Sotm sps-500

[LTG2010]

On 14/09/2017 at 11:06 PM, zoltan said:

Ghent cables seem to be very nicely made, not easy to achieve this level at home.
 

Over here in UK the cost of the Oyaide connectors is nearly the price of a completed cable so quite a bargain.

Just plugged the SPS500 into my Mytek Brooklyn and all the qualities listed here by posters came shining through and drove it with ease.

Seriously thinking about getting a Y cable to try it with the Brooklyn and SmS200 Ultra together although I might be pushing my luck.

Also considering dropping the voltage down on the Ultra to 7V and powering that with the LPS1, leaving the SPS500 to power the Dac/ headphone amp.

[LTG2010]

5 hours ago, flkin said:

Using the sPS -500 with a Y cable should theoretically complicate the noise  reduction and fast transient loop circuits of the PS.

 

How would the unit measure and compensate for 2 devices at the same time? The noise of two end components would be different and the compensated DC supply can't adapt for both at the same time.

 

Same goes for the transient requirements, each attached component will supposedly request for transient power at different times but the sPS -500 will supply both components at the same time.

You are of course correct in theory but my curiousity got the better of me and after a botched attempt at a y cable ( I bent 1 pin from the small Hirose connector) I wired up a crude connection via SOTM's cheapest single dc connector.

AND it works and sounds great, powering up both the DAC/ headphone amp and 200 Ultra without getting warm.

No doubt a proper Y cable will sound better and 2 seperate sps 500's even better, Which does explain why SOTM sell Y cables for this power supply.

[LTG2010]

6 hours ago, flkin said:

Actually anyone with an sPS -500 can use a voltmeter to check the connection from the AC earth pin to the negative DC barrel. If it's connected then we don't have to worry about grounding the negative. 

 

Anyone wanna try and advice please?

Yes - the negative DC is connected to AC Earth.

[LTG2010]

1 hour ago, zoltan said:

I bought a couple of Hirose connectors to make DIY DC cords from the SPS-500 to the SMS-200 Ultra but I can't disassemble the Hirose to access the pins for soldering. Has anyone done it or can give me some advice how to do it? 

You need to unscrew the tip from the main body, i used small tweezers to grip the tip. Also those tiny pins bend easily so dont apply too much heat, idealy a female socket use to hold the connector in place whilst soldering is ideal as this will stop the pins moving.

[LTG2010]

22 minutes ago, zoltan said:

BTW, what cable did you use to DIY a DC cable? And does it sound better than with the stock SOtM supplied cable?

I bent the connectors on my fist attempt. I used Canare 4S6, it does sound better more clarity, better bass,  and its cheap to boot. Any decent cable should improve on the stock one.

[LTG2010]

1 hour ago, atxkyle said:

The SPS 500 unit arrived yesterday

You will get more improvement in the qualities you described once the unit has been used for a few days. I disagree that there is a need to change anything as its pretty good as is. But you will get some more refinement by improving on the mains cable and the dc output cable. Cheap mains cables usually have very high impedance and this can impact on sound quality in terms of transients, soundstaging etc, more so I find with amplifiers but they do seem to improve digital equipment to a lesser degree. Also cheap cables are prone to emi/rfi interference a good audio mains cable will either be shielded or braided and there will be less work for the filters to do.

I use a Kimber mains cable which I had spare and it has improved the sound but not by huge amounts.

The dc output cable benefits also from a higher grade cable especially a lower impedance type this will allow the power supply to respond quicker to current demand and will improve sound quality. Sotm sell 2 higher grade cables and ghent make one based on canare cable all have been reviewed and improve the sound to a certain extent.

[LTG2010]

13 minutes ago, MNG said:

Is there any consensus here as to whether using a Y cable with the SPS-500 in order to power two devices is viable or if it degrades sound quality to any extent?

It will work just fine running 2 devices. You could get a Y cable from Ghent audio and of course make sure voltages are sorted as above post.