The Paul Hynes SR7

[austinpop]

1 minute ago, mozes said:

Your findings are in line with Roy’s that the SR7 is better than the LPS-1. Still to me, given the long lead time and difficulty in communication, I prefer to stick to my LPS-1s from Uptone Audio.

one thing that I will do is to test two LPS-1s in parallel with my tX-USBultra and see if it improves upon 1 LPS-1. The tX sucks almost all the amps from the LPS-1, once you stick a USB flash in the tX, the LPS-1 shuts down.

 

Looks like you could use a VR Mini then! Private joke between @mozes and me. 

 

Seriously though, check with @Superdad, I think there’re issues with perfect matching of output impedance (?) for the parallel solution to work.

[austinpop]

21 minutes ago, ElviaCaprice said:

Hate to sound like a broken record, but,

a sCLK-EX added will do far more than any power supply, component upgrade. 

 

There is much we don’t quite understand in this domain. Both of the following statements are true:

 

1. For a given PSU (of sufficiently high quality), improving the clock (lowering phase noise), improves SQ.

 

2. For a given clock (of sufficiently high quality), improving the PSU quality improves SQ.

 

Where this gets interesting is the conjecture that everything is ultimately dependent on the PSU quality. Over on head-fi, Roy has reported some potentially interesting findings with the Zenith SE server, that suggests that an extraordinarily good set of PSUs can perhaps close the gap between components with and without Ref 10 level clocking.

 

I’m still puzzling over these latest results.

[austinpop]

Please give Paul a break, guys. He did us a favor by opening up SR4 preorders, probably a little earlier than he was comfortable, due to the clamor to "just take my money already!"

 

You'll get it when it's ready.

[austinpop]

An update from Paul that I received today:

 

I am still waiting for the shipment of rear panels for the SR4 to arrive. This has been a rather annoying issue as in the past my chassis manufacturer has provided SR3 rear panels (same size but different hole pattern) within a week of ordering by punching pre-anodised aluminium panels. This time, without telling me, they have changed the way they produce the panels. They now punch raw aluminium panels then send them away for anodising. I ordered them over a month ago but they still have not arrived. The manufacturer is checking tracking for me to find out where they are.

The SR4 power supplies for the November batch have already been constructed by my helper, and the lack of rear panels is holding up progress. Once they arrive I can have them fitted to the power supplies and they can then be tested and then shipped out.

I will let you know when the panels arrive.

 

Another piece of info I received from Paul was in regards to grounding. Paul confirmed that the SR4 supply is floating, i.e. the DC -ve is not connected to AC ground. This has been his long-standing practice to avoid creating ground loops. He mentioned that he has seen the discussions on leakage currents, and understands the rationale, but cautions that you also need to be careful not to create ground loops in the process of shunting leakage.

 

Based on that, I agree with his rationale to ship the units floating (and I didn't ask him to ground mine). I'll just use a JSG gizmo to test both ways to see what sounds better.

[austinpop]

1 minute ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

Great information on the floating supply.  I would have just assumed it came grounded (with a 3-prong IEC connector after all).

 

Well, I would expect the chassis to be connected to AC ground for obvious safety reasons. It's just the DC -ve is not.

[austinpop]

Sorry. -ve is short for negative. As @octaviars clarified.

 

26 minutes ago, auricgoldfinger said:

How would you set up the shunt since the -ve is inside the case?

 

No need. Just take the output of the SR4, and run the device end (5.5x2.1 barrel) through a JSG shunt. Or use a Groundhog with the spade adapter around the barrel.

[austinpop]

Just now, auricgoldfinger said:

 

I understand now.  I think the spade adapter around the barrel makes the most sense if using one of Paul's expensive cables.  The JSSG shunt kind of defeats the purpose of a silver cable in my opinion.

 

Thanks for clarifying.

 

Yes, my thoughts exactly.

 

I had bought a Groundhog to try grounding my DAC or amp using the RCA plug. I then ended up building a shunt using the "flying toaster" screw terminal RCA plugs I described the SMPS grounding thread.  

 

But instead of returning the Groundhog, I'm keeping it around precisely to use on the SR4 and the silver cable.

[austinpop]

Just now, Johnseye said:

 

How does the Groundhog compare, functionally speaking, to the Synergistic Research Ground Block, Entreq Ground Box or Nordost QKore?

 

That's a whole thread right there! I don't really know. 

