The Paul Hynes SR4 PSU

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2 hours ago, Dutch said:

Anyone know where your order would end up now (March, April, May, ...) if you would order today and which months batch SR4’s he is sending out right now (if any)?

 

Same question. I’m awaiting a reply to an email to Paul sent the other day. 

 

Btw, any thoughts about whether to go with the copper or silver cable? My interest in the SR4 is to hook into an iFi SPDIF iPurifier. It’s on the end of a beautifully warm Purist Audio Neptube coax run from a modified Oppo 203 to a DirectStream dac. The iFi connection requres a micro USB connector, which I’d need for the SR4 cable or have to go with the cheap adapter I have now (2.5 mm to micro USB adapters are not readily available). For the moment, I have an old Audio Tech Kora LPS hooked to the iFi, which is both telling me the SQ possibilities of a better LPS, while also the potential downside of the wrong one - much less warmth and a dry sound that make everything seem like it was tuned in a different key.

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Nice to hear Paul is clearing back orders. I’m on the April list...and hoping. In the meantime, I’ve been surprised how well a Core Audio Tech Kora LPS that I formerly used on my desktop system with a JCAT card has done powering an iFi spdif iPurifier between a modded Oppo 203 and a Directstream dac.

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On 3/15/2018 at 2:55 PM, Emcee said:

What's supposed to happen after burn in? Mine is two weeks old and there doesn't appear to be any noticeable difference.

Maybe there is but my human brain can't remember how it sounded out of the box.

Besides loudspeakers physically loosening up I always wondered how much of the perceived change is burn in and how much is our ears adapting.

But we don't want to go ''there'' (again) now do we?

 

 

Give it at least three to four weeks, alternating with some down time. I have a piece that's still improving at two months. Also, the Audio Bacon review noted that the power cord used with the SR4, and where it is plugged in, made a big difference. That aside, equipment being sufficient, it really involves one's sense of pitch. That is, to what degree is one's sense of relative pitch absolute, so to speak, independent of "getting used to it." From having been around music from a young age and played classical piano for a number of years growing up, I'm somewhat lucky in that regard, but we all vary, and some have a much better sense than mine.

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My experience is isolation is always better. But if space is limited, or even not, try super gluing Iso-Nodes on both. If you do, order by foot size not weight, and add in a neoprene washers in between. Music Direct has best price on the mid size iso-nodes, 19.95 or so a set of four, last time I checked. Alternatively, you could try those cheap small foam blocks with a rubber cover found on eBay. I found the iso-nodes to be far superior sonically.

 

Btw, in his write up, Paul mentions the user option of changing the fuse to one of the audiophile brands. My guess based on experience with other components is that there is a lot to be gained there (my favorite, based on comparisons, is the pricey Audio Magic beeswax ultimate). If one thinks of a fuse as a very short power cord (and accepts that power cords make a difference), it makes sense.

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Anyone with an April production date heard anything yet? I wrote Paul a couple of times earlier this month about the cable part of my order and didn’t get a response.

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3 hours ago, greenleo said:

Don't worry.  It's too early as usual and please check other threads as well.

 

Uncalled for. And specifically which other threads?

 

Production is ostensibly scheduled for the last 10 days of the month, and the last we heard in February Paul was catching up that month on back orders. At the time I ordered, Paul answered emails within minutes to two or three days, so his lack of response in April about the specifics of an order - whether or not to alter something - raises fair question about where things stand, reminiscent of last year. Plus, there's no law of physics, biology or anything else that assures our orders, or even return of several hundred dollars paid. So there's good reason to be wondering about possibilities, as well as about how putting everything on hold for this order and its sound effects is influencing other decisions.

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3 hours ago, Dutch said:

For those who missed Paul’s post April 4th in the SR7 topic: 

 

The last time I was in contact with Paul (about a SR4 order and SR7 module replacement) was April 2nd. I didn’t try after this date.

 

 

Thanks for posting that. Not sure why he didn’t post that here too, but now we know what’s going on, probably why no responses and where to keep an eye on.

 

@greenleo  Actually, you didn’t post any facts. A link, or even the name of a specific thread, would have saved us all some time.

