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

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, bit01 said:

I have the LPS-1.2 (set at 7V) being charged by the Paul Hynes SR4 (set at 9V) setup as follows:

SR4@9V->LPS-1.2@7V->uR->USPCB(90deg)->Naim DAC-V1.

 

Well, I'll let @JohnSwenson reply to the technical questions @paulhynes posed (though I promise the charging supply is NEVER presented with a dead short from a discharged bank; whatever PS is used to charge only sees the input of the LTM4607 regulator module.) 

However, I will say that while we are glad you are enjoying the sound with the combo, I think it is an absolute waste of Paul's fine supply to be using it to charge the capacitors of our UltraCap LPS-1.2.  

 

What you are doing is tremendous overkill as the active bank of the LPS-1.2 (the one connected to the output at any given moment) is never connected to the presently charging side (the whole point of our design).

What you are doing is akin to saying that charging a battery with cleaner power results in better output voltage from that battery when you take it and install it in some device!  I once saw someone post that by charging their iPhone with an LPS they got better sound from the battery!  That's about what your are doing.

What gets fed into the “charger” port of the LPS-1.2 goes though an expensive ($26/pc.) buck/boost DC-DC switching regulator module, in turn charging one 70Farad bank of ultracaps, while the other bank is actually connected to the load—first through a TI TPS7A4700, then into the specially paralleled pair of LT3045s.

 

Really you could feed our LPS-1.2 the most nasty dirty power imaginable, and it’s output will measure the same (versus “clean” charger power) via every PS performance metric. 

[The only exception to this is that it is best for the charging supply to have as little high-impedance AC leakage as possible since the transistors we use as switches for bank alternating—as opposed to large mechanically clicking relays—do have a few picoFarads of capacitance which can allow some high-impedance to pass.  (Low-impedance leakage has always been 100% blocked by our units.). And as is widely known since last year, preventing any high-impedance leakage from entering the UltraCap supply—from any SMPS charger—is a simple matter of just being sure that the charger’s DC zero-volt “ground” is shunted to AC mains ground. And that is already done with the UpTone-branded 7.5V/4.8A/36W charger that ships with every LPS-1.2.]

 

So I respectfully suggest that perhaps you can find a better use for your Paul Hynes SR-4.  

 

Cheers,

--Alex C.

[kissov]

Hi Alex, 

Roon is still dropping the microRendu ISO combo powered by the LPS 1.2 from the JS-2  via a Y on the output od the LPS 1.2.  This happens overnight when the audio system is shut down but there is still power from the LPS 1.2 to the microRendu and the ISO (curiously though the network lights still flash on the microRendu).  This morning I changed to the JS-2 powering the microRendu direct (at 7V) and the ISO powered from the LPS 1.2 from its wall wart supply.  I will let you know the result.  I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the issue?  Thanks.

[pl_svn]

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

[Superdad]

15 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

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

 

Very cool Paolo, thanks for posting!  I am sure that current draw jump when playing 16/44.1 tracks is the FPGA--in the Qutest that Chord uses for upsampling--consuming extra current in some bursts.

 

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--and without all the funny battery stuff of their prior models.  Not inexpensive, making it certainly worthy of being powered by our UltraCap LPS-1.2.  I'd like to hear the Qutest myself.

We really like it when our power supplies are used for a "real" audio component such as a DAC or DDC. (So many Brooklyn DAC owners are loving the big JS-2 with their Mytek Brooklyn DACs ) 

 

We are now stocking a DC-barrel>microUSB adapter that fits in the jack recess of the Chord Qutest.  We will toss one in--for free--for any UltraCap LPS-1.2 who requests one.

 

--Alex C.

[kissov]

Play anything, ISO connected to Lyngdorf TDAI 2170 internal DAC 

[pl_svn]

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

[Gilles]

The purpose of this post is to publicly thank Superdad for his very prompt handling and resolution of the problem I had.

 

Two days ago, I replaced the LPS 1 which was powering a ISO Regen with the new LPS1.2, and all that I could then hear coming out of my speakers were repetitive short sounds, like a machine gun fired at irregular intervals.  I tried to resolve my problem, but to no avail.  I then emailed Superdad, seeking his help, and I received a reply from Superdad no more than 9 hours later.  We scheduled a telephone appointment for tonight.  He called me on time and patiently guided me through the moves to solve my problem.  He also took time to explain the reasons for my problem, in simple terms. 

 

Again, thank you very much Alex.  Your sales support is truly remarkable.  We should all be grateful to have a contributor here of his generosity and care for customers. 

 

Gilles

[Geoff1954]

Allow me to add my two cents here too. I've also benefited from Alex's generous assistance -- more than once. Thanks Alex!

[sockpit]

Me too.

[Superdad]

Aww, shucks guys!  You are all too kind.   

 

Seriously though, I really enjoy helping our clients.  And embarrassingly, chatting with some of you constitutes a good part of my social life these days.  Too busy--and a bit too remote here in the mountains--to get out much.  Plus my wife is finishing up her Masters degree, so we are mostly "ships in the night passing." 

