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Power supplies and cables - observations, considerations & commentary


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The issue is temperature. If the case gets too hot to hold a finger on it, it is TOO hot. If you can hold your finger on it, you are fine, leave it the way it is.

 

If it is too hot you have a couple options:

1) go with a lower voltage

2) get more air flow around it. The best passive air flow is to orient the microRendu vertically on its side, that way air flows up both sides, this helps a LOT in cooling it off.

 

John S.

 

Thank you, John. I'm using the 9v iPower that came with the microRendu, I had it resting on thin foam and it felt as if it was running a little hot. I put it in one of those credit card holders from Amazon and now it is barely warm. I'd say it ran on the hot side for about a month of above moderate use. Any chance damage could have occurred?

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Nope, i refer to the Sonore signature PSU.

 

just got the Sonore Signature PSU to run with the microRendu. Bought the fuse upgrade and the recommended power cord. I immediately heard improvements in depth of sound over the iFi PSU.

 

But overall have been disappointed so far. Maybe it needs to burn in, but despite the increased resolution, added depth and some nice audio effects, I am finding it very uninvolving and harsh. I find myself listening to music less than with the iFi or the Aurender N100 I had previously. Where I thought the PSU would reduce some of the harshness and vocal distortion I heard with the iFi, it has made it worse. I am turning down the volume and watching more TV. Van Morrisons voice repeatedly crackles on high notes where it didn't before. The DSD of Elton Johns Tumbleweed Connection, which I had previously found to be an excellent recording and totally engaging, is now harsh and uninvolving.

 

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, or don't know what I'm doing, which is quite possible, but so far the microRendu and the Sonore PSU so far are a big disappointment.

 

My system: Audience power conditioner with a WireWorld Silver Eclipse 7 going into a CablePro Revelation power strip with all the bells and whistles, an Audioquest Vodka Ethernet cable between a sonic transporter Roon Server and the microRendu and a Curious USB cable connecting the microRendu and a Bricasti M1SE DAC. WireWorld Silver Eclipse RCAs between the M1 and an ATC CA2 preamp, and Nordoest Fry 2 XLR interconnects between the preamp and ATC powered studio 20s II. The DAC power cord is a WireWorld silver eclipse 7 and is connected directly to the power conditioner. I'm using AudioArt Classic 1 power cords for the preamp and speakers. All components, including the sonicTransporter are connected to the CablePro power strip. I'm using a Synology 216se NAS as the source and it is connected to a different circuit.

 

any suggestions are appreciated. I'm tempted to upgrade the ca2 to a tube preamp, but I'm reticent to invest any more money in this.. It's a shame, but I am enjoying music less than when I had a Linn Majik DSM connected to Paradigm Studio 20s.

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What happens if you do not use Roon and use Kinsky/Lumin controller to control NAS and mRendu directly for playback??

 

Thanks for your suggestion, Dave. I haven't tried that with the Sonore PSU. I did it with the iFi and for some reason the Roon sounded better, perhaps because it was running on the sonicTransporter which has more horsepower than the NAS, which was running minimserver. But I'll give it a shot. However, I just did two things which have helped and things are sounding better. I connected the PSU directly to the Audience power conditioner and moved the DAC to the power strip. I figured the microRendu is earlier in the chain, and I heard the Bricasti isn't supposed to be as sensitive to power sources as other DACs. I also moved the sonicTransporter off the power strip, thinking there might be some backwash. The system is definitely improved. Perhaps with a little burn in it will sound even better. I'm going to try your suggestion as well.

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Thanks for the advice. Things are sounding better now that I've made a few changes. I changed a few things at once, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was getting backwash into the power strip from the sonicTransporter, which after all is basically a Linux box. The PSU still needs to burn in as well. I'll report back a hundred fifty hours down the line.

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Hi jtrelin! Be careful with the tube preamp since you have a really transparent path including the powered monitors. The tube preamp most likely will blur everything and make it sound dirty.

 

Thank you very much for the advice. I'm not making any changes for a while and I'll definitely audition anything I'm considering going forward.

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Is there anything I can do to help?

 

I truly appreciate the offer, Jesus. Things are sounding much better. I removed the sonicTransporter from the CablePro power strip and plugged the PSU directly into the Audience power conditioner and the sound is significantly improved. Maybe there was backwash from the sonicTransporter? Plus the PSU still needs to break-in. I'm enjoying what I'm listening to this morning. I'll report back as the unit breaks in. But thank you again.

 

''

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As you note increased resolution and depth (increased depth only comes from increased resolution and a lower noise floor), it appears that the µRendu is performing technically better. My feeling is that you need to address something else in your system. It is not that unusual to make a change to a system, which increases resolution, only to find that the increased resolution has unearthed a problem that one could not hear before. The more resolution one has, the more the system will be able to reveal problems. Have you tried going direct from the Bricasti to the amp via XLR this would eliminate your single ended connection...

 

Thank you. I think you're right, but finding the problem is the issue. It is sounding much better now that I've removed the ST from the power strip, but it's still slightly harsh. I tried using the Bricasti as a preamp a while ago, but it sounded lean. I'll try it again. The powered ATCs require an active preamp, I assume the Bricasti is passive.

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