UpTone JS-2 Power Supply Listening Impressions

[jamesg11]

Been meaning to toss this in for a while - originally did a macmini powered by Clones Audio psu, before release of JS-2. The psu runs very hot when say doing major upsampling on HQPlayer redbook to dsdx2 (no problems, designed that way, according to Clones designer!). When I eventually got around to installing the mmk, it had the immediate effect of dropping the very hot to just hot! If I just play say dsd on Audirvana, it's merely very warm! All interesting stuff.

 

Anyways, when I get the spare dosh, I'll step up to a JS-2 ... the $au not helping though ...

[jamesg11]

Mine is just running a lowly mac mini - I would love that it could do the 24v required by my phono preamp!

[jamesg11]

You mean price comparison ...?

[jamesg11]

It’s a pity more dacs don’t have that Brooklyn option of the ext psu. Depends of course on the quality of a dacs inbuilt ps.

 

I was recently listening to a friend’s Holo Audio dac & wondered if my js-2 would have made an improvement, if that had been possible to implement. Mind you, that dac is a substantive thing & likely has a chunky ps.

[jamesg11]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

 

I agree, though the analog stage of most DACs and preamps require a bi-polar (plus and minus) power supply.  So that is the big reason why not many upper-end DACs offer external DC power connections.  But there are a bunch of notable exceptions that I can think of off the top of my head:

exaSound

Merging NADAC

Metric Halo

Mytek Brooklyn

earlier Bel Canto

some MSB

RME and other profound DACs

 

I own a Holo Spring DAC.  Its PS is a pretty simple but substantial affair (unlike the Brooklyn's stock supply it is at least a linear at), with most of it built right onto the main board.  So not easily supplanted.

Any list like that invites the question - which of them gets the biggest relative uptick with the js-2? Not the kind of comparison you’ll see in reviewer-land!

[jamesg11]

Anyone tried a js-2 on a Chord Qutest ...?

 

Hopeful that it might be the step up experienced by numerous Brooklyn owners.

[jamesg11]

Yes, saw the adapter. Essential get for this dac.

 

Someone doing a comparison of lps-1.2 & js-2 on the Qutest would be perfect!

[jamesg11]

“Sense set” - remind me ... how this works ...

 

Put my gear back together temporarily before moving house in a bunch of weeks, so js-2 @12v for both lps-1/ isoregen & macmini to idsd dac. With all ps wiring in place, & mmk etc.

 

Does not like me having “sense set”, but fine on “switch set?

[jamesg11]

Will leave it on “switch” then - red fault light is on with “sense” ... but everything seems to play ok with light aflame!

[jamesg11]

Interesting?! - when I temporarily put my gear back together (tree-change retirement house move coming up in 6 weeks ... sounds familiar ...), I just idly used a splitter to put the Netgear gs105 switch & lps-1 on a js-2 output. Might change this, given the above.

 

Definitely looking fwd to my new non-temporary setup!

[jamesg11]

On 7/3/2019 at 3:11 AM, mtcs said:

I'm using a JS-2 to power both an i7ST (spec'd at 19V) set at 12v and an ISO Regen at  set 7V. I experimented by switching the ISO to an LPS-1.2 and got a favorable jump in SQ. Is this what I should expect or is it possible that I have simply been pushing the JS-2 too hard?  I saw an old post recommending the ISO with the JS-1 at 12v in a similar situation. Would that help and is it a good idea? Thanks 

Interesting ...!? 

So it’s kosher to run the 19V SonicTransporter i7 from the JS-2? Opens up possibilities ...

[jamesg11]

Yes, been considering retiring my ancient uptoned-mac mini for such.

Anyone think it likely that there’ll be an optical version of the ST?

[jamesg11]

Yes, knew this re js-2 & isolation, & hence was aware of potential sonic compromise when I powered the mac mini + ultrarendu from it.

I’ll get round to using lps1.2 on the rendu ... but - for my edification! - what is the extent of the downside running both mini & rendu off the js-2?

[jamesg11]

You are definitely getting more subtle in your articulation of ‘problem’ situations, as the years pass the door. But, I get it.

[jamesg11]

... currently, I’m using the JS-2 to power the lps1.2 ...! As well as RME dac.

(& yes, I like a pun).

[jamesg11]

5 hours ago, Superdad said:

And for the Oyaide plugs we use (original long version which I special order 1,000 of every year or two), the red tip-ring indicates 2.5mm, while the black tip-ring indicates 2.1mm.

Righto, so that’s the mapping key! Can now avoid randomly plugging in-out til one fits ... well, conditional on remembering this above.

[jamesg11]

2 hours ago, k27R said:

For those that have upgraded to SR orange fuses,  what is the proper orientation  in the fuse holder?

/& can the noted sonic improvements be described please.