UltraCap™ LPS-1 Troubleshooting, system grounding, etc.

[R1200CL]

Thanks @Superdad

 

Well then it’s either 3 Sboosters (have one 9V), or something else. Actally only one Sbooster 12V version with 3A should drive two LPS-1. Agree ?

 

What do you think about a Y-split from the Sbooster to one LPS-1 and the other to the Cisco SG-100D-8 ?

(yes the one with a complete block).  I suppose the JSGT will be added as well, though I must say I’m a bit confused about when to do that ground tweak or not. I must read John’s latest posts more. 

 

I need to power one UltraRendu, one ultraDigital or a Singxer SU-1, so maybe I can sell one of my LPS-1 if you don’t se any problem with the suggest Y-split. 

 

[JohnSwenson]

If you are trying to use one of the special switches to shunt leakage from other network devices, the negative of the supply powering the switch needs to be grounded, whether the supply is SMPS or LPS. It is this ground which shunts the leakage from other network devices to ground, preventing it from entering the audio system.

 

John S.

[rah50]

Hi Alex or John:

 

Can I get some advice about powering the following:

 

microRendu -> Iso Regen -> ultraDigital -> i2s -> W4S Dac

 

I'm powering my LPS-1 with a 7.5v Meanwell. So i have 2 power supplies, an LPS -1 and a HDPlex 100W (fixed voltages),  to power the 3 devices. So one Y cable somewhere.

 

What would you use where until I can afford another one or two LPS-1?

[Superdad]

On 12/28/2017 at 10:54 AM, rah50 said:

Hi Alex or John:

 

Can I get some advice about powering the following:

 

microRendu -> Iso Regen -> ultraDigital -> i2s -> W4S Dac

 

I'm powering my LPS-1 with a 7.5v Meanwell. So i have 2 power supplies, an LPS -1 and a HDPlex 100W (fixed voltages),  to power the 3 devices. So one Y cable somewhere.

 

What would you use where until I can afford another one or two LPS-1?

 

Hmm... At first I thought that would be a tough question, but really the answer "should" be very clear: I think you should use your UltraCap LPS-1 to power both the ISO REGEN and ultraDigital.  But do experiment find what sounds best!  

 

Happy New Years everyone!  Thanks for making 2017 such a banner year for UpTone.   We promise that some exciting new product announcements will be made very soon!

 

All the best,

--Alex C.

 

[rah50]

Thanks Alex!

 

I have the LPS-1 now powering the Iso Regen and ultraDigital. It's a very nice improvement right out of the box.

 

Looking forward to your new product announcements with great anticipation.

 

[cat6man]

Hi,

 

I have a new lps-1.2 making my music sound very very good, so now I want to find a good home (at my house!) for the lps-1.

 

What do you say about using it fed with 12V in my car music server/dac system.

The system is wirelss AP, sonic orbiter w/2 terabit hard drive, geek out DAC (could be something else if it pulls too much current), audio output to line-in of Kenwood ddx-9900 in dash.  The whole setup fits nicely in my glovebox and is equipped with a low noise fan.

 

So, my questions are:

1.  can i feed 12V from car to lps-1?

2.  any line protection (spikes, variations, etc) needed between 12V and lps-1 (besides a fuse)?

3.  any other noise reduction techniques applicable to car usage?

4.  any startup sequence/timing issues (DAC/SO/LPS would all get 12V at same time)?

 

thanks

 

 

[jcn3]

15 hours ago, cat6man said:

Hi,

 

I have a new lps-1.2 making my music sound very very good, so now I want to find a good home (at my house!) for the lps-1.

 

What do you say about using it fed with 12V in my car music server/dac system.

The system is wirelss AP, sonic orbiter w/2 terabit hard drive, geek out DAC (could be something else if it pulls too much current), audio output to line-in of Kenwood ddx-9900 in dash.  The whole setup fits nicely in my glovebox and is equipped with a low noise fan.

 

So, my questions are:

1.  can i feed 12V from car to lps-1?

2.  any line protection (spikes, variations, etc) needed between 12V and lps-1 (besides a fuse)?

3.  any other noise reduction techniques applicable to car usage?

4.  any startup sequence/timing issues (DAC/SO/LPS would all get 12V at same time)?

 

thanks

 

 

 

Max input voltage for the LPS-1 is 12V (and not a bit more as I recall) -- it runs quite warm at that level.

[Superdad]

1 minute ago, jcn3 said:

Max input voltage for the LPS-1 is 12V (and not a bit more as I recall) -- it runs quite warm at that level.

 

Input voltage to the LPS-1 does not affect its heat level.

