Popular Post austinpop Posted April 18, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted April 18, 2018 10 minutes ago, R1200CL said: I think that is a link to over 300 pages. Do you have the exact post ? Here you go. This: https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?do=findComment&comment=763513 and this: https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?do=findComment&comment=797398 R1200CL, Jiffi32 and beautiful music 3 My Audio Setup Link to comment
Popular Post austinpop Posted September 17, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted September 17, 2018 Wise legal advice from @TheAttorney. Just kidding. Sooner or later, someone will try the M-Scaler (and TT2) with a topnotch PH power supply, and when they do, we want to hear their conclusions on SQ compared to the stock SMPS. str-1, beautiful music and Jiffi32 3 My Audio Setup Link to comment
austinpop Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 1 hour ago, paulhynes said: Jay’s review of the SR4 and the LPS-1.2 was very thorough and actually quite informative about the relative differences between the two power supplies. Of particular interest were the mains cord test results. It was obvious that the “never connected to the mains” technique of the LPS-1.2 was worthwhile as it was reducing the effect of mains cords to a very low level. Any residual differences he noticed were likely just due to stray coupling within and around the power supply. The energy required by the equipment the power supply energises, has the Ultracap bank as it’s ultimate energy source, and this would usually be much cleaner than the mains. This just left the overall performance of the power supply on display and this performance was certainly very good, even with a relatively low quality mains cord. The reason I do not provide mains cords with the SR4 is that historically the vast majority of my customers have preferred to use their own favourite after market upgrade mains cords rather than a generic bog standard off the shelf mains lead. There would be no point in supplying a basic mains cord that would be unused. Jay was aware of this and it encouraged him to experiment with feeding the SR4 with different mains leads and he has reported his findings accordingly. He found that the performance of the SR4 using the low cost mains cord supplied with the LPS-1.2 was restricted by the mains cord quality. The fact that he was able to elevate the performance of the SR4 noticeably above that of the LPS-1.2 by selection of the mains cord is valuable and I see this as a useful upgrade path without having to purchase a new power supply. The overall cost is higher but so is the performance. This is a known upgrade path with mains connected equipment. If customers are on a budget, and have no intention of further expenditure upgrading, then either of the two power supplies are valid choices, depending on personal presentation preferences. However for those wanting a relatively simple upgrade path via a mains cord upgrade, now or in the future, then the SR4 would allow this and Jay has provided some option information. DC leads can also be upgraded to improve overall performance further. Yes I agree that was a very interesting and comprehensive review of Jay’s. Back when I first got the SR-4, I experimented with power cords. I found that stepping up to even a modest $50 Pangea AC-14SE MkII gave me a very noticeable SQ boost. But I haven’t gone further. Based on Jay’s review, I plan to try the experiment with a couple power cables in the $250-750 range I happen to have laying around, and will report back. I will say that even on the LPS-1.2, using a $50 Pangea on the SMPS made a small improvement for me. I’m at a point now where i “just say no” to stock power cords. I’ll start with a cheap Pangea and then make a per-component choice to spend more if the findings warrant. Works for me! str-1 1 My Audio Setup Link to comment
austinpop Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 From another HMS owner, I’ve been told it’s 5.5x2.8mm, but best to get Rob’s confirmation. My Audio Setup Link to comment
Popular Post austinpop Posted September 24, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted September 24, 2018 13 hours ago, austinpop said: Yes I agree that was a very interesting and comprehensive review of Jay’s. Back when I first got the SR-4, I experimented with power cords. I found that stepping up to even a modest $50 Pangea AC-14SE MkII gave me a very noticeable SQ boost. But I haven’t gone further. Based on Jay’s review, I plan to try the experiment with a couple power cables in the $250-750 range I happen to have laying around, and will report back. I will say that even on the LPS-1.2, using a $50 Pangea on the SMPS made a small improvement for me. I’m at a point now where i “just say no” to stock power cords. I’ll start with a cheap Pangea and then make a per-component choice to spend more if the findings warrant. Works for me! Well, the stars aligned, and I was able to do this comparison tonight. Let's dive in. My chain - PSUs shown in parentheses: TLS OCXO switch (LPS-1.2) > SOtM sNH-10G switch (LPS-1.2) > Zenith SE > tX-USBultra (SR-4) > Ayre QX-5 Twenty DAC Don't ask why I have 2 switches - it's just the current state of my system! Since I varied power cables on the SR-4 powering the tX-USBultra, here is the power chain to the SR-4: Main 200A breaker panel > 6 gauge dedicated circuit > modded Hubbell outlet > P5 regenerator > <power cord under test> > SR-4 The test tracks I used was from something I'm listening on Qobuz: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos - Concerto Italiano. I tried these 3 power cables: Pangea AC-14SE MkII ($49/1m) Cardas M Power ($250/1m, bought on sale from Audio Advisor) Cardas Clear ($720/1m) First off, I will just stipulate that I had already heard a substantial improvement going from a stock power cord (something from my stock cable bin) to the Pangea. Results Each step made a difference. Pangea to M Power: this was a noticeable but modest improvement. Bass seemed a bit tighter, music had more body and heft, and a hint smoother sounding. Based on this test alone, I would have said - yup, diminishing returns kicking in. M Power to Clear: this was a startlingly large improvement! Diminishing