UltraCap™ LPS-1 Operation and Pre-purchase thread

[Confused]

I have what I hope is a fairly simple question to answer. I recall reading somewhere that it is best to leave the LPS-1 'powered up' permanently, along with say it's associated microRendu or whatever. OK - fine, I understand this, and a proportion of the kit I have is left on permanently.

 

However, I recall reading somewhere that the LPS-1 (or ultracaps in general?) do not like being turned off much, or at least they get hotter when turned off, prior to then cooling of course. The point being, I do quite regularly have periods where I know I will not be able to use my system maybe for a week, sometimes two weeks. If an enforced two weeks away from the system is approaching, it does make sense to turn everything off. Does this have any kind of negative effect on the LPS-1? Would the recommendation be keep everything powered up regardless? I suspect this may be a non issue, but I would be interested if there is any good advice here.

[Confused]

Turning the LPS-1 off occasionally does not harm anything. Turning it off once a day is fine, turning it off twenty times a day is probably not a good thing to do. Putting the electronics through that much thermal cycling is not good, let alone that your audio gear will never sound its best since it will always be cooling off and warming up.

 

John S.

Personally I was thinking about something rather less than 20 times a year, rather than 20 a day! Good, a non-issue as I'd hoped. Thanks for the feedback.

[Confused]

My LPS-1 should be in the 'no later than November 18th' batch, only one short week away. I was just curious if things are running more or less to schedule? (From my time in industry I know how those pesky 'emergent unforeseen issues' can sneak up and bite you!)

[Confused]

I thought I would share my buying experience from the perspective of a UK customer. I have to admit I was a little worried about how I would get on ordering an LPS-1 for delivery to the UK, with the potential for customs issues etc. So in case anyone else is interested, this is how I got on. I ordered the LPS-1 as part of the 'November 18th' batch, to be honest, I was just hoping I would get it in time for the Christmas break, allowing for time through customs. As things worked out, I received my first UPS tracking notice on November 16th, so it was sent a little early, by the 21st, UPS tracking was showing 'held in customs' in Coventry in the UK. On the 24th I received a payment request from UK Parcelforce, a very modest £28.47, I paid this on the 25th, and today (28th) it was delivered to my door. Pretty slick and hassle free I would say! No to see how it sounds powering my microRendu, but that's for another thread.

[Confused]

I have had my LPS-1 for a couple of weeks now, I shall be posting my listening observations in the appropriate thread, but suffice to say here, an improvement in sound quality beyond my expectations, so all good!

 

I am using the LPS-1 to power a microRendu, which is then connected to a Mutec MC3+USB. This is significant as the Mutec does draw current to power it's USB input, and thus isolate the USB for the Mutec itself. There was some debate a while back as to if the LPS-1 could satisfactorily power both the mR and the Mutec's USB due to the 'theoretical' combined current draw. All I can say is that the combination operates perfectly, proof of concept, it works.

 

I do have some practical observations. With the 9V ifi powering the mR+Mutec, the mR used to get staggeringly hot, not good. So I needed to provide some additional cooling for the mR for this set-up to work satisfactorily. With the 7V LPS-1 powering the mR+Mutec, the mR has a nice gently warmth to the touch, no additional cooling needed, a much better result.

 

However, powering the mR + Mutec's USB the LPS-1 itself does get hot. Too hot? No, I would not say so, you can hold your hand on the case for an extended period without burning, It just maybe feels like your hand would slowly cook and tenderise if you left it there for a few hours, so hot enough, but I have had kit in the past that has run a lot hotter, so nothing to be concerned about I think. This raises a question. If I know I will not be using my system for a week or so, I can turn off the Mutec, leaving the LPS-1 powering the mR 24/7. With the Mutec turned off, both the LPS-1 and mR are just slightly warm, no issues at all. So here is my question, lets say I knew I would be away from my system, say for one week. Would I be better off leaving the mR/Mutec/LPS-1 powered up, with the LPS-1 permanently in it's quite hot state, or would the recommendation be to turn off the Mutec, allowing the LPS-1 to revert to the slightly warm state. Any recommendations?

[Confused]

In your configuration I think the oscillator in the Mutec is the master clock, so I would just leave everything on all the time to make sure the master clock stays stable.

 

John S.

Yes, correct, the Mutec is effectively the master clock in my system, so this looks like good advice to me. If I am honest, I was a bit worried about the temperature of the LPS-1, but thinking about this I confess to being a little irrational here and missing what is important and what is not. I have certainly owned kit that has run a LOT hotter than this, and been totally reliable. I presume the design rated temperature of something like the LPS-1 is substantially higher than a temperature of something you could hold your hand on permanently without burning?

 

The good news is that leaving the Mutec & mR on permanently should provide yet another hike in SQ! Previously, I was NOT happy leaving the Mutec/mR powered up 24/7 with 9V ifi power, in this set up the mR was hot enough to burn your fingers when providing current to the Mutec, so another plus point for the 7V LPS-1 with the mR.