Sotm sps-500

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With a little luck my sPS-500 should arrive tomorrow to likely replace my battery supply - also from SOtM. Will report back with impression comparing the two SPU's.

 

Would people in the know here advice for 9V or 12V supply to the sMS-200? I seem to remember a preference for using 12V with the sMS-200.  

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1 hour ago, Lebouwsky said:

If my memory serves me well 12 is the ideal voltage. If you want to be sure just ask May from Sotm

 

Thanks, Lebouwsky. 

 

Just checked, and the SOtM website page for sMS-200 on input voltage says "+6.5 ~ 12Vdc," so I'll give 12V a try.

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3 hours ago, Kritpoon said:

 

Please keep us posted when you have a chance. Thank you.

 

I will. Unfortunately the sPS-500 didn't arrive today - hopefully it'll land tomorrow. 

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47 minutes ago, ismewor said:

Finger cross, my sps-500 should arrive one monday.

 

Hope yours will. Should be interesting to compare impressions next week

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My sPS-500 arrived today. 12V output chosen to my sMS-200 (non-Ultra), whereas with the mBPS-d2s battery PSU I used earlier the output voltage sat between 6-9V (according to SOtM's website), so the higher voltage output chosen with the sPS-500 could have an effect on sound quality. It now has some 8 hours of continuous, total use. 

 

Initial impressions, within the first hour, pointed to a rather balanced and subjectively less midrange-centric presentation compared to the mBPS-d2s. The latter has a slightly "thicker" and more saturated midrange with a rounded sensation. [after some 7-8 hours] The sound through the sPS-500 meanwhile seems to "ignite" more freely, and has better delineation giving the sound of violins (Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas - Dumay & Pires) more insight into overtones and micro-dynamics as well. The same recording through the mBPS-d2s has violins sounding, again, thicker and with more muted overtones. 

 

An aspect of the sound through the sPS-500 I find particularly noteworthy is that of decay - it's indeed downright impressive, certainly compared to the battery supply. 

 

More impressions to follow...

 

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26+ hours of continuous use now with the sPS-500. The sound has gained in texture, fullness/presence and smoothness, where yesterday it was leaner sounding and less focused. The midrange is now definitely more on par with the mBPS-d2s battery supply, but still there's the better sense of decay. It seems to me battery supply was a bit more constricted in the width of the soundstage, and the sPS-500 moreover has a firmer sense of arrangement (scaling?) - particularly with more complex material. This is good, indeed very promising. 

 

Quite to my surprise perhaps the sPS-500 sports a tonality closer to tube amps than SS, as least as is. 

 

Feel free to ask to questions, btw. It may also help clarify my own impressions.. 

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On ‎17‎-‎07‎-‎2017 at 0:32 AM, rhale64l7 said:

Has anyone else had one of these in their system? If so what do you think of it? I am loving mine. And now I am wondering why?

 

Everything became so much clearer. But much smoother at the same time. This should not be happening from what I have been reading. The ifi is a very low noise switch mode power supply. In fact if noise were the biggest concern then this would be top dog for switchers I would think. So why then is this switched mode power supply so much better than that one? It is really very clear to hear how much more impact my music has. How much more body the instruments have. How much more decay of the instruments. How much deeper into the music you can hear. The bass is incredible. I could go on and on about what I am hearing. And it has only played about 20 hours total. I can hear so much more of the little details that make up the recording. Things play so solidly in it's space. No wondering of instruments. Cymbal crashes go on forever. The brushes on cymbals I actually thought in one recording I could hear how the drummer had not lifted the brush off the cymbal all the way. And he was moving it on the cymbal. And this was an imaginary plane of say 15-20 feet behind the singer. I can hear not only the breaths of a singer, but also whether they are licking their lips. 

 

I can definitely attest to the boldfaced parts. How has your sPS-500 developed sonically past the 20 hours?

 

On ‎17‎-‎07‎-‎2017 at 2:02 AM, romaz said:

 

I have one coming in and I will compare against a Paul Hynes SR7 and LPS-1.  According to Lee, who designed this SMPS, the secret sauce is "filtration."  Like with his endpoints, it is all in the filtration.  I had a discussion with Lee about designing an audiophile-class motherboard devoid of noisy switching regulators and while he indicated this was important, he personally felt it wasn't that important because with his endpoints, he believed he had already successfully filtered out all the bad noise that typical motherboards produce.  The strategy with the sPS-500 is the same.  For me, the big question is impedance.

 

Do let us know of your findings, even the initial ones where the sPS-500 only has few hours under the hood. I'd say at least some 24 hours of use is mandatory before critical assessment, perhaps even much more? 

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2 hours ago, austinpop said:

Have any of you compared it to (or can you) PSUs like the LPS-1, the VR Mini, the Paul Hynes?

 

I'm afraid we'll have to wait for poster romaz or others to come about this. 