 

My use of the Groundhog was in the context of John Swenson's recent findings wrt SMPS noise. See: https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/37034-smps-and-grounding/ 

 

[austinpop]

3 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

Agreed, I don't want to derail the conversation from the Hynes PSUs.  The pictures of the Groundhog don't do it justice.  I'll keep digging to try and understand how it connects the devices to ground.  iFi's site shows the various adapters but I haven't seen what those connect to and how they get to ground.

 

Oh I can explain that. I answered a PM from someone a few days ago, so I can just cut and paste it here. Pardon some of the Captain Obvious wording.

 

Here is how you shunt a DC barrel with the Groudhog:

• you need to supply a power cord - it's not included
• plug the power cord IEC end (the opposite of the wall plug end) into the IEC plug of the groundhog (A in the picture)
• plug the RCA male C into RCA female D
• snap the spade B on to the outer barrel of the DC cable

[austinpop]

Just now, auricgoldfinger said:

 

Have you tried the spade with an Oyaide 5.5mm x 2.1mm barrel connector?

 

I actually have not tried the spade yet.

[austinpop]

Just now, Johnseye said:

 

So a full power cable per shunt, or am I still missing something?  That's a bit impractical if you want to ground a lot of equipment.  I think I like the other solutions I mentioned as they allow multiple devices to be connected to a single grounding source.  Same principle as John's shunt.  Multiple ground cables to one plug.

 

Agreed. It does not scale. I have heard only good things about the Synergistic Ground Block, but cheap it ain't!

 

For DIY, I've built "hydra" JSG shunts, with 3 devices grounded to the same AC plug. Getting 3 x 14AWG  silver cables connected to the ground prong wasn't easy, but I got it done, Less of an issue if you use thinner cable.

[austinpop]

8 minutes ago, rickca said:

Paul told me his assistant builds the SR4 so other than supervision I don't think they took much of his time away from his custom builds.  Of course, I understand your frustration with waiting so long for your SR7.  Is Paul just backlogged, or is there something specific holding up your order?

 

That is my understanding too. So Eric - it's 2 different production streams, and the SR7 just takes more time.

 

59 minutes ago, limniscate said:

This is frustrating to see as someone who ordered a SR7 back at the end of May and still hasn't received it.

 

Hopefully you can achieve equanimity when your SR7 trounces my SR4 in a future head-to-head listen-off?

 

[austinpop]

5 hours ago, str-1 said:

Has anyone who received tracking info for their SR4 last week received their unit yet?

 

Paul shared a fascinating glimpse of how remote his home and workplace (the Isle of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides) are with me - and to others who asked too, I'm sure. The shipping path is tortuous, even in this modern day!

 

I had intended to use the Royal Mail International tracked and signed service for the SR4 as it is relatively low cost and it is the only service from the island that goes to the mainland via a mail plane daily (barring sea fog of hurricane conditions). Transit is usually 3 to 6 working days to most destinations. Unfortunately the packed weight of the SR4 parcel turned out to be over 2Kg limit so this service cannot be used for the SR4.

Instead all SR4 power supplies from November production have been shipped out via the UPS express service.

Service wise we are located on the outer rim of the universe here and all the carriers who service the Western Isles designate the area as a sparsely populated remote location and they do not have offices on the islands. Instead they use local forwarding agents who traverse the island several times a week. The collections then go to North Uist  (three islands away) for ferry transit to the Isle of Skye. They then proceed via road to Inverness where they are then sent to an International Hub, where the carriers are located. This is where tracking starts, once UPS have the parcel from their forwarding agent. Transit from here to a Hub can take between 3 to 6 working days depending on weather conditions. Ferries can be cancelled in winter if the weather is bad, as they cannot birth during storm conditions.

Once tracking begins, transit should be speedy, as I use the express service to avoid additional delays once in the main system.

 

In my case, it took a whole week for the package to reach from his island to UPS in Inverness on Monday. It is now in Philadelphia (as per the UPS tracking), and scheduled for delivery (in TX) tomorrow.

[austinpop]

It will be a couple of weeks before I can report any impressions. I'm traveling during the holidays. Assuming UPS actually delivers tomorrow, I will have just enough time to insert the SR4 in my system and leave it burning in while I'm gone!

 

I'll report findings, when I have any, over on the "A novel..." thread.

[austinpop]

I had a delivery issue with UPS, and Eric helped me out by going in my stead and wrestling the SR4 away from them, while I wing my way to Mexico!

 

in return, he gets to enjoy and burn in my SR4 while I’m gone.

 

Can’t wait to try it.