[Superdad]

15 hours ago, cat6man said:

What do you say about using it fed with 12V in my car music server/dac system.

The system is wirelss AP, sonic orbiter w/2 terabit hard drive, geek out DAC (could be something else if it pulls too much current), audio output to line-in of Kenwood ddx-9900 in dash.  The whole setup fits nicely in my glovebox and is equipped with a low noise fan.

 

So, my questions are:

1.  can i feed 12V from car to lps-1?

2.  any line protection (spikes, variations, etc) needed between 12V and lps-1 (besides a fuse)?

3.  any other noise reduction techniques applicable to car usage?

4.  any startup sequence/timing issues (DAC/SO/LPS would all get 12V at same time)?

 

Yeah, I'm going to give that idea a no-go.  Just way too many environmental factors that would conspire to likely destroy your LPS-1.  Unregulated feeder likely to throw a spike and kill it; Frequent power on of cycles; Lousy ventilation in a glove box.  Just not a suitable application for an LPS-1.  Best to find some bullet-proof traditional DC-DC supply for your car.

Sorry.

--Alex C.

[Olchon]

Hi all, first post on CA, I’m after a bit of advice about a noise issue with the Lps 1. 

My set up is as follows:

Intel NUC i5 running Roon ROCK, Synology 212j, SOTM SMS-200 powered by Uptone Audio  Ultracap LMS-1, Chord 2qute, Rega Planar 3 with Ortofon Red MM cartridge, Musical Fidelity M6si amplifier, PMC twenty five:23 speakers. Power block is a 6 way Mark Grant.

When playing through the 2qute everything sounds fantastic. But when the lps is plugged in I can hear electrical noise (data packets?) when I switch over to the phono input on my amp. This noise increases when the volume on the amp is turned up. It is loud enough to be able to hear during quiet passages of music.

This happens regardless of whether the lps is connected to the sotm. It also occurs regardless of whether the turntable is on (or even whether the phono sockets are plugged into the amp). It stops when the meanwell lps energiser is unplugged from the lps, even if the energiser is left powered on.

i am afraid to admit I am not very tech savvy electronically, and cannot get my head around ground loops and the such like. But does anyone have any ideas how I can solve this problem without resorting to unplugging the lps every time I want to listen to some vinyl? Any discussion/advice would be gratefully appreciated.

 

[genjamon]

I had this same issue, and Alex directed me to try and physically separate the Meanwell from the area where my interconnects were.  He suspected the unshielded interconnects were picking up on noise from the Meanwell.  Moving the Meanwell away from my interconnects did indeed resolve the issue.  With a phono input, the gain is so much more than a line level input, I would imagine the impact would be magnified.  

[Olchon]

Thanks Genjamon. I have tried moving the meanwell well away from the interconnects and amp, even powering it on a differenr ring main, but the problem persists. I am as sure as someone  who understands little about electronics can be that the problem is the meanwell. When it is plugged in, as soon as the little green led comes on, the problem starts. Does anyone know of any other suitable not too expensive supplies for the lps I could try? I am based in uk. Would the ifi power supply be suitable? @Superdad

[Superdad]

On 3/2/2018 at 1:30 PM, Olchon said:

When playing through the 2qute everything sounds fantastic. But when the lps is plugged in I can hear electrical noise (data packets?) when I switch over to the phono input on my amp. This noise increases when the volume on the amp is turned up. It is loud enough to be able to hear during quiet passages of music.

This happens regardless of whether the lps is connected to the sotm. It also occurs regardless of whether the turntable is on (or even whether the phono sockets are plugged into the amp). It stops when the meanwell lps energiser is unplugged from the lps, even if the energiser is left powered on.

 

Hi:  

My apologies for somehow overlooking your question earlier!  (Direct contact via e-mail or our web page contact form--which comes right too me--gets my attention faster.)

 

John Swenson and I discussed your issue this morning.  It definitely is NOT an LPS-1 DC output side issue, the proof being that you have the problem even if the output of the LPS-1 is not attached to your system at all.

The LPS-1 draws current from the charger in large ramping gulps.  And the emissions from the SMPS when it does so is somehow bleeding into your system.  You indicated that moving the DC cable from the Mean Well away from other things is no help, so clearly this is a matter of something strong going back into your mains.

 

We could send you a different SMPS to try (one of the new 36watt, internally ground-shunted units we supply with the new generation UltraCap LPS-1.2), but I'm not convinced it will entirely solve your issue.

The LPS-1 can run from any supply in the following voltages/currents range:

12V/1.5A

9V/2.0A

7.5V/2.5A

Never higher than 12V please.  And the supply can have a current rating greater than listed above. Not hard to find.  I doubt that the iFi iPower SMPS would perform any different at all.  It has just as much leakage as any SMPS, and their little units are rather stressed by the demands of an LPS-1.

