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Power supplies and cables - observations, considerations & commentary


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I strongly recommend looking for a HP 6286A D.C. variable power supply. These were built around 1980 and cost around $1000 even back then. They were made to power HP test equipment , so they are very accurate and well built. You can adjust voltage and amperage by the oversize meter on the faceplate. My system sounded best at 8.9 volts and I do believe that different voltages slightly alter the presentation.

Interesting Harry.

How about physical/mechanical noise with these units such as hum, vibration, fan noise, etc?

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No fan. I can hear it with my ear up to it, but no real noise. I used it on the Regen and thought it helped a little AND I thought different voltages affected it. I'm a lot more confident it is really nice powering my URendu. You see them all over E bay for cheap, but get one in great shape. Maybe $350?? My guess is these would run around $4000 if built by and Audio company in 2016. HP spent a bunch on R and D back then to make sure their supplies didn't add distortion to their megabuck test equipment. IMG_3160.JPG

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No fan. I can hear it with my ear up to it, but no real noise. I used it on the Regen and thought it helped a little AND I thought different voltages affected it. I'm a lot more confident it is really nice powering my URendu. You see them all over E bay for cheap, but get one in great shape. Maybe $350?? My guess is these would run around $4000 if built by and Audio company in 2016. HP spent a bunch on R and D back then to make sure their supplies didn't add distortion to their megabuck test equipment. [ATTACH=CONFIG]26071[/ATTACH]

 

Thanks!

I see a bunch of different models of HP Lab PSU of similar vintage out there. Are there particulars that recommend this model?

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I don't know enough about them to answer that. The only thing I would do is get a model that can cover 0-20 volts for flexibility and has a working meter. I just wanted to throw these out there as a possibility. Mine has been great for my Off Ramps, Regen's and now the u Rendu.

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I don't know enough about them to answer that. The only thing I would do is get a model that can cover 0-20 volts for flexibility and has a working meter. I just wanted to throw these out there as a possibility. Mine has been great for my Off Ramps, Regen's and now the u Rendu.

AOK, appreciated.

With micro-adjustable voltage/amperage it seems a quite versatile tool.

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Tomorrow afternoon I will get my Vinnie Rossi LIO updated so it can power the microRendu. Right now I am using the power supply that came with the UpTone Regen as my iFi power supply is noisy and I haven't been able to determine why.

 

George

 

Will get a more detailed post out in the next day or two, but wanted to state that the Vinnie Rossi PS option for the microRendu made a very substantial improvement over the Regen PS.

 

How big?

 

I would say the the LIO DAC is now very close or equal to the Auarlic Vega being fed by my purpose built computer.

 

Since VINNIE's PS only works with his DAC, I will need to try the microRendu/Vega combo with the Regen PS.

 

More to come...

 

George

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Ok received the Sonore Signature series power supply with Synergistic fuses yesterday and have been doing a lot of listening to music. Is it better then the ifi power supply? I would not switch back, everything is better and clearer, voices are very realistic, over all its excellent. When I think about high end music I've heard at audio shows, I feel my system is right there with them in sound quality with the addition of the Sonore power supply. Now what am I going to do with my old caps zuma v3 server & power supply?

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Ok received the Sonore Signature series power supply with Synergistic fuses yesterday and have been doing a lot of listening to music. Is it better then the ifi power supply? I would not switch back, everything is better and clearer, voices are very realistic, over all its excellent. When I think about high end music I've heard at audio shows, I feel my system is right there with them in sound quality with the addition of the Sonore power supply. Now what am I going to do with my old caps zuma v3 server & power supply?

 

Waiting for mine, great to hear that.

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Ok received the Sonore Signature series power supply with Synergistic fuses yesterday and have been doing a lot of listening to music. Is it better then the ifi power supply? I would not switch back, everything is better and clearer, voices are very realistic, over all its excellent. When I think about high end music I've heard at audio shows, I feel my system is right there with them in sound quality with the addition of the Sonore power supply. Now what am I going to do with my old caps zuma v3 server & power supply?

