Sean Jacobs (Custom HiFi Cables) DC3/4

[adamaley]

I'm giddily anticipating the arrival of a Sean Jacobs DC4 LPS to power a newly built audio server. I've scoured the web for impressions on this power supply, but they are quite scarce. Sean was kind enough to point me to impressions from a recent customer on hifiwigwam where the reception to a high end LPS wasn't quite welcoming by the objective majority there.

 

I was quite surprised that googling Sean Jacobs DC4 fails to point you to their website, and rather, the more nondescript customhificables.co.uk is where they digitally reside?  I was similarly surprised  that there isn't a dedicated thread here ( at least I couldn't fine one) for his products. I know there are current users of his power supplies here, and would love for them to whet my appetite with their various  DC3 and DC4 experiences. I promise to do the same in good time.

[magnuska]

Hello!

 

Sean J makes some really good powersupplies and a lot more. I have his large silver powercable for example. Yesterday I ordered my second DC-3 with dual rails . Will replace a DC-2 and a Paul Hynes SR4. Will be ready in July though.

I have tried many brands of powersupplies during the years like Teddy Pardo, sotm sps-500, HD-plex, Uptone LPS.1 and ATL audio. I can say that I now  have found for me the best supplies and the best service from Sean J one could expect. 

I was also considering getting the DC-4 but too costly for me at the moment, maybe one day😀

Please report once you receive it!

/Magnus

[Blackmorec]

I’d like to contribute my experience with SJ Supplies, although this will involve repeating some stuff I’ve already posted. 

 

My first experience with Sean’s work came when I implemented an Innuos Zenith MkII SE. I was frankly blown away by the results I obtained with the addition of this server. At the time the SE was getting rave reviews from DIY cognoscenti, who were building SoTA servers, so if they were happy with the results I reasoned I would be too.  I was using the SE for both local and remote streaming and ended up preferring both internally stored CD rips and Qobuz sourced 16/44.1 files to my Michell Orbe/SME IV Ortofon Cadenza Black. The same DIY ‘experts’ were starting to implement USB reclocking devices like the SoTM TX-USBUltra and switches such as the AQVox and AQVox SE, so as a first step in optimizing my network stream I ordered an AQVox SE. The unit arrived with a wall wart SMPS and the warning that it had been engineered specifically for the SE and replacing it with superior LPSs had proven to be futile and a retrograde step in SQ. The SE brought a sufficiently large step in SQ to justify its inclusion in my system in that it did add some detail and improved soundstage focus. At this point my system was sounding tremendous....extremely rhythmical and with SOTA pace, rhythm and timing. It was incredibly involving and I could listen for hours without any fatigue. Essentially it did nothing I didn’t like, so I became a little cautious in making any major changes, but given all the positive vibes around reclocking the USB output I obtained a TX-USBUltra with SPs500 SMPS and a couple of high quality USB cables. Long story short this was a downgrade IN MY SYSTEM and I returned everything to the dealer who kindly sent another unit with the standard no-frills SMPS. This also proved to be a retrograde step but one thing i did discover was that simply plugging in the SMPS into my dedicated mains was the reason for the deterioration in SQ. Interesting! It became clear that my system did not appreciate SMPSs, which switched the spotlight back to the AQVox and its warty PS