Please sent us a note and we can assist you further.  I am sure we can find something to solve your problem.

Thanks,

--Alex C. 

 

 

[agladstone]

9 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

Hi:  

My apologies for somehow overlooking your question earlier!  (Direct contact via e-mail or our web page contact form--which comes right too me--gets my attention faster.)

 

John Swenson and I discussed your issue this morning.  It definitely is NOT an LPS-1 DC output side issue, the proof being that you have the problem even if the output of the LPS-1 is not attached to your system at all.

The LPS-1 draws current from the charger in large ramping gulps.  And the emissions from the SMPS when it does so is somehow bleeding into your system.  You indicated that moving the DC cable from the Mean Well away from other things is no help, so clearly this is a matter of something strong going back into your mains.

 

We could send you a different SMPS to try (one of the new 36watt, internally ground-shunted units we supply with the new generation UltraCap LPS-1.2), but I'm not convinced it will entirely solve your issue.

The LPS-1 can run from any supply in the following voltages/currents range:

12V/1.5A

9V/2.0A

7.5V/2.5A

Never higher than 12V please.  And the supply can have a current rating greater than listed above. Not hard to find.  I doubt that the iFi iPower SMPS would perform any different at all.  It has just as much leakage as any SMPS, and their little units are rather stressed by the demands of an LPS-1.

Please sent us a note and we can assist you further.  I am sure we can find something to solve your problem.

Thanks,

--Alex C. 

 

 

Is 9V preferable over 12V, or so long as not above 12V, does it not matter? 

Same question for the new LPS 1.2 , if using an LPSU to power the LPS-1 and LPS-1.2 (I have both), is a lower or higher Voltage (within the “allowable” voltage range) better ?

im feeding them from individual adjustable voltage range LPSU’s, so I can use any voltage for either within the allowed ranges. 

I have gone back and forth between LPSU and the Meanwells, and I’ve decided I would prefer to keep SMPS’s completely out of my audio system, I just feel like since I have enough LPSU’s to not have to use any SMPS’s in my system at all, that theoretically it should be “better” (less chance for leakage and better grounding protection overall without needing to use any DIY shunting) 

[Cornan]

11 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

Hi:  

My apologies for somehow overlooking your question earlier!  (Direct contact via e-mail or our web page contact form--which comes right too me--gets my attention faster.)

 

John Swenson and I discussed your issue this morning.  It definitely is NOT an LPS-1 DC output side issue, the proof being that you have the problem even if the output of the LPS-1 is not attached to your system at all.

The LPS-1 draws current from the charger in large ramping gulps.  And the emissions from the SMPS when it does so is somehow bleeding into your system.  You indicated that moving the DC cable from the Mean Well away from other things is no help, so clearly this is a matter of something strong going back into your mains.

 

We could send you a different SMPS to try (one of the new 36watt, internally ground-shunted units we supply with the new generation UltraCap LPS-1.2), but I'm not convinced it will entirely solve your issue.

The LPS-1 can run from any supply in the following voltages/currents range:

12V/1.5A

9V/2.0A

7.5V/2.5A

Never higher than 12V please.  And the supply can have a current rating greater than listed above. Not hard to find.  I doubt that the iFi iPower SMPS would perform any different at all.  It has just as much leakage as any SMPS, and their little units are rather stressed by the demands of an LPS-1.

Please sent us a note and we can assist you further.  I am sure we can find something to solve your problem.

Thanks,

--Alex C. 

 

 

 

I got my LPS-1.2 yesturday. Thanks a lot!  Plugged it in using the supplied SMPS powering only the galvanicly isolated Spdif output of my BluWave USB to Spdif board. The USB input is fed by ISO Regen. The combo sounds great but I also get a kind of end of vinyl track sounds coming from the speakers. This sound is present when only the LPS-1.2 and one speaker is on. It goes away when the LPS-1.2 is powered off or when the supplied SMPS is disconnected. The sounds is there without any signal and is detectable in quiet music passages. I am not too worried though. Tonight I will hopefully have time to try out my Gophert csp-3205II (floating SMPS) as a feeder supply (7v/5.1A max). Hopefully that will cure the constant vinyl cracks I am hearing. I will report back as soon as I have tried it out.  

 

BTW. My LPS-1.2 is almost cold, but the 5v GI Spdif output of BluWave is not pulling much current though.