 

Keep it powered up, it should sound very good out of the box, but will improve over the first couple of hundred hours or so!

SO/ROON/HQPe: DSD 512-Sonore opticalModuleDeluxe-Signature Rendu optical with Well Tempered Clock--DIY DSC-2 DAC with SC Pure Clock--DIY Purifi Amplifier-Focus Audio FS888 speakers-JL E 112 sub-Nordost Tyr USB, DIY EventHorizon AC cables, Iconoclast XLR & speaker cables, Synergistic Purple Fuses, Spacetime system clarifiers.  ISOAcoustics Oreas footers.                                                       

                                                                                           SONORE computer audio

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Ok received the Sonore Signature series power supply with Synergistic fuses yesterday and have been doing a lot of listening to music. Is it better then the ifi power supply? I would not switch back, everything is better and clearer, voices are very realistic, over all its excellent. When I think about high end music I've heard at audio shows, I feel my system is right there with them in sound quality with the addition of the Sonore power supply. Now what am I going to do with my old caps zuma v3 server & power supply?

 

So the better power supply is quite evident compared to the iFi on your Chord DAVE? This is great news!

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So the better power supply is quite evident compared to the iFi on your Chord DAVE? This is great news!

 

Hah! Well, great if you own or can readily afford the Sonore Sig. No suprise I guess, but personally, great would have been that the iFi PS was all I needed ;-) Now I'm going to start agonizing over buying a better PS. Hey, it's not easy being into audio...

Win 10 PC -> Roon -> Sonore µRendu -> Devialet 440 Pro -> Von Schweikert VR-35 speakers

Durham, NC

 

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John/Barrows,

I am using a JS-2 to power the uRendu but have my massive Hynes SR7-EHD (normally 12-19V) sitting idle currently and was able to dial it down to minimum, which reads as 10.34V. Is that safe to try on the uRendu or should I not (given the spec of 9V max).

Thanks

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John/Barrows,

I am using a JS-2 to power the uRendu but have my massive Hynes SR7-EHD (normally 12-19V) sitting idle currently and was able to dial it down to minimum, which reads as 10.34V. Is that safe to try on the uRendu or should I not (given the spec of 9V max).

Thanks

 

6-9 volts only

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Hah! Well, great if you own or can readily afford the Sonore Sig. No suprise I guess, but personally, great would have been that the iFi PS was all I needed ;-) Now I'm going to start agonizing over buying a better PS. Hey, it's not easy being into audio...

 

I just bought an HD-plex LPS for $395 to replace the wall wart running my uR. The thing has four rails, is built like a tank, comes with a suite of nice cords and sounds wonderful. Larry had it to me in two days. I've eliminated all SMTS supplies from my outlet, and I don't have to wait for mysteries to be revealed.

 

I'm happy enough for a good while, thanks in large part to this website . . .

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Quick update - got a large power bank with 9v output over the weekend and was able to play couple of hours yesterday. The uRendu sounds fantastic over the iFi and only cost a little bit more. Will do more listening today evening but I am leaning towards not buying any more linear power supplies at the moment and continue to use the battery bank, unless someone compares and finds something better :-)

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Quick update - got a large power bank with 9v output over the weekend and was able to play couple of hours yesterday. The uRendu sounds fantastic over the iFi and only cost a little bit more. Will do more listening today evening but I am leaning towards not buying any more linear power supplies at the moment and continue to use the battery bank, unless someone compares and finds something better :-)

 

I too experimented this weekend using a 9v/2.1 amp battery, initially I thought it sounded worse than the iPower, but after the system had resettled over a period of hours it wasn't necessarily much worse, just different.

 

I thought the iPower clearly had more weight/authority in the bass region, while the battery was in some ways more transparent and "clean/clear" sounding with better stereo image/soundstaging. Oddly, the battery also seemed to impart just a smidge of hardness to the upper midrange/treble, so not completely clean n' clear.

