The ultimate Power Supply Units for music servers (and other devices for cleaner power source)

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On 6/28/2019 at 4:55 PM, auricgoldfinger said:

The reason people patronize the two businesses you mention is their products sound significantly better than what is available from Uptone.

 

We are in the frankly bizarre situation where power supplies are being discussed as having a “sound”. The function of a power supply is to supply clean, unimpeded power, without noise. 

 

My goal is to eliminate sound from the components, and listen to the music. 

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On 6/28/2019 at 11:16 PM, sandyk said:

Not all systems sound the same, nor do all power supplies respond the same to sudden transient demands on current..

 

True. We should focus on the failings of the equipment being supplied then. A Class A design will have less fluctuation in current draw. A balanced design might have zero fluctuation in current draw! 

Everything can be balanced including digital logic. Constant current design is a thing. 

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On 6/28/2019 at 5:25 PM, Chopin75 said:

isolate the music server is one way but isolation may have its draw back. I chucked away my ifi Igalvanic as it tends to "color" the sound.  Currently I just use an optical USB cable from Corning that does the galvanic isolation without reclocking, seems to work better.

 

I have one. unfortunately not anything similar to fiberoptic Ethernet which is extraordinarily good isolation. Fiberoptic Ethernet isn’t just about fiberoptic, rather the super high grade electronics (including clocks)  and transducers. 

 

On 6/28/2019 at 5:25 PM, Chopin75 said:

I think getting rid of the source of the problem is more effective. Besides, isolating the music server would not solve the dirty  current and noise already inside the music server. If there is less noise feeding into the server in the first place, that would be better than trying to filter out the noise downstream

Hence we should work from upstream, starting with hospital grade receptacle at the wall. ( I have not bothered doing that yet since I am renting right now)

 

 

 

As Ive said elsewhere, the bitstream transmitted across a 10G Ethernet link is required to have very low jitter — it has to fit inside a very very tight eye pattern — there’s no room for noise. As long as the system is working as specified, the server is isolated. 

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13 minutes ago, davide256 said:

Power supplies don't have a sound per se... but their imperfections excite problems in downstream equipment weaknesses. Which can lead to "upgrade-itis" over a problem that

a better power supply wouldn't excite or  better designed power input circuitry for the device wouldn't expose.

Agreed!

 

Realize that if the device isn't designed with its own onboard power supply, that corners have been cut elsewhere. Thats fine, but a decent power supply should sound equal in this situation i.e. a "Hynes" vs "Uptone" ought not "transform" the sound ... if this is really the case then the system could be even more transformed with well designed components.

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11 minutes ago, Jud said:

Nice, but not a panacea. Considerations include noise associated with opto-electrical conversion, and whatever noise is kicked back into the mains by the units doing the conversion at each end.

 

Nothing is a panacea. That said, consider a power supply is like a road that the active electrical components drive on. Imagine noise being kicked back into the mains, as like pebbles being strewn out my the motor. Now imagine how a vehicle traveling at the equivalent of 400 Gbe would crash and burn if struck by such pebbles! Seems like those converters are able to handle the specified smoothness of the track

 

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On 7/30/2019 at 6:56 AM, George Hincapie said:

 

*Bump again*

 

Come on guys; not a difficult question. I have two providers lined up, but I don't want to drop £1000 on a LPSU if it makes no difference. Your personal experiences please?

 

The answer in my experience and trials is that the sever PSU makes absolutely zero difference (given a reasonable SMPS ATX supply). Zero.

 

That said my servers are not electrically connected to my audio system.

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1 hour ago, Ralf11 said:

Thanks.  I hope anyone who has either listening tests

 

Are you interested & willing to conduct such a study? 

 

1 hour ago, Ralf11 said:

or a valid electronic explanation will report it or publish their study. 

 

Valid electronic explanations of why server PSUs don’t affect music streamed across good networks have been repeatedly given. 

 

1 hour ago, Ralf11 said:

 

We need to get past the phenomenological

 

Audio appreciation is ultimately phenomenological 

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17 minutes ago, sandyk said:

 

That does NOT mean that they are necessarily correct, and those findings are at a variance with a large number of posters in Rajiv's thread.

 

I’ve no idea. I’ve never seen a coherent explanation of why a server PSU could affect the audio that passes across my network — hint: my network is designed to scrub & polish the bits that fly across it.

 

That said I haven’t heard of anyone contradicting the specific tests that I’ve done eg comparing various 10Gbe, 40Gbe and even a 100Gbe server NICs. (No SQ differences in those either)

 

Quote

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 Your Subjective reports are no more valid than those of numerous posters in that thread.

 

Thats the problem with subjective reports.

They never are definitive and most often biased.

 

As long as you are having a good old time it’s fine for entertainment. That’s why we are here. Keep it up!

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15 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

 

Yes

The life changing tweak of the week folks won’t care. Whatever you test will be obsolete before anyone could even read it  

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11 minutes ago, sandyk said:

How are you able to verify this without a direct comparison using the original file vs. your file through the exact same equipment chain ?

 

Dude, no files to compare. Just a bitstream. I am saying that noise from the server doesn’t cross into the audio system. Let’s not get metaphysical or wander off topic. No noise or lack thereof in a server PSU affects the audio stream which enters the audio system.

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12 hours ago, Chopin75 said:

So please do not mislead readers who may not even have network isolation.

 

Perhaps I’m old fashioned but when you use the term “server” in the title of the thread, that implies there is a client, hence network. 

 

12 hours ago, Chopin75 said:

 It is my belief that a clean power source is better than trying to clean up downstream. Those who disagree here should not really be discussing here, as this is the wrong thread.

 

So you are looking to make a proclamation and the only responders are intended to be people who agree with your beliefs. Nice.

 

In my world, I use different power supplies for different applications. 

 

Carry on.