Sotm sps-500

[Johnseye]

Is this a linear power supply?

[Johnseye]

19 minutes ago, firedog said:

I'd assume the Sotm site is the correct one.

But what does it matter? The common assumption that linear is always superior to SMPS simply isn't true. A switching supply can be made to be very low noise, it just takes money and effort. 

SMPS are widely used b/c they can be made very cheaply and small (and as a result, noisey) for a given amount of power. 

It doesn't automatically mean they have to be made that way.

 

At this point I don't think we can assume it's a high quality smps meeting or exceeding the noise measurements of an lps.  Considering the sms-1000 is linear and Crux lists the 500 as linear there's a lot of uncertainty.  I've emailed May for clarification.

[Johnseye]

This was May's response.

 

"the sPS-500 is not the linear power supply, but it is the switch mode power supply which sounds better than the linear power supply, we want to people judge how switch mode power supply sounds so better than the linear power supply."

 

This will be an interesting comparison as we've thought the holy grail, or best supply for the dollar was linear.

[Johnseye]

22 minutes ago, Bamber said:

It's certainly the best power supply I've had in my system and I've no doubt one of the best in the price range.

 

The Paul Hynes SR7 range are highly regarded, I might try ordering again at some stage.

 

I was also hoping to purchase the Vinni Rossi Mega but it looks like that has been put on the back burner for now.

 

I was briefly considering this but at 50w max it wouldn't have enough juice to power my server.  As an alternative to the LPS-1 yes, and to power an sMS-200 Ultra yes.  I know Roy was trying to get his server to run with as little wattage as possible so maybe he's been able to get it that low.  At present mine's at about 70w total with only the mobo, proc and memory.  I'm sure it can be done, but this would be the hurdle to overcome.

[Johnseye]

On 7/22/2017 at 9:54 PM, Johnseye said:

 

I was briefly considering this but at 50w max it wouldn't have enough juice to power my server.  As an alternative to the LPS-1 yes, and to power an sMS-200 Ultra yes.  I know Roy was trying to get his server to run with as little wattage as possible so maybe he's been able to get it that low.  At present mine's at about 70w total with only the mobo, proc and memory.  I'm sure it can be done, but this would be the hurdle to overcome.

 

On 7/22/2017 at 10:48 PM, Bamber said:

It's a pity it won't work, you have done a good job getting down to 70w.

 

I honestly didn't expect it to sound so good.  i was going to keep it for a few months until I got something better then sell it on.

 

I would love to peep inside and see what regulators they are using but knowing SOtM they will be covered.

 

If I add up the wattage from the components I get to 70w but I thought I'd see if that's the actual utilization so I plugged my server into a Kill A Watt and it looks like I'm only using 20w.  This changes things.

[Johnseye]

14 hours ago, Lebouwsky said:

Very interesting. My I ask out of which components / OS / case your server is build and?

 

Here'e the BOM.  No fans are used.  No issues upconverting PCM to 192.  I have not upconverted DSD yet as my DAC only supports 64.

I am using both onboard NICs bridged.  The wattage may go down slightly if I stop bridging and only use one.

 

Mobo - ASUS Q170T/CSM

Proc - Intel BX80677I77700T 7th Generation Core i7-7700T 

Drive - Intel SSDSCKKR120H6XN Pro E 5400s Series 120GB M.2

Memory - Crucial DDR4-2133 SODIMM 4GB/512Mx64

Case - Streacom FC8 ALPHA HTPC Chassis

Case addon - Streacom ST-MH1 Short Length Heatpipes

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, Lebouwsky said:

One of the big advantages of the sps500 is the 50watt power, and from what can be red, these are Quality watts. With this power it is possible to deliver the juice to a streamer and an USB reclocker. It would only need a Y dc cable. Sotm asks 100 extra for that, which I find rather expensive.

 

Using a Y cable will degrade the sound.  Whether you can hear it or not, or saving the money is worth the degradation is up to you.

 

According to Paul Hynes...

 

"I would not recommend powering two items of equipment from one power supply as this will create a ground loop through the DC leads and the equipment interconnect. This will allow the ground return current from both items of equipment to mix and it will cause signal inter-modulation that is usually audible especially on a transparent system."

[Johnseye]

Just now, Lebouwsky said:

Very very nice Johnseye. Streacom is the way to go I guess.

 

It transfers the heat to the case's heat sink well enough.  There are other options but Streacom makes cases with a lot of options.

[Johnseye]

8 minutes ago, stefan5345 said:

This is a terrific post - it's very hard to come by lists like this.

 

May I ask, why you chose that memory configuration 1 x 4GB (and not 2x2GB or 2x4GB)? 

 

I should have clarified, the memory is quantity 2, for 8GB total.  Everything else is quantity 1.

 

My total watt output when music on, turned up as loud as comfortably possible was 20w.  I should be getting my Hynes SR7 within the next week.  After 5 months of waiting I'll finally be able to finish the build as originally intended.  Now however I'm very curious about the Optane drive, but think I'm going to wait for the next generation, or at least until I find a mobo with the 200 series chipset and a 12v connection.