UltraCap™ LPS-1 LISTENING IMPRESSIONS thread

[romaz]

My LPS-1 arrived earlier today. I'm possibly the first one. I've been listening for several hours straight.

 

First test was to compare the included Meanwell feeder against the iFi 9V/2A, HDPlex and a 9V battery supply as feeders. No difference that I can tell.

 

In my system, with my mR feeding my Chord DAVE which then directly powers both Omega ALNICO speakers and headphones (Abyss, HE-1000, TH-900), I have previously used the iFi 9V, HDPlex 9V and a 9V battery supply to power my mR. iFi and HDPlex sounded equally good. 9V battery supply sounded only slightly better. This suggested to me that leakage current from the iFi or HDPlex were not impacting my SQ as much as I expected.

 

Installing the LPS-1 was extremely easy. I set the output to 7V and it was basically plug and play from there. Even after several hours, it ran warm but never hot to the touch. My mR is now being powered by a 7V supply for the very first time and is running cooler than it ever has, slightly cooler than the LPS-1. Audio gear is plugged into a dedicated 20A line and my Meanwell is plugged into a separate circuit so no worries at all about backwash noise, even if it's minimal.

 

How did my mR sound with the LPS-1 compare against my 9V battery supply? The improvement was immediately apparent. Bass was immediately louder and so I had to turn down my subwoofer a couple of notches and so obviously, this difference was not subtle. Bass is also tighter and better defined. In fact, everything is better defined. Vocals are clearer. There is sparkle in the treble that I feared could be fatiguing but has not been. The presentation for sure is more dimensional. There is more air around voices and instruments. The perception of depth is improved. Perhaps the most impressive improvement is the enhanced dynamic contrasts, especially impressive with microdynamics, which Bob Katz defines as music's rhythmic expression, integrity or bounce. There is a more effortless agility to the sound. Loud to soft and soft to loud is just impressively good. Attack is more incisive which then can stop on a dime. Simply amazingly tight control. I suspect this is the benefit of a low output impedance. As these stark improvements are noted in contrast to a 9V battery supply, once again, at least in my system, leakage current seems to play less of a role and low output impedance is perhaps what is more important.

 

If low output impedance is the largest contributer to the improvement I am seeing, it leaves me to wonder how this could be improved further, if at all. I have on order a shorter 12-inch DC cable made of UP-OCC grade silver (6N purity) and terminated with Oyaide barrell connectors. If this makes a difference, I may consider ditching the barrell connectors at some point and hardwiring LPS-1 to mR using this cable since all connectors affect impedance.

 

How will LPS-1 compare against the best linear power supplies that plug into the wall? John already indicated that the LPS-1 improves upon the JS-2. Next week, my Paul Hynes custom SR7 finally arrives. This unit was ordered 6 months ago (Paul Hynes works slow) and is the finest LPSU Paul knows how to build. Ripple noise is <5uV and output impedance from DC to 100kHz is <3 milliohms. Since John has not yet been able to measure output impedance of the LPS-1, this should give me some reference of just how good it is. This unit incorporates Furutech's newest NCF IEC inlet, annealed silver DC wiring from the transformer onward and including the umbilical. Paul is also using his ultra low impedance SL connector (<1 milliohm) to connect the umbilical to the PSU chassis. This umbilical will also incorporate an Oyaide barrell connector on the mR end. Fuse has been upgraded to the new Audio Magic Beeswax SHD. If the LPS-1 can outperform this PSU, I will be suitably convinced that I cannot do better than the LPS-1 and will happily repurpose my Paul Hynes unit. Based on what I am hearing with the LPS-1, this wil be tough to beat. Nice job, John and Alex!