[Cornan]

2 hours ago, agladstone said:

I have gone back and forth between LPSU and the Meanwells, and I’ve decided I would prefer to keep SMPS’s completely out of my audio system, I just feel like since I have enough LPSU’s to not have to use any SMPS’s in my system at all, that theoretically it should be “better” (less chance for leakage and better grounding protection overall without needing to use any DIY shunting) 

 

Don´t blame it all on SMPS! I only use JSGT on ethernet devices only and even the LPSU powering my main router is improved a lot with the JSGT trick. It is all about implementations and for me and in my setup the JSGT is only great with router and network switch. Not a SMPS evil. Everywhere else JSGT actually decrease SQ.  

[Superdad]

12 hours ago, agladstone said:

Is 9V preferable over 12V, or so long as not above 12V, does it not matter? 

Same question for the new LPS 1.2 , if using an LPSU to power the LPS-1 and LPS-1.2 (I have both), is a lower or higher Voltage (within the “allowable” voltage range) better ?

 

The input voltage level on the charging side of our UltraCap units makes ZERO difference to the output.  That is the entire point of our bank-alternating, "never-connected" design.  

It is a bit like a battery.  I have never seen someone claim that charging their battery with cleaner or dirtier power, or higher or lower voltage--and then removing the charger--somehow results in better power from the battery.

 

The only thing that higher charger input voltage accomplishes is that the current rating of the charging supply can be less.  But in the case of the LPS-1.2 it still needs to be a unit capable of 36 watts.

[Cornan]

22 hours ago, Cornan said:

 

I got my LPS-1.2 yesturday. Thanks a lot!  Plugged it in using the supplied SMPS powering only the galvanicly isolated Spdif output of my BluWave USB to Spdif board. The USB input is fed by ISO Regen. The combo sounds great but I also get a kind of end of vinyl track sounds coming from the speakers. This sound is present when only the LPS-1.2 and one speaker is on. It goes away when the LPS-1.2 is powered off or when the supplied SMPS is disconnected. The sounds is there without any signal and is detectable in quiet music passages. I am not too worried though. Tonight I will hopefully have time to try out my Gophert csp-3205II (floating SMPS) as a feeder supply (7v/5.1A max). Hopefully that will cure the constant vinyl cracks I am hearing. I will report back as soon as I have tried it out.  

 

BTW. My LPS-1.2 is almost cold, but the 5v GI Spdif output of BluWave is not pulling much current though.

 

Here is an update that I posted yesturday. The vinyl crack seems to be coming from the ISO Regen>BluWave combo and are somehow magnified by the SMPS. Changing the SMPS to a floating SMPS reduced the sound to close to nothing. It is still present but not audioble while playing music and only when I have my ear very close to the speaker cone while no music is playing. 

 

 

 

[simplythere]

Hello, tonight when I back home. I find my LpS-1 stopped working, I was using uptime charger to charger it Andrew it was powering my ultrarendu.

 

I have tried using another 12v input to charger it and it still show no light. 

 

is there anything I can do before I confirm it's dead?Thank you.

 

It is working so well for a long time and I starting missin it.

[R1200CL]

@simplythere

12V will kill it. You will have to email Alex and see what he can offer you. 

[rickca]

11 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

12V will kill it.

No it won't.  Here's a quote from Alex:

The LPS-1 can run from any supply in the following voltages/currents range:

12V/1.5A

9V/2.0A

7.5V/2.5A

Never higher than 12V please.  And the supply can have a current rating greater than listed above.

[Superdad]

3 hours ago, simplythere said:

Hello, tonight when I back home. I find my LpS-1 stopped working, I was using uptime charger to charger it Andrew it was powering my ultrarendu.

 

Sorry you are having trouble. Received your e-mail overnight.  I have been avoiding doing a lot of customer service e-mail on Sundays (it is already multi-hour task 6 days a week), but I will get back to you shortly.

Thanks,

--Alex C.

[simplythere]

Sorry for my typo as I was using a old smal iphone last night.

 

Yes, I believe 12v probably won't kill it, and what's more, it seems necessary to use 12v in my case. I have tried using ifi ipower 9v/2a and it cannot power the the LPS-1 with ultrarendu(the LPS-1 and ultrarendu will goes on and off). That's why I am using the Uptone charger(I got it from lps 1.2). I am also powering the LPS 1.2 with 12V which works fine. 

[JohnSwenson]

The LPS-1 has a maximum input voltage of 12V, the LPS-1.2 can handle up to 24V.

 

John S.

[ds2k]

@Superdad@JohnSwenson My LPS-1 suddenly stopped functioning. It now has the led turning solid red and never comes to green or amber. I have unplugged AC cord several times as per the user manual, but could not bring it to work. 

 

Can you pls advise how to troubleshoot or fix. 

 

Thanks