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Again, uncalled for. There's no reason to post "don't worry," unless one explains specifically or provides a specific source, e.g., a link, to what's being referred to. Saying that one should have looked elsewhere or that everyone who reads the forum knows, or that's the nature of the business, does not in my opinion fall under appropriate internet courtesy. At least, that's not the way I treat others.

 

Btw, I ordered knowing of the problems and delays that occurred last year, having read the thread, but hopeful that there wouldn't be a delay, or much of one, since PH said he intended to catch up in February. In my years involved with high end audio equipment, about 40 now, I've been fortunate in rarely having production delayed much beyond expected dates, and then always with notices, while occasionally unfortunate in receiving equipment that needed more time in development before being pushed out the door. 

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Someone on the SR7 thread reported having received SR4s yesterday, although he hasn’t specified which month he was scheduled (yet). If anyone receives theirs, please let us know and include that info, so the rest of us can get our bearings. Thanks,

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On 2/21/2018 at 12:18 PM, octaviars said:

Got my SR4 today. After the first one was lost by UPS in december and Paul had to ship a new one it finally arrived with DHL today.

 

Some pictures of it.

 

 

 

Have it connected to my SOtM SMS Ultra now and will give it a couple of days to burn in.

 

 

 

 

Ayone know if that 1A slow-blow fuse spec is for both voltages or just 230? 

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On 6/15/2019 at 11:16 AM, highstream said:

 

Anyone know if that 1A slow-blow fuse spec is for both voltages or just 230? 

 

Paul says 1A works for both voltages.

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In Paul's description of the SR4, he doesn't include a power (mains) cord, instead suggesting that a higher quality audio  oriented cord will improve LPS' sound. I'm using a PS Audio AC-12, which I have throughout my system. I'm posting this note, however, to suggest consideration of something more.

 

With the SR4 and Paul's silver cable plugged into an iFi spdif purifier at my DirectStream dac, the tone warmed up, became more detailed and improved in most other ways vs. the Kora LPS I'd been using. After 10 days of burn in, which is admittedly shorter than my usual practice, I decided to take another step and swap in an Audio Magic Ultimate Beeswax fuse. That's the same fuse I use in the dac and ATC active floorstanders. The slight thinness/edginess and reduced dynamics I was hearing with the stock fuse were soon replaced by a much smoother, somewhat warmer, liquid and more dynamic sound. That's only gotten better over time, now 12 days or roughly 300 hours in. Yes, I know the AM fuse is among the more expensive ones (Kitsune does discount it), but I've long found aftermarket audio fuses do make a difference; after all, they are in effect an extension of the power cord, and thus help determine the quality of what reaches a component's power supply, and thus what the electronic circuits the power supply feeds get. Different fuses have different audio qualities, and I've found SQ doesn't necessarily correlate with price, so to each their own sound preferences and budget. I like the AM fuse over the popular SR Black because in my living room system I've found that not withstanding the SR's amazing PRAT, it's tonally on the cool (aka "neutral") side, which drives me batty. 

 

Note that I'm not looking to start a debate here about fuses (or power cords), just tossing out an idea for those who might be interested in experimenting.

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As much as I disliked the SR Black fuses in my living room system, I recently realized that there are still a pair in the Quad 12L actives on my desktop, and those sound great. I don't know why, but perhaps the warmth of the Quads is overcoming the effect of the fuses, or it's that I'm running the speakers directly from the mobo with a combination of an OEM computer cord and MG Audio Design silver balanced ICs. I doubt it's the difference in fuse amp values, as my living room system has different ones.

 

Btw, anyone wanting lower cost suggestions for fuses to try, feel free to PM me.

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In the States, I’ve been using a 1A ultimate beeswax at 5V, and even 12V mistakenly for a bit, with great results and no problems with an SR4. What’s not commonly discussed or known is that developers almost invariably specify a fuse size that is well beyond what is actually needed. They do this to take into account what they can’t control: the wide variety of electrical and audio systems being used, and the wide variety of user behavior. Plus, an electrical surge is going to quickly take out most any fuse within reason. If they didn’t oversize, they’d be getting lots of complaints and returns. So I expect you'd be perfectly safe with Paul’s recommendation. I’ve long used 3.15A fuses in Quad actives that call for 2A, and at least for awhile SR fuse users were unofficially told to go high because their fuses were blowing in some systems at the rated value.