[bit01]

12 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

Well, I'll let @JohnSwenson reply to the technical questions @paulhynes posed (though I promise the charging supply is NEVER presented with a dead short from a discharged bank; whatever PS is used to charge only sees the input of the LTM4607 regulator module.) 

However, I will say that while we are glad you are enjoying the sound with the combo, I think it is an absolute waste of Paul's fine supply to be using it to charge the capacitors of our UltraCap LPS-1.2.  

 

..

 

So I respectfully suggest that perhaps you can find a better use for your Paul Hynes SR-4.  

 

Cheers,

--Alex C.

Hi Alex,

I appreciate the time you took to write your informative facts above. It is very helpful to confirm that the LPS-1.2 by design should pose no issue for the SR4 feed.

I normally use the SR4 in another setup. I hooked it up to the LPS-1.2 out of my crazy curiosity. I also own the LPS-1. In my listening experience (in my setup) its performance varies according to the feeder unit, even with the DC-out ground shunt! I found the LPS-1.2 to be similar in this way when I replaced the smps with the SR4. I was kind of hoping not to find a change to be honest, but it is there and not a subtle one much in favor of the SR4. Do I have a defective unit? Perhaps but somehow I doubt this. It is likely that there is some other explanation.

 

Best wishes.

[pl_svn]

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

 

thanks 

[JohnSwenson]

3 hours ago, pl_svn said:

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

 

thanks 

Very simple:

black goes to "G"

red goes to "V"

whats left (white, yellow etc) goes to "I".

 

John S.

[Blake]

On 5/9/2018 at 9:35 PM, Geoff1954 said:

Allow me to add my two cents here too. I've also benefited from Alex's generous assistance -- more than once. Thanks Alex!

 

 

And that is why, given the the choice between Uptone and competing manufacturers, I will always choose Uptone.

[kissov]

I'v just noticed that the light on the back of the LPS 1.2 never goes green?  I've tried different power sources but no change?  What am I doing wrong?  Thanks.

[JohnSwenson]

24 minutes ago, kissov said:

I'v just noticed that the light on the back of the LPS 1.2 never goes green?  I've tried different power sources but no change?  What am I doing wrong?  Thanks.

What is the sequence of color on the LED?

 

The normal sequence when turned on is:

 

red, anywhere from 1/10th second to 2 minutes depending on the charge on the caps. If it stays red for a while it is discharging the caps.

amber, anywhere from 25 seconds to two minutes depending on the output voltage.

green, output is turned on.

 

So how does it vary from this?

 

Remember some of these steps can take a long time.

 

Have you tried with the UpTone branded SMPS that come with the LPS-1.2?

 

Can you check the output voltage, if the LED never goes green, there should never be any voltage on the output.

 

Thanks,

 

John S.

 

[kissov]

John,

The sequence is as you describe and I'm powering the LPS 1.2 with the supplied SMPS, it just never goes green, it works, it powers the ISO and the meter reads 350 milliamps.  I've had the unit a couple of weeks and never noticed that it stayed yellow. Just to be sure I powered it from the JS-2 at 12V with the same result.

[Superdad]

2 minutes ago, kissov said:

The sequence is as you describe and I'm powering the LPS 1.2 with the supplied SMPS, it just never goes green, it works, it powers the ISO and the meter reads 350 milliamps.  I've had the unit a couple of weeks and never noticed that it stayed yellow. Just to be sure I powered it from the JS-2 at 12V with the same result.

 

I often mistake the green for something more yellowish--depending upon the light in the room.  Watch the sequence.  Red is distinct, orange is distinct, and what you get at the end will be different from the orange--that's "green."  

[kissov]

Alex,

You are correct, I stuck my head back there and the sequence goes to a yellowish green.  My applologies everything is nominal.  Gulp.

[MM]

I don't post very often but after upgrading from 2 x LPS 1's to 2 x LPS 1.2's I was very surprised by the change (it wasn't subtle).  I admit that when they arrived in the post I didnt install them for a few days because I wasn't overly excited about what I thought would be a marginal improvement.  I was wrong.

 

 It wasn't just the overall quality improvement (which was significant) but the change in so many different aspects of the listening experience - stronger bass, quieter background, a more three dimensional tangibility to the music (mover visceral).  The whole experience is now somehow different... 

 

It's made me wonder if only I could improve the power supply to my DAC (Holo Spring) and valve amplifier (Alo Audio Studio Six) maybe I would have similar results?  

 

We are so lucky to have companies like Uptone, Sonore and SGC - the value they bring is off the charts.

 

You've got to wonder where Uptone goes next...   

[azupan75]

Hi, 3 days ago I received Lps-1.2 which replaced my LPS-1 feeding mR and ultraDigital via Y split DC cable. For 3days everything was super, when LPS-1.2 suddenly stopped feeding current to hooked up mR & ultraDigital yet the light on LpS-1.2 was yellow which meant supplied original Smps properly fed the unit. When replaced with lps-1 everthying worked fine again. What could be the cause? Smps? I had trouble before with IFi smps which died on lps-1,but the led then was not lit yellow like in this case, and yes the power button is pressed in on lps-1.2 unit. Alex any ideas what could be wrong?

