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Cheap music server power tweak that is VERY good.


TJHUB

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A big THANK YOU to everyone here for posting about their experiences with battery power. I finally got around to starting to experimentat last night and this is what I've found so far:

 

Methodology: I listen and then ask the wife whether she can tell a difference, what the difference is and whether she likes it (...in other words,totally scientific!)

 

I was using my Anker E4 that's been sitting in the cupboard since last Glastonbury.

 

The Anker battery is IMHO a no brainer to replace even a decent linear supply for the SSDs and CF drives in control/audio PC setup. More texture, depth, separation than even my pretty good (DIY) individual linear supplies can produce.

 

I know that this isn't common but we liked Paul Pang's USB card (version 1) powered by the Anker. Again, more separation and similar results to above.

 

I tried above tests in both 1A and 2A outputs - no perceived difference.

I tried above tests with charger plugged in and disconnected from Anker - no perceived difference (so all further tests were done with charger plugged in as it means that the Anker doesn't shut down).

 

I tried Paul's USB card in the 2A and audio PC Paul Pang's CF SATA drive in the 1A...PC booted but USB card wouldn't allow play to start.

 

I then tried replacing the power to my dual Crystek clock in my DAC from the Paul Hynes SR3 to the Anker. Very, very close but instrument positioning in the soundstage was more muddled than with the PH supply - still the tops in my book!

 

That's it so far but I'm impressed enough to have ordered a few batteries to attempt cumulative effects. I want to be able to run the SSD in the control PC, the CF in the audio PC and PP's USB card all at once from batteries.

 

I also want to give myself longer listening to the music because logic would suggest that these batteries shouldn't really be this good. I haven't taken one apart but this guy has (

) and the circuitry in there can't possibly be optimised for noise or audio use. The cells used are also not as good as the lifepo batteries. But then I really can't be bothered with unhooking lifepos and re-charging them all the time. The Anker solution appears to be very user friendly, cost conscious and great sounding!

 

One question, has anyone tried doubling up a couple of Ankers (in parallel) to increase the available current...perhaps to Paul's USB card? Anyone with more knowledge than I know whether / in what way would this be risky to try?

 

Thanks again all,

Crom

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Crom,

If you use hibernate mode on your audioPC you might want to try this as well:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/cheap-music-server-power-tweak-very-good-18057/index5.html#post287728

Jump start your SSD | Computer Audio | Forum | JPLAY - hi-end audio player for Windows

 

I was able to pull the plug on the battery after 10 minutes and the audioPC ran until I shut it down.

 

I would be interested if you try as well and post your findings.

Eric

 

Hi Eric,

Thanks for this and I had read these threads. It's a fascinating irony that we spend all our hard earned money on super-fandabadoozy-redwine-sexy-power-supplies...or perhaps just red wine, along with SATA-cable-esoterica and then pull the plug ;-)))) Haha!

 

Does physically switching the hard drive off actually improve/change the sound over just leaving it switched on and if so, what are the changes you noticed?

I'm happy to put a switch round the back that'll power down the audio PC's hard drive but only if it improves the sonics. Even then I am a little wary about doing this though because of the potential risk of a corrupt hard drive - even though the chances of powering down just as the hard drive is written to is clearly minimal.

 

Cheers,

Crom

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi JJJ,

 

Interesting post. Setting aside your apparent (if I've mis-understood the tone of your post then I apologise) incredulity - completely understandable and I was with you until I had a spare battery from a camping trip and gave it a go...but I do recommend giving it a try ;-)

 

I have to admit that I haven't checked what happens when the power gets into the SSD. I have just blindly assumed that it worked at 5v - my bad. It doesn't seem very logical though, given that SATA power cables appear to have a 3.3v supply in them, that the SSDs regulate the power down from 5v to 3.3v rather than just use the 3.3v supply. Is the point you're making that they regulate down from 5v because sometimes the 3.3v is missing? If this is the case then my follow up Q would be..will they all work at 3.3v if you directly connect 3.3v to pins 1,2 & 3 of the sata power connector:

 

http://www.tonymacx86.com/members/akhilv1/albums/my-first-case-mod-g5/63971-sata-power-pinout.png

 

Presumably this will bypass the local regulation.

 

If so then this perhaps does warrant testing supplying the SSD with a single lifepo.

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  • 2 years later...

Lifepo A123 directly powering a Compact flash card to SATA adapter with another separate Lifepo A123 powering an upgraded oscillator on the SATA adapter board is the best sound I've managed. I've not tried an LPS-1 or seen the circuit board so cannot comment. The bakoon sounds good (not as good as above though) but the circuit design requires the inclusion of various components between the battery's output and the load. The lifepo solution described above maintains a direct connection from cell to load with the low impedance etc benefits that this brings.

 

If you are interested in a bakoon I have one that I am currently not using and I might be persuaded to part with it ;-)

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