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58 minutes ago, str-1 said:

Thanks.  I’ve been thinking about trying a Beeswax fuse for some time.  I was hoping they had someone in the UK dealing in their fuses, but apparently not.  I imagine the Beeswax fuse improved over the stock in many areas but where there any tonal changes.  I’ve read that Beeswax fuses have a warm signature, and I’m not sure I want my SR4 to be much warmer.

 

I agree with audicgf's appraisal of the beeswax -- modestly warm, liquid and smooth -- and you could contact Jerry at Audio Magic directly about buying one; he uses PP.  Or Kitsune Hi Fi near Seattle, which gives $20 off.  However the idea of trying a SR Blue on 30-day is not a bad one, if available. In my system, pre-SR4, I found the Blue has great PRAT, but once I got past that found that its tonal coolness ("neutrality") left me wanting to thrown my kit out the window. I like warm, not syrupy but the kind that draws me in emotionally so that I'm listening to the music, not the system.

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Got my ATC active speakers when the GBP was1.21 three years ago. Btw, while the price for Paul's silver power cord is good, I've found the Zenwave Audio one (custom but common build) has a lot better and warmer tonal balance without losing clarity. I think he uses one of the better Furutech copper wires (NRG?). The only downside for me was he doesn't install micro-USB connecters, so I've had to go with an adapter, which has to be reminded of its place every once in awhile.

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With the SR4 placed on its feet, anyone have an idea which way current runs through the fuse, top down or bottom up? 

 

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SR says their Orange fuse is directional in the sense of the letters. For convenience, not having to move things around two or three times, I wanted to start there. The sonic difference is obvious.

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Thanks. Using an ohm meter, with leads on the live prong and checking each side of the fuse clip, that’s what I found too. However, with the SR inserted that way, the music sounded more image precise but screechy. The other way was more open and relaxed. That suggests the label was misapplied, which if so was the second like that in this batch of three. The only caveat to that conclusion is the assumption, based on experience with directional fuses, that the sound difference can be heard when new, and doesn’t require each direction being burned in.

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Yes, there is an apparent contradiction between AC current theory and aftermarket fuse users’ listening observations, which I know from my own experience are valid. At a PS Audio forum thread I initiated over the weekend, Directstream designer Ted Smith weighs in how this could be the case, namely gears’ internal designs. But that leaves unanswered the question why, or on what basis, SR is claiming directionality across gear designs. Here’s the thread: https://forum.psaudio.com/t/current-flow-fuse-direction/15203/32

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In response to the questions about the SR4 cable options, I went with the silver one to power an iFi spdif iPurifier and found it cool and bright in my system. Sufficiently so that I had ZenWave Audio build me a copper one, using a good quality Furutech version, their Neotech I think. The improvement in warmth and tonal balance was substantial. The downsides were that it was about double the cost and, unlike Paul, Dave at ZWA didn't want to deal with micro-USB connectors, which the iFi takes, so I had to go with an adapter off eBay. Paul's assistant wrote me last August that they were considering the better Furutech wire for their copper version, but I don't know what came of that.

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I agree. Forgot to mention that I’ve been using a PS Audio AC-12 power cord with the SR4, and in taking advantage of Shunyata’s 3-for-2 Xmas time fuse special, put an SR Orange in it too. I haven’t isolated the latter for listening purposes, but if it’s like the dac and preamp they went into, the improvement would likely be noticeable, tho probably less relative the those.

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I asked about an upgrade path to the T. Paul says not possible starting with January production. Has to do with the design of the batch boards.

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Is the Turbo version also multi voltage?

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Yes, Paul's silver cable is definitely on the cooler side. I had Zenwave Audio build me a copper cable using good Furutech wire that was much better (warmer, more involving). Downside was unlike Paul, Dave at ZA didn't want to install a micro USB connector directly, so I have to use an adapter, which is not perfectly stable.