royal Albert Hall during his 2006/7 tour.
Regulated Switch Mode Power Supply (R.SMPS™)
In 1986, Lab.gruppen achieved an industry breakthrough with development of the Regulated Switch Mode Power Supply, or R.SMPS™. The concept of a switch mode power supply was well known at the time, but difficult engineering challenges had prevented successful implementation in high-power audio amplifiers. Lab.gruppen’s Kenneth Andersson had devised an innovative solution, though the components required to make it work were not yet available.
As soon as Siemens introduced its first high voltage MOSFET devices, Andersson’s design was quickly implemented in the revolutionary SS 1300. Here, a rack SS 1300 amplifiers is shown on tour with Roxette.