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, limniscate said:

It seemed a little better than my HD-Plex.  I didn't get to test it against the LPS-1 because I have 12V SOtM sMS-200 Ultra and dX-USB Ultra.

 

I retrieved my SR4 from Eric, and am burning it in for at least another 100 hours before doing any comparisons.

 

1 hour ago, Cornan said:

 

Not too optimistic then, or did I read words between the lines wrong? ?

 

Don't give up just yet!

[austinpop]

1 minute ago, Johnseye said:

 

If they need a thread at all, valid or not.  Complaints should not be part of a review thread. I'll need to be a little more firm in the future. 

 

As OP, it would be within your purview to declare all shipping delays, complaints, etc as off topic. I think there's been enough venting!

 

Honestly, I am hoping for more actual reviews of the SR-7 by people who have received it. For that matter, and if you're OK with allowing it on this thread, I'd also like to hear more reviews from people who ordered the SR-4. I posted my impressions on the "A novel..." thread, but surprised we've not heard from more people.

[austinpop]

@amir57bs

 

You do do realize that there are people who’ve been waiting for their SR-7s for 9 months or more? It is widely known that when you order a custom PSU from Paul, you need to be prepared for a long and unpredictable wait. Did you not do your homework before you ordered?

 

And finally, why are you using this forum to air an issue that is between you and Paul? If you want a refund, contact him directly. The right method is via PM or email.

 

We on this thread can’t help you, and your posts are off topic and disruptive. Please stop.

[austinpop]

3 hours ago, oilpaint said:

@paulhynes Paul, have Builds 15, 16, and 17 gone out?

 

I can speak for 17, since it's mine.

 

No, it hasn't shipped yet, due to some delayed parts. I am hopeful that Paul can finish it as soon as he is operational again.

[austinpop]

Paul also said he has 18 and 19 on the bench, after which he will work on mine #17 (was blocked awaiting parts) ...

[austinpop]

13 hours ago, greenleo said:

To the owners of the SR7,

 

Do you change the its fuse?

What power cable do you use to fully unleash the potential of the SR7?

 

There's no "right answer," Leo. The better way to think about it is: does this component benefit, or scale, with better <pick your accessories (power cables, fuses, ...)>?

 

Since I've only borrowed an SR-7, I've only tried a couple of PCs on it: Pangea AC-14SE MkII and Cardas Clear. The Cardas certainly sounded better, so yes the SR-7 scales with PCs. Is the Clear the "right" or "best" cable? Of course not. It just means it has the potential to benefit. Contrast that to the Mutec Ref-10, which I was surprised to find did not seem to benefit (scale) with a better PC.

 

@romaz and @auricgoldfinger have, I believe, tried and liked the SR Blue and Beeswax fuses. So there again, the SR-7 seems to scale with fuse quality.

 

As for the 1.6x - this depends on the fuse vendor. Synergistic Research have advised using a multiplier like that when deciding what capacity of their Blue fuse to get. The important point there is to check with the fuse manufacturer what they recommend.

[austinpop]

That must have been quite a draining experience.

 

Still, as Ray points out, today’s horror is tomorrow’s terroir.

 

Hopefully the new plumbers will be more competent than Westminster in installing a more effective backstop for the future.

 

Too soon, I know!

[austinpop]

3 minutes ago, Confused said:

Not too soon, as it happens.....

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/04/uk/house-of-commons-water-leak-scli-gbr-intl/

 

I must be prescient. That is hilarious!

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, TopQuark said:

 

Yes for #15.  A bit more patience.  It is coming.

 

Heartening to hear! I am #17...

[austinpop]

13 minutes ago, oilpaint said:

For those with a SR7, do you run it threw a power conditioner or straight to AC wall power plug? Has anyone ever done a comparison? I am currently running my SR7 to a Shunyata Denali S (version 1).

 

No question for me - the SR-7 benefits from a good power conditioner. I've used it with my PS Audio P5 and on a Sound Application TT7, and in both cases, the SR-7 sounded better through the power conditioner.

 

The one big caution is that the SR-7 has a wicked inrush current, especially as you get up into the big multirail DR units. My 3-rail unit has about 800VA of transformer, and a significant capacitor bank that takes a lot of initial current to "charge." I have actually tripped my P5's current limiter turning the SR-7 on. I've now learned to plan my turn on sequence carefully.

 

This is also a good reason to wait to get to know your unit before attempting any fuse upgrades, so you don't blow an expensive fuse.