Best 12/19v power supply choice for AL/NUC?

[davide256]

I've been through a bit of evolution recently with my AL/NUC setup. Originally I was using an AMD PC as AL Roon  server with  NUC 7PJYH/LPS 1.2 as AL Roon endpoint,

had set asidea MR/ISO Regen endpoint solution as not as good/helpful. Then a recent comment by @Superdad caused me to realize  I had always tested using

the ISO Regen with 5vUSB replace switch enabled; apparently that breaks galvanic isolation? Anyway, I've found that I now prefer using the NUC7PJYH as AL Roon server

with USB3 attached SDXC media, adding in the ISO Regen powered by the LPS1.2 for USB out; it retains the harmonic correctness of an AL solution but improves on treble clarity

for percussion.... no "rounding" effect on transient edges. What this did require for AL/NUC changes to get best sound was(1) enable speed step in BIOS,

(2) set current allowed to max in BIOS (3) run AL from boot in extreme 2 mode.

 

Sadly the LPS 1.2 doesn't have the juice to run  even a 7PJYH in this config and certainly would be problematic with better (more current hungry) processor models.

 

I'd like to move on to the 7I7BNH eventually but for now my next step is to get  another 12/19V power supply that I could use instead with either NUC or MZ2 pre, something

with about 4A of current. The candidates I know of are SoTM SPS500,  Uptone Audio JS-2, HDPlex 200W.

 

Anyone done/seen a shootout of  which PS performs best for a 1 box AL/NUC Roon solution?

[Dutch]

11 minutes ago, davide256 said:

I'd like to move on to the 7I7BNH eventually

 

Most good results are reported for the nuc7i7DN’xx’ so “be careful”.

[greenleo]

In terms of SQ, probably SR7 is the best with SR4 the 2nd according to this forum.  The delivery of these two products don't look promising according to the SR4 and SR7 thread, again in this sub-forum.  Please read it and make your decision.

 

HDPlex 200 was good according to some ASer's here.  HDPlex often has QC issues and this one is no exception.  Please search here.  Apart from this, the CP value of the HDPlex is pretty high, MPOV.

 

Hope this post helps.

[vassils]

I have a NUC, run Roon Server on it, and stream Roon to one of my streamers. Sometimes. That's not my primary source. The NUC is obviously not connected to my DAC. It's in another room, connected to a tweaked switch, and then I run fiber to my streamer. 

Did a quick experiment today and connected an Acopian A12MT400 linear power supply to the NUC. I was very surprised from the results in a quite positive way. That's a $300 12V@4A LPS that can be found on eBay for around $100. I have not experimented with any others, but the difference between the stock NUC SMPS and this Acopian LPS was quite significant. To be honest, the result surprised me, because this is an "isolated" (to some degree) server. As I said this is not my primary source, so I did not play too much and did not test any other LPS. My LPS1.2 could not power up the NUC even after disabling everything possible in the BIOS. 

If you find the Acopian LPS cheap on eBay it might be worth a try. 

[davide256]

On 3/23/2019 at 2:13 AM, vassils said:

I have a NUC, run Roon Server on it, and stream Roon to one of my streamers. Sometimes. That's not my primary source. The NUC is obviously not connected to my DAC. It's in another room, connected to a tweaked switch, and then I run fiber to my streamer. 

Did a quick experiment today and connected an Acopian A12MT400 linear power supply to the NUC. I was very surprised from the results in a quite positive way. That's a $300 12V@4A LPS that can be found on eBay for around $100. I have not experimented with any others, but the difference between the stock NUC SMPS and this Acopian LPS was quite significant. To be honest, the result surprised me, because this is an "isolated" (to some degree) server. As I said this is not my primary source, so I did not play too much and did not test any other LPS. My LPS1.2 could not power up the NUC even after disabling everything possible in the BIOS. 

If you find the Acopian LPS cheap on eBay it might be worth a try. 

Quality does matter... was never impressed with my 100w HDPlex linear power supply running the NUC. Since I already had a SoTM SPS500 powering preamp

I decided to use its original power supply and swap the SPS500 to power the NUC 7PJYH. The SPS500 could power the NUC fully, including use of speed step,

AL extreme 2 boot; however that sounded bad(shallow, harsh) compared to leaving speed step off and running AL boot as standard.

A very robust sound from the SPS500 but compared to using the LPS 1.2, details were getting lost.

 

Curiously enough it was a tossup in the end whether I would use the LPS 1.2 to power the NUC or to power my AL/PC server SDXC library media stack.

Using the LPS 1.2 with the media stack gave gobs more detail and intonation but the trade off of using another power supply on the NUC meant

caused harshness. For the moment the LPS 1.2 is back on the NUC while I consider buying an even better 3rd supply to allow more musical chairs in PS swapping.

[davide256]

3 hours ago, davide256 said:

Quality does matter... was never impressed with my 100w HDPlex linear power supply running the NUC. Since I already had a SoTM SPS500 powering preamp

I decided to use its original power supply and swap the SPS500 to power the NUC 7PJYH. The SPS500 could power the NUC fully, including use of speed step,

AL extreme 2 boot; however that sounded bad(shallow, harsh) compared to leaving speed step off and running AL boot as standard.

A very robust sound from the SPS500 but compared to using the LPS 1.2, details were getting lost.

 

Curiously enough it was a tossup in the end whether I would use the LPS 1.2 to power the NUC or to power my AL/PC server SDXC library media stack.

Using the LPS 1.2 with the media stack gave gobs more detail and intonation but the trade off of using another power supply on the NUC meant

caused harshness. For the moment the LPS 1.2 is back on the NUC while I consider buying an even better 3rd supply to allow more musical chairs in PS swapping.

FYI, now back to using 7PJYH as endpoint only....when I made the AMD PC the AL/Roonserver with SDXC media stack it retained all the virtues of having

SDXC media attached direct to NUC  as server/endpoint and allowed me to dial the power supply requirements for 7PJYH back to what the LPS 1.2 can handle.

[jjraffin]

Resurrecting this thread...

 

Can this NUC (8th Gen NUC Core i7-8559U 2.7 GHz, NUC8i7BEH) be powered by a 12v high amperage LPS? I have a JS-2 I’d like to use to power it.

 

The NUC is in a fanless case, and has a single M2 drive which will run Roon ROCK and the library. Only Ethernet connected, as the content is on a NAS on my network.

 

Before I get asked “try it”, the NUC arrives in a week.

[Holzohr]

5 hours ago, jjraffin said:

Resurrecting this thread...

 

Can this NUC (8th Gen NUC Core i7-8559U 2.7 GHz, NUC8i7BEH) be powered by a 12v high amperage LPS? I have a JS-2 I’d like to use to power it.

 

Yes. DC Input Voltage Supported: 12-19 VDC