 

thanks 

Andy

[Superdad]

6 hours ago, azupan75 said:

LPS-1.2 suddenly stopped feeding current to hooked up mR & ultraDigital yet the light on LpS-1.2 was yellow which meant supplied original Smps properly fed the unit.

 

First thing to try is is to disconnect everything from the output of the LPS-1.2, power the unit off until the LED goes dark, and then power it on again--still with no devices connected to the output.  If you just had it on, it will take a while (as much as 2 minutes if it was just one) to first discharge (to go from red to orange).  Observe the LED during booting.  Does it go from red to orange and then to (yellowish) green?

 

If it makes it to green, then try attaching just the microRendu (assuming you have LPS-1.2 set to 7V) and then seeing if the microRendu boots (of course you have to have network cable attached as the Ethernet jack LEDs are the only indicators on a mR).

 

One important note about using the LPS-1.2 with the microRendu:  

The microRendu is the only device we have seen that does not like the few milliseconds of final voltage ramp time of the LT3045 regulators now used in the LPS-1.2.  That is, when the LPS-1.2 is charged up and turns on the output regs, the voltage does not go from zero to 7 volts instantaneously.  It takes a few thousandths of a second to ramp up for the first time--and the microRendu does not respond to this for some reason.  The solution is simply to first boot the LPS-1.2--all the way to green--with the microRendu not plugged into it--and to then plug the microRendu.

 

So there is a chance that the problem you are having is not at all with the LPS-1.2 itself--you may just need to reconnect power to the microRendu last.  Since you say your original LPS-1 has no problem with powering both the mR and the ultraDigital, it certainly is not an issue of over-current demand.

 

Please let us know what you discover after trying and considering the above.

Thanks,

--Alex C.

[Superdad]

12 hours ago, MM said:

It wasn't just the overall quality improvement (which was significant) but the change in so many different aspects of the listening experience - stronger bass, quieter background, a more three dimensional tangibility to the music (mover visceral).  The whole experience is now somehow different... 

 

NICE! 

 

12 hours ago, MM said:

We are so lucky to have companies like Uptone, Sonore and SGC - the value they bring is off the charts.

 

That is very kind of you to say.  Many thanks.

 

12 hours ago, MM said:

You've got to wonder where Uptone goes next...   

 

Oh boy do we ever have plans.   Some are near-term this year, others are much more sophisticated products that will take a couple of years to fully realize.  

But real sonic results and great value will ALWAYS be designed in!  John and I won't have it any other way! 

[look&listen]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

Real Sonic Results and Great Value

Fine slogan

or "Great Value for Real Sonic Results" ?

(sorry see too many commercials )

[azupan75]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

 

First thing to try is is to disconnect everything from the output of the LPS-1.2, power the unit off until the LED goes dark, and then power it on again--still with no devices connected to the output.  If you just had it on, it will take a while (as much as 2 minutes if it was just one) to first discharge (to go from red to orange).  Observe the LED during booting.  Does it go from red to orange and then to (yellowish) green?

 

If it makes it to green, then try attaching just the microRendu (assuming you have LPS-1.2 set to 7V) and then seeing if the microRendu boots (of course you have to have network cable attached as the Ethernet jack LEDs are the only indicators on a mR).

 

One important note about using the LPS-1.2 with the microRendu:  

The microRendu is the only device we have seen that does not like the few milliseconds of final voltage ramp time of the LT3045 regulators now used in the LPS-1.2.  That is, when the LPS-1.2 is charged up and turns on the output regs, the voltage does not go from zero to 7 volts instantaneously.  It takes a few thousandths of a second to ramp up for the first time--and the microRendu does not respond to this for some reason.  The solution is simply to first boot the LPS-1.2--all the way to green--with the microRendu not plugged into it--and to then plug the microRendu.

 

So there is a chance that the problem you are having is not at all with the LPS-1.2 itself--you may just need to reconnect power to the microRendu last.  Since you say your original LPS-1 has no problem with powering both the mR and the ultraDigital, it certainly is not an issue of over-current demand.

 

Please let us know what you discover after trying and considering the above.

Thanks,

--Alex C.

Alex, here are some new observations. When powering on LPS-1.2 the colours turn from red to yellowgreen in less than 15s and when powering down instantaneously  from yellowgreen to red (no orange). I also noticed lps-1.2 is completely cold to the touch , which I’m guessing means ultracapacitors aren’t charging/ discharging at all. That is why I had suspicions of Smps failure yet cannot confirm it cause I don’t have any other compatible 7-24V (36w) charger. Nevertheless smps when plugged in an outlet has a green led light on as if operational (but is also cold to the touch). I don’t recall whether it should get warm or not when properly working. Of course I was unable to feed mR or uD separately with LPS-1.2 . uD has a red led which turns on immediately  when connected to lps-1, yet no light when connected to lps-1.2.   Smps is plugged into Aq Niagara 1000 which protects from voltage fluctuations so smps failure in such short time would seem odd.