 

As a second test, I tried the LPS-1 on my TP-Link FMC (receiving module). This module was already being powered by a 5V battery supply so ground noise from leakage current was not a concern. With an Aurender N10, these FMCs made a significant difference. With the mR, it was subtle at best but I kept them in the chain since I already owened them and since they didn't appear to be doing any harm. I didn't expect the LPS-1 to make a difference here but somehow, there is an improvement although no where as large as with the mR. Once again, this can't be a leakage current issue since I had been already using a battery supply. Input impedance should have no bearing here. It could be the LPS-1's ultra low ripple noise compared to the noise generated by my battery supply's internal switching regulator. I have to convince myself that this improvement is real as it is definitely more subtle. If it is real, it's probably not enough of a difference to justify buying another LPS-1 but if the Paul Hynes is somehow better with the mR, then I may repurpose the LPS-1 to FMC duty. Interesting times ahead. All I can say is "finally!"

 

If mR in NAA mode using Roon/HQPlayer improved upon the Aurender N10 by about 20% with my Chord DAVE, I would estimate improvement with LPS-1 to be at least equivalent if not more compared to what mR brings by itself. Just amazing. The mR has taken on new life.

[romaz]

 

And one wish: would be great if other voltages can be supported, e.g., 9V and 12V, without cascading multiple LPS-1's.

 

As an alternative, the soon to be released Vinnie Rossi Mini PURE-DC-4EVER supply that I saw running at RMAF will have 9 and 12V output capability with 2.5A continuous output but will cost twice the price ($795 preorder price until the end of the month and then $995 after that). Output cannot be switched by the consumer, however. It has to be factory set to any value between 3.3V to 12V at the time of purchase. Original owners will be entitled to send it back to Vinnie to have the output changed (will require firmware update and minor hardware change) without cost.

[romaz]

My 12-inch 18g UP-OCC silver DC lead (99.9999% pure) with Oyaide gold plated 2.1mm barrel connectors came in today. I paid $166 to have this cable made. This is how it looks compared to the stock DC leads that came with my LPS-1:

 

 

In my system, there is a subtle but definite improvement, enough to have made the additional money spent worthwhile. The presentation remains as smooth as ever but fine details are cleaner and even crisper, the plucking of a guitar string, for example. Fine layers of detail are also better finessed, such as when a snare drum is struck with a brush. With the silver cable, I can hear more of the individual bristles striking the drum. I am more and more convinced that low impedance which yields better transient response and low-level detail is what is making the biggest difference in my system. My Paul Hynes supply with a similar silver DC lead is now en route from Scotland. If it cannot outperform my LPS-1, I will proceed to hardwire my microRendu to my LPS-1 with the idea that bypassing the barrel connectors should yield even lower impedance.

 

Here is Jesus' photo of the soon-to-be-released "black" microRendu on top of his LPS-1. They look like a match made in heaven. Uptone Audio or Sonore should consider selling a black microRendu hardwired to an LPS-1. It would be hard to beat and a real looker at the same time.

 

[romaz]

Hi, sorry, I've been traveling.

 

Feel free to reach out to Dave, owner of zenwaveaudio.com. He is very responsive and with very quick turnaround. I can also vouch for the quality of his work and he can custom configure to your needs.

 

I can't speak for the other DC cables being sold but IMO, the best DC is about speed and so the best DC cabling will have the lowest resistance (impedance) possible. No natural conductor is faster (and has lower resistance) than silver and the purer, the better. Moreover, you cannot commercially obtain purer silver than UP-OCC grade silver (99.9999% pure). It is expensive but there is nothing better.

 

Finally, the barrel connectors themselves will add resistance. I specified the Oyaide gold-plated brass connectors (2.1mm x 5.5mm) because they are the best I could find but they will not be better than directly hardwiring the LPS-1 to your mR. If you are willing to send your mR and LPS-1 to Dave at zenwaveaudio.com (based in Colorado), he will hardwire the two for you with whatever length of 18g solid core UP-OCC grade silver you desire. Dave has made several custom-specified cables for me over the past few months (y-adapters, headphone cables, DC cables) and I am a very happy customer. His workmanship is top notch.

 

Romaz,

 

If it isn't asking to much, might I've the name or link of the company that made your UP-OCC Silver DC umbilical power cord for you?, as someone whom is keen on silver as well, I'd like to pursue one for myself.

 

Hopefully you'll find in yourself to respond?, as I PM'ed you several days ago with said question.