returns would have suggested a very modest gain, but this was a whole new ball game. Music became more dimensional and solid, bass tightened even further, and took on what I have started to call the Cardas glow - which is a completely incorrect label, because it connotes that the sound was colored. Rather, it is a combination of smoothness, even creaminess, but with an actual increase in resolution and detail. I always have a hard time describing this, but I've heard it with every Cardas Clear cable I've heard. So there you have it. Power cables do matter on the SR-4. But now what? I can't possibly recommend spending more on the power cable than the PSU itself. It offends my sense of balance. I can justify to myself spending 10-20% of a component's cost on a power cable, but more than 100%! Everybody has to decide for themselves. The way I think about it is - is an SR-4 with a $700 power cable better sounding than an SR-7 DRXL with a stock power cable? I haven't done that exact comparison, but having heard the SR-7 DRXL on my tX-USBultra, I'd have to say the SR-7 rail would win. So it boils down to 2 questions: does spending on a good power cable for the SR-4 result in an SQ improvement? Absolutely. Jay's finding was spot on. Is it the best use of your $$$ compared to other optimizations? Hard to say. It depends, and only you can weight the cost/benefit. auricgoldfinger, str-1, nekoaoyama and 3 others 2 2 2 My Audio Setup Link to comment
Popular Post austinpop Posted September 24, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted September 24, 2018 1 hour ago, rickca said: Isn't a better DC lead more important than a better AC cord? Only one way to find out. Somebody try it and fill out this matrix with an SQ score: stock DC cable hi-end DC cable stock power cable hi-end power cable I'm curious too which improvement is more bang for the buck. look&listen and johndoe21ro 2 My Audio Setup Link to comment
Popular Post austinpop Posted March 28, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2019 You know you're an audiophile when... ...you become a Brexit expert to predict GBP-USD fluctuations to pick the perfect day to pay for your next SR4/SR7. DuckToller, Elon, Jud and 1 other 4 My Audio Setup Link to comment
austinpop Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, auricgoldfinger said: I hope you timed it well. No sane person can predict what goes on in the House of Commons. 😛 I just went ahead and paid! dctom 1 My Audio Setup Link to comment
Popular Post austinpop Posted March 14, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted March 14, 2020 Injecting some My Cousin Vinny humor here: Q: What kind of equipment did you use to find this out? A: I used a Hewlett-Packard 5710-A dual-column gas chromatograph with flame analyzation detectors. Q: Uh-huh. Is that thing turbo-charged? A: Only on the floor models. Here’s the audiophile version: Q: What kind of equipment did you use to find this out? A: I used a Paul Hynes SR-4 quad voltage selector Linear Power Supply with fine silver leads. Q: Uh-huh. Is that thing turbo-charged? A: Only on the 2020 models. kennyb123, spotforscott and Superdad 3 My Audio Setup Link to comment
Popular Post austinpop Posted April 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 29, 2020 Embarrassingly, I cannot get the fuse holder of the SR-4 open. I see it next to the IEC inlet, but cannot seem to open it. Even tried saying “Open Sesame.” No dice. Any hints? The Computer Audiophile and johndoe21ro 2 My Audio Setup Link to comment
austinpop Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 1 hour ago, internethandle said: I know what you mean! It definitely was the hardest to open of that IEC inlet style of fuse holder that I've encountered. I eventually got it with a kitchen butter knife, although I think the right size of flat head screwdriver would also work, mine were just too large. I think it was so difficult because it has an unusually beefy cradle for the fuse inside the inlet that grips the fuse pretty tight. Do you have to pry outward from the little tab facing the inlet cavity? And does the holder just slide out? My Audio Setup Link to comment
austinpop Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 4 hours ago, internethandle said: It did take enough force that the holder flew out and onto the floor when I got it open, so be a bit careful (not that there's much to damage). Thanks for the picture. I did finally get it to pop out, with a similar flight onto a carpeted floor! I popped in an SR Orange fuse, and so far, like what I'm hearing. My Audio Setup Link to comment
Popular Post austinpop Posted March 18, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 18, 2021 1 hour ago, Apmusson said: Hi, Great to see some familiar names in this forum @austinpop@str-1@TheAttorney I'm thinking of buying a PH PSU. I currently own a couple of Sbooster Mkii powering my Chord Hugo 2 in desktop mode and my Mscaler. I'm thinking that an SR4T or SR5T or an SR7 might provide a good jump in sound quality but am really struggling to get any idea from the internet. Usually I can find good reports and comparisons but I'm at a loss: Is the SR4T any improvement in the SR4? Is the SR5 or SR5T a big improvement in the SR4 or SR4T? I saw the audio bacon review but a few of you guys seem to have owned a few of these PSUs. Any advice for one confused potential purchaser? Happy for a PM if you'd prefer. Thanks Ade Hi Ade, I have written so many posts about PSUs and their comparisons, that I would have to do the same search I am recommending you do in this forum. Here is an example: https://audiophilestyle.com/search/?&q=hynes&type=forums_topic&author=austinpop&search_and_or=and&sortby=newest In general: the primary feature that improves/increases going from SR4/SR5/SR7 is current capacity. Additionally, the SQ of Paul's PSUs increase, going up from SR4 to SR5 to SR7. I have not heard the SR5 line at all. Turbo reportedly sounds better. I have not owned a Turbo, but I fully expect this to be the case The SR7 DR (dual regulated) is Paul's custom line, and not easily available Which is right for you is dependent on what you plan to use it for, and your budget. Apmusson and R1200CL 2 My Audio Setup Link to comment
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