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DIY DC power cables


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6 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

+1 Those new Oyiade DC plugs are much smaller than you might think (unless the good old Oyiade plugs is used that for example Uptone Audio uses for their DC cables. AFAIK they are not possible to buy anymore) @fayerichard. I have messed it up soldering Furutech Alpha-18 (18awg) before ordering Ghent DC cables. I am not a soldering pro though. It is very easy that the positive and negative poles come into contact using greater gauge than 18awg using new Oyiade IME.

A trick recommended to me for DIYing USB cables, but applicable here, is to separate conductors, etc., with Teflon plumbers tape to avoid unwanted contact points.

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25 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

A trick recommended to me for DIYing USB cables, but applicable here, is to separate conductors, etc., with Teflon plumbers tape to avoid unwanted contact points.

 

Yeah, that´s what for example Elijah Audio is using on his USB cables to avoid contact. The problem with the new Oyiade is the limited space. When you squeeze thick cables inside the narrow space you are doomed to put pressure on the internal parts if you put the metal housing back. Without tape you will guaranteedly experience a pffft! :D 

 

 

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34 minutes ago, fayerichard said:

The nrg1.5 has the following 16awg thickness: 2 x 1,31mm².

 

would it fit?

 

how about the sleeve, which is definitely much wider and thicker. Can I just leave the ends "open" and apply shrinkwrap to both ends in order to circumvent the sleeve at the last 3cm of plug ends?

 

so I can use the Oyaide dc?

 

Without the metal housing on new Oyiade DC plugs it will fit. With the metal housing may good be with you! ?

If you take the advice from @BigGuy and wrap the ends in Teflon tape (very thin) you've got a slightly better chance to succeed. Since you are in the border of what is possible or not, all I can say is go for it and good speed if you try. I know Uptone Audio sells their huge gauge DC cables separately. If you really want to know how a thick DC cable sounds like I would warmly recommend that you buy it from Alex C instead of going into mission impossible.

 

 

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30 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Speaking about cables...

 

Hope I am not going too far off-thread but thought someone might be able to help.

 

Anyone ever come across a rigid USB A-Male to B-male adapter to replace actual cable?

 

I guess you haven't got a USB Regen or ISO Regen, but isn't this rigid enough? https://www.amazon.com/HDE®-USB-Type-Male-Adapter/dp/B002B9AR8I

 

 

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1 hour ago, fayerichard said:

The nrg1.5 has the following 16awg thickness: 2 x 1,31mm².

 

would it fit?

 

how about the sleeve, which is definitely much wider and thicker. Can I just leave the ends "open" and apply shrinkwrap to both ends in order to circumvent the sleeve at the last 3cm of plug ends?

 

so I can use the Oyaide dc?

 

You just need to try it if that’s what your mind is set on. I guess if you screw it up then you can just put some ac plugs back on it. Unless you already have one I wouldn’t bother. Too much AQ marketing hype. Just get a good dc cable pre-made to the size you need, and choose depending on your budget. Also keep in mind the shorter the better. 

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16 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Thanks.   Guess I just searched on the wrong description.  :-(

 

Been  thinking about the ISO.  Is it significantly better SQ than the original?  I guess at some point I need to deal with jitter, etc.

 

I would actually say that the original Regen is really good. I was a bit dissapointed on ISO Regen until I added the Luckit BluWave USB to Spdif post it. Now I would'nt trade the IR+USPCB+BluWave for anything. A massive improvement! ?

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, charlesphoto said:

You mean like this: https://uptoneaudio.com/products/uspcb-a-b-adapter

 

sounds amazing. Can’t go wrong.

Not breaking the bank to try one but I was questioning the SQ of circuit board+switch vs a few wires.

 

Speaking of switches for the 5V, I had been using the SBooster VBus and later VBus2 between USB cable and my Manhattan I DAC.  I recently upgraded the DAC to the Manhattan II, which incidentally was a surprising jump in SQ, the VBusses did not work.  Apparently the new configuration needs to see the 5V even tho' it is self powered.  Does anyone now or perhaps posit an explanation as to why some USB implementations need to "see" 5V and others not?  I DO like the concept of eliminating the 5V as a source of pollution.

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1 hour ago, Cornan said:

 

Without the metal housing on new Oyiade DC plugs it will fit. With the metal housing may good be with you! ?