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125+ hours on my sPS-500 as is (running 24/7), and color me rather impressed. There's a marked sense of stability and assuredness to the presentation. Complex musical material like Jon Hopkins (the whole of the "Insides" album) is a delight to listen to; layered, delicate yet direct, full bandwidth (<20Hz), and very dynamic - a times a startling experience. Compared to my earlier mBPS-d2s battery supply from SOtM it's as if half an octave has been added to the lower frequencies here, with both more weight and control - easily exposed via my SVS SB16-Ultra subwoofer. Listening to Mozart Violin Concertos (2L, Trondheim Soloists, Marianne Thorsen - 24/192kHz) reveals lovely texture, ambience and delineation of the violin and piano. The overtones of the violin here are indeed exquisite. Voices in general have a pleasantly relaxed nature, and can be quite direct and forceful when called for. 

 

As a conclusion of sorts the SOtM sPS-500, to my ears and in my setup, conveys the whole of the frequency bandwidth more effectively and balanced compared to the mBPS-d2s, which by comparison feels more midrange centered (fuller mids, but not necessarily more saturated) and slightly constricted spatially and dynamically, as in the frequency extremes. It feels as if more is simply going on in the presentation via the sPS-500 with a wider palette of dynamics (micro as macro) and spatiality/decay, and with a firmness and delicacy to the presentation that is quite beguiling.  

 

Hope above descriptions make sense. I have yet to implement a more "dedicated" power cord, but will report back if there's a significant uptick in SQ to gain here. 

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2 minutes ago, limniscate said:

Jon Hopkins is awesome.  Have you heard "Abandon Window" on the Immunity album?

 

I Haven't, but thank you for bringing it to my attention - will look up the album

And indeed, Jon Hopkins is awesome - certainly going by "Insides." 

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25 minutes ago, rhale64l7 said:

Ok this is exactly what I am hearing with my SPS-500. In fact word for word. I would add that the imaging is so well defined with no wandering. 

 

And it is funny I have the exact same subwoofer. 

 

Great you're feeling the same way about the sPS-500 "Well defined with no wandering" I suppose is what I mean by "assuredness," "firmness," "stability" and "delineation," so I absolutely agree on this as well. 

 

Nice knowing there's a "compadre" out there with the SB16-Ultra in his setup also I find it's an amazing sub, being surprised by its abilities time and again (almost 4 month now in my setup). It's both brutal (indeed visceral) and delicate. Going to the cinemas now I'm mostly disappointed by the bass heard here compared to watching Blu-rays at home, but most importantly it integrates superbly in my setup with music (takes some effort, but well worth it). I'm guessing you're happy with it as well?

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Audiostream.com reviews SOtM's sMS-200Ultra + sPS500. Seems I wasn't far out with my own impressions, at least compared to Mr. Plaskin's findings  

 

Quote

 

How Does the SPS-500 Sound?
The sPS-500 and the sMS-200ultra mated well together creating a superb sounding combination. The overall clarity of this combination is the best I have heard from the sMS-200ultra. Other power supplies I have on hand; and that includes linear power supplies, did not sound as good powering the sMS-200ultra. Voices and instruments were more focused with a relaxed sound that was not fatiguing. Bass control and dynamics were stunning with a prodigious grip and slam in the bass. The soundstage was the largest I have been able to squeeze out from the sMS-200ultra characterized by a richly layered sonic stage that possessed an open and airy sound.
 

...

 

Power Supply Comparisons

The SOtM mBPS-d2s Intelligent Battery Power Supply
The sPS-500 outperforms the SOtM battery power supply in numerous ways. While retaining the excellent midrange sound of the mBPS-d2s, the sPS-500 is far more dynamic sounding especially with deep bass. I found the mBPS-d2s to be polite sounding and far less engaging than the new sPS-500. Overall detail and clarity of the sPS-500 is far superior to that of the mBPS-2ds.

The UpTone Audio UltraCap™ LPS-1
This power supply is a personal favorite of mine given its excellent sound and reasonable price of $395. While the UltraCap™ LPS-1 could match the sPS-500 in dynamic qualities and deep bass response, it did not have the ultimate clarity or midrange ease of the sPS-500 when driving either the sMS-200ultra or the tx-USBultra. I also noticed that the LPS-1 ran quite hot when powering the sMS-200ultra.

The Sonore Signature Series Power Supply (Discontinued)
This has been my reference power supply in terms of sonics, but it is limited to a 7v output. The sound obtained from the sMS-200ultra or the tx-USBultra when driven by the sPS-500 was more revealing and bigger sounding than what I had obtained when using the Sonore Signature Series Power Supply. There seemed to be a synergistic combination of the sPS-500 when paired with either or both of the Ultra series components.

 

 

https://www.audiostream.com/content/sotm-sms-200ultra-mini-network-player-and-sps-500-power-supply
 

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Sorry, didn't see the above linked review already mentioned over at the other thread.. 

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1 hour ago, camott said:

I now have a SPS-500 to power my SMS-200. Question for @MayfromSOtM or anyone else - is 9V or 12V or preferable? I am reading conflicting accounts ....

 

Thanks.

 

Try both 9V and 12V and see what you prefer - both settings are perfectly viable with the sMS-200. Some consensus seems to have formed towards 12V with these SOtM units (the ultra's as well), which is how I power mine.