The new generation UltraCap LPS-1.2: USER IMPRESSIONS and QUESTIONS thread

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mine was delivered a few minutes ago so... only took 7 days (including customs clearance), setting a new record! 

 

later tonight will set everything up and report

in the while... thank you so much indeed, Alex 

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ok: connected everything and... despite Chord's claims about (L)PSes not making any difference with their Qutest DAC... the UltraCap LPS-1.2 *does* make a difference and not a subtle one!  (btw... I was already powering the Qutest from a JS-2 )

 

great job once more, John and Alex 

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my LPS-1.2, feeding 5v to a Qutest DAC, is indeed sensibly warmer than the LPS-1 feeding 7v to an ISO Regen but not at all even just close to untouchable

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1 hour ago, Geoff1954 said:

Thanks again for any further explanation anyone can offer. And for the patience. 

 

forgive me but... one thought comes to my mind: are you sure about investing more $$$ in the power supply than in the DAC itself? 

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my 2c: leave MQA alone, use the money you save for buying Hi-Res files and get the LPS-1.2 for your ISO Regen 

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14 hours ago, Superdad said:

Oh wow!  I completely forgot (and someone else phoned about this just this week and I did not remember then either):  The microRendu does not like the few milliseconds ramp up of the output  voltage of the paralleled LT3045-based UltraCap LPS1.2.  So indeed it is required that one first boot up the LPS1.2 and then plug its output into the Rendu.  I’m traveling this evening so can’t check my notes about if this applies to the just the microRendu or the UltraRendu—one or both. John will probably remember as we discussed this a month or so ago.

 

Chord Qutest has no issue with this but... booting the LPS 1.2 will take a veeery long time if it's already plugged to it

 

so when (almost never) I have to turn the DAC or the LPS off I unplug it, wait 'til it has completely finished bootig (led becomes steady green) then plug it to the Qutest

no harm whatsoever to any of the two if one doesn't, though

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by "veeery long" I was actually meaning something *looking* as 30-40sec. will try timing it next time I have to turn everything off 

 

Chord Qutest + LPS 1.2 replaced an already great combo: 2Qute powered from a JS-2

differences are not night and day but definitely there: most perceivable ones are much "sharper" soundstage and instruments separation and way deeper, with much better control, bass 

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1 hour ago, JohnSwenson said:

When you turn on the LPS-1.2, the LED initially goes to red and stays red while it is discharging, then goes to amber while it is doing the initial charging. If the LED stays red for a long time it is discharging the capacitor banks. If the banks are discharged, which happens if you leave it off for a long time, the red lasts for a very small fraction of a second and goes immediately to amber. So the time in red (discharge) can range from a fraction of a second to several minutes depending on how much charge was left in the caps when you turn it on.

 

so... this is why the first time i tuned my LPS 1.2 off (for a short while, just the time to swap a connection) then on again with the Chord Qutest (5v) connected it took so long to boot again

 

I now also remember having read (here and/or on the instruction manual) about letting the unit discharge before turning it on again

 

thank you 

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On 30/04/2018 at 1:40 AM, Superdad said:

So with the Bayite meter, the black wire goes to G (ground), the red wire goes to V (voltage), and the white wire goes to I (current).  To measure the voltage you put both the red and white wire into the V terminal (and always the black to the G terminal). 

 

@Superdad... bought this one (actually a three pack ) on Amazon.it

 

just... what kind of "plug" do I need? wires are so thin I can't make them stick 

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and... is this one likely to work? 

 

oh... wait... must cut off that flange too 

 

what are these things called, so I can lookout for one?

 (using an approximate translation to italian  )

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found the Digi-Key one you linked, Alex: €1,70 each + ... €18 shipping 

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so... today I finally  managed connecting one of those voltmeters to my LPS-1.2 and, unless I messed up connections (black-> G, red -> V and yellow -> I)...

 

Qutest @idle

Qutest playing a 24/192 track

 

and, weirdly... Qutest playing a DSD 128 track

 

when playing 16/44 tracks it just "jumps" to 0.51 for an instant every 5-10 seconds then goes back to 0.48 every time

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23 minutes ago, Superdad said:

I was looking closer at the Qutest (reading some of Rob Watts' engineering explanations), and although it is not Chord's top-of-the-line, it does seem to be a rather serious home piece

 

new products expected to be revealed this WE at High-End Munich 

among others... a standalone M-Scaler compatible with Qutest? 

 

1 and a 1/2 years ago a 2Qute replaced here, without major regrets, a Metrum Hex costing three times as much 

weird how totally opposite approaches (pure NOS vs. extreme oversampling) reached almost identical results

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yes, Alex, was about to ask yesterday: could you, please, add on your website the instructions for correctly wiring the Bayite voltmeter?

 

thanks 

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lots of suggested third party LPSs here

they all look to be way above the 1A an LPS-1.2 can deliver

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24 minutes ago, jdoleys said:

And what is the purpose of your post? there will always be similar products. If intention is to alert as to other possibilities, ok. Otherwise I find your post belittling uptone work. 

 

I own and love each and every UpTone product

looks you need some chamomile ?

 

Alex: feel free (obviously) to delete this post... and the one I'm replying to ?

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5 hours ago, wanta911 said:

I would be interested in any other users impressions that are using the LPS 1.2/Qutest combo.

 

been using it since late February without the faintest glitch ever, sorry

worried, at first, about the LPS getting really hot but as Alex explained many times it is nothing to worry about

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1 hour ago, JD123 said:

wondered if this was the correct adapter

technically... yes, it is

though Qutest's micro USB power port is inside a "tiny-ish" recess so that one might not fit

look for adapters with a lesser amount of "plastic around the plug" 

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my UltraCaps 1.2 too is still running fine (it replaced a failed 1.1, thank you Alex)

think I also have a second unit, not in use, and that one too should be fine: i'll have a look one of these days

 

re JS-4... wow: a bit expensive (add shipping and local taxes/duties). tell me why I shouldn't want a second JS-2 instead 😉