If you take the advice from @BigGuy and wrap the ends in Teflon tape (very thin) you've got a slightly better chance to succeed. Since you are in the border of what is possible or not, all I can say is go for it and good speed if you try. I know Uptone Audio sells their huge gauge DC cables separately. If you really want to know how a thick DC cable sounds like I would warmly recommend that you buy it from Alex C instead of going into mission impossible.

Having recently constructed a DC cable using "new(er)" Oyaide barrel plug, I can attest to the fact that DIYing with large gauge wire would be a challenge.

 

This brings up a question from an "inquiring mind"...

 

I know that 12V auto jumper cables are typical quite large gauge but here we are talking about large current draw, not voltage.  If we are supplying 12V, etc., to devices that are drawing on the order of 1A or so, how low a gauge is electrically justifiable?

 

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6 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

 

Not breaking the bank to try one but I was questioning the SQ of circuit board+switch vs a few wires.

 

Speaking of switches for the 5V, I had been using the SBooster VBus and later VBus2 between USB cable and my Manhattan I DAC.  I recently upgraded the DAC to the Manhattan II, which incidentally was a surprising jump in SQ, the VBusses did not work.  Apparently the new configuration needs to see the 5V even tho' it is self powered.  Does anyone now or perhaps posit an explanation as to why some USB implementations need to "see" 5V and others not?  I DO like the concept of eliminating the 5V as a source of pollution.

 

I have the Brooklyn DAC and the change from my previous Pioneer U-05 was troublesome. U-05 didn't require 5v for handshake but Brooklyn did. In summary the jump from U-05 to Brooklyn wasn't as far as the cost. I was a bit dissapointed. I had to find another solution. IR I thought. Nope. I had to get a Teradak USB power splitter to get it to sound as good as the U-05. It was not until I got the BluWave USB to Spdif with a powerbank powering the GI output of the BluWave that I really thought that the Brooklyn DAC was worth the money. Now it is worth more than double price of U-05 for sure...but it took me roughly a year to end there. 

 

 

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10 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Having recently constructed a DC cable using "new(er)" Oyaide barrel plug, I can attest to the fact that DIYing with large gauge wire would be a challenge.

 

This brings up a question from an "inquiring mind"...

 

I know that 12V auto jumper cables are typical quite large gauge but here we are talking about large current draw, not voltage.  If we are supplying 12V, etc., to devices that are drawing on the order of 1A or so, how low a gauge is electrically justifiable?

 

 

IMO it is due to distance. Keep it short and do not mind the gauge. If you need >50 cm think about greater gauge. DC does'nt require greater gauge than Canare above 50cm. JSSG will improve SQ even if it is a starquad configuration IME.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

I have the Brooklyn DAC and the change from my previous Pioneer U-05 was troublesome. U-05 didn't require 5v for handshake but Brooklyn did. In summary the jump from U-05 to Brooklyn wasn't as far as the cost. I was a bit dissapointed. I had to find another solution. IR I thought. Nope. I had to get a Teradak USB power splitter to get it to sound as good as the U-05. It was not until I got the BluWave USB to Spdif with a powerbank powering the GI output of the BluWave that I really thought that the Brooklyn DAC was worth the money. Now it is worth more than double price of U-05 for sure...but it took me roughly a year to end there. 

I too would recommend replacement of the OEM SMPS for the Brooklyn with an external power supply.  A friend's Brooklyn with Sbooster power supply was amazingly good...pretty close to Manhattan I, IMHO, which I owned.

 

Although I have heard/read good things about the BluWave, not sure I want to go there given I spent considerable money on the Adnaco Glass/USB setup.

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1 minute ago, BigGuy said:

I too would recommend replacement of the OEM SMPS for the Brooklyn with an external power supply.  A friend's Brooklyn with Sbooster power supply was amazingly good...pretty close to Manhattan I, IMHO, which I owned.

 

Although I have heard/read good things about the BluWave, not sure I want to go there given I spent considerable money on the Adnaco Glass/USB setup.

 

I personally think that the Brooklyn DACs internal (grounded) SMPS is pretty good connected to a balanced IT with floating center-tap. Despite this I'm looking for a great PSU for the Brooklyn DAC. I am not in a hurry, but right now I am leaning against a Paul Hynes SR4. If my decision in firm in February (when I move to another apartment) I will place my order...if not the SOtM sPS-500.

 

I can only whole hearted recommend the BluWave...but money rules as always! ?