 

I think in the end I might use that same battery to energize the forthcoming UpTone LPS-1 in search of the best of both worlds.

 

I also tried to use an EMO Systems EN-30 Ethernet isolation transformer, however it seemed to be incompatible with the Airport Express I use as a wireless bridge/Ethernet source. All attempts/permutations in connecting the data cables and power sources in various sequences failed with the EN-30 inline (maybe because the AE is not GigE capable?).

no-mqa-sm.jpg

Boycott HDtracks

Boycott Lenbrook

Boycott Warner Music Group

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I thought the iPower clearly had more weight/authority in the bass region, while the battery was in some ways more transparent and "clean/clear" sounding with better stereo image/soundstaging. Oddly, the battery also seemed to impart just a smidge of hardness to the upper midrange/treble, so not completely clean n' clear.

 

Don't think I hear the same in my system.

 

 

I think in the end I might use that same battery to energize the forthcoming UpTone LPS-1 in search of the best of both worlds.

 

And what do you gain by energizing the LPS with the battery pack ?

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Don't think I hear the same in my system.

 

 

 

And what do you gain by energizing the LPS with the battery pack ?

 

Subtract one SMPS (either iPower or MeanWell) dirtying the AC mains, and lessen the potential for ground loops.

no-mqa-sm.jpg

Boycott HDtracks

Boycott Lenbrook

Boycott Warner Music Group

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Don't think I hear the same in my system.

 

 

 

And what do you gain by energizing the LPS with the battery pack ?

 

 

Actually, I think using a regulated battery based supply is likely the very best way to power the Uptone LPS-1. Say a 10 AH 12 VDC LiFePO4 pack regulated to the best input voltage would be perfect. This way one can only charge the battery when not listening, and keep the charger unplugged during playback.

SO/ROON/HQPe: DSD 512-Sonore opticalModuleDeluxe-Signature Rendu optical with Well Tempered Clock--DIY DSC-2 DAC with SC Pure Clock--DIY Purifi Amplifier-Focus Audio FS888 speakers-JL E 112 sub-Nordost Tyr USB, DIY EventHorizon AC cables, Iconoclast XLR & speaker cables, Synergistic Purple Fuses, Spacetime system clarifiers.  ISOAcoustics Oreas footers.                                                       

                                                                                           SONORE computer audio

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Actually, I think using a regulated battery based supply is likely the very best way to power the Uptone LPS-1. Say a 10 AH 12 VDC LiFePO4 pack regulated to the best input voltage would be perfect. This way one can only charge the battery when not listening, and keep the charger unplugged during playback.

 

 

 

According to John S, the quality of the charging unit or feed supply is immaterial to the performance of LPS-1. As long as the feed supply is maintaining 18w of output and regulated, the LPS-1 performs equally good with either smps or a lps or battery. The choice of the feed supply depends on how much one wants to stop what is kicked back to the mains (though I suspect this is very much overrated).

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The choice of the feed supply depends on how much one wants to stop what is kicked back to the mains (though I suspect this is very much overrated).

 

This is not overrated, it's very important generally.

Dedicated Line DSD/DXD | Audirvana+ | iFi iDSD Nano | SET Tube Amp | Totem Mites

Surround: VLC | M-Audio FastTrack Pro | Mac Opt | Panasonic SA-HE100 | Logitech Z623

DIY: SET Tube Amp | Low-Noise Linear Regulated Power Supply | USB, Power, Speaker Cables | Speaker Stands | Acoustic Panels

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Just wanted to report that I switched from the Regen supply to an iFi iPower 9V. Sound seems slightly improved. Nothing dramatic.

As far as heat: I live in a very warm environment, the mR gets warm to very warm - definitely not too hot to touch comfortably - which is what JS warned about. My DAC doesn't pull any power over the USB, acc'd to the mfg.

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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