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

IMO it is due to distance. Keep it short and do not mind the gauge. If you need >50 cm think about greater gauge. DC does'nt require greater gauge than Canare above 50cm. JSSG will improve SQ even if it is a starquad configuration IME.

Guess I need to rethink the length of the DC cable that I grafted onto a "brick" laptop LPS to supply 5V to the Adnaco.   I am guessing it is over 6 feet long, a decision made thinking to improve its long term use and geographic location relative to the target device.

 

 

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13 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Guess I need to rethink the length of the DC cable that I grafted onto a "brick" laptop LPS to supply 5V to the Adnaco.   I am guessing it is over 6 feet long, a decision made thinking to improve its long term use and geographic location relative to the target device.

 

 

 

Think like this. The less power the less lenght. The more power the more lenght. 5v equals roughly max 5-50cm. 120v equals roughly max 100-120 cm. 240v equals roughly max 200-240cm. Mind you that this is just rough lenghts based on own experiences...but makes it easy to remember.

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

Think like this. The less power the less lenght. The more power the more lenght. 5v equals roughly max 5-50cm. 120v equals roughly max 100-120 cm. 240v equals roughly max 200-240cm. Mind you that this is just rough lenghts based on own experiences...but makes it easy to remember.

 

Good crutch!  At my age, these can be important.  ;-)

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3 hours ago, Cornan said:

Think like this. The less power the less lenght. The more power the more lenght.

 

That isn't always strictly true. That's why power transmission lines use very high voltages, and transformers later on to step down the voltages again.

My own take on DC leads,  is that provided the Output Impedance of the voltage Regulator etc. is VERY low, that a 2 foot length from say a piece of 2 core 7.5A mains cable scrounged from a redundant lead will be close to as good as it gets, without any fancy tinkering that you guys (and John S.) talk about.;)

Other than the reliability factor, neither should it matter about using fancy and expensive DC plugs, especially if those used are of the lockable type. Some Microphone plugs and sockets make fine DC connectors. 

e.g.

http://www.altronics.com.au/p/p0953-2-pin-male-chassis-mount-microphone-connector/

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

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Hi John

My own preference is to use a soldered connection at the PSU end,  or at least screw type connectors, and if possible a more substantial lockable connector at the output end. However, with many devices we are stuck with using a tiny non lockable DC connector.

My own  observations are based around the use of the JLH PSU add-on which in my modified version has a substantially lower output impedance above 300kHZ, and the choice of Capacitance Multiplier electros does  even affect how a recorded (non compressed ) HD TV stream saved on a USB memory stick looks when  using this PSU!

Initially, our local Win HD TV broadcaster, when they changed from mpeg 2 to mpeg4 , used too low a bitrate for their HD station, and the off air performance was more that of a SD TV station with a little EQ.

This resulted in the recorded version looking more like the original .mpeg 2 transmissions, instead of too much makeup applied. More recently, they obviously increased the Bit Rate for their HD TV transmissions , possibly after some complaints ?

 

BUT, this isn't supposed to be possible with Digital, is it ,  Whether Audio OR Video !

My observations may have little relevance to the cables used with other types of PSUs ?

 

Regards

Alex

 

 P.S.

 

 Do you intend publishing any details of your high impedance low noise differential amp ?

I expect that you have far too much on your plate at present to commercialise this design .

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

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11 hours ago, sandyk said:

 

That isn't always strictly true. That's why power transmission lines use very high voltages, and transformers later on to step down the voltages again.

My own take on DC leads,  is that provided the Output Impedance of the voltage Regulator etc. is VERY low, that a 2 foot length from say a piece of 2 core 7.5A mains cable scrounged from a redundant lead will be close to as good as it gets, without any fancy tinkering that you guys (and John S.) talk about.;)

Other than the reliability factor, neither should it matter about using fancy and expensive DC plugs, especially if those used are of the lockable type. Some Microphone plugs and sockets make fine DC connectors. 

e.g.

http://www.altronics.com.au/p/p0953-2-pin-male-chassis-mount-microphone-connector/

 

No, ofcourse it isn't strictly true. It is only a simple and rough guide line. I always keep any type of cable as short as possible, but if I'm forced to use standard lenghts a rough guide line can be helpful.

When it comes to DC plugs I agree that it doesn't matter that much in terms of SQ. Even screw terminal DC plugs sounds good to me. However, in terms of reabillity there is very few that matches the Oyiade DC plugs firm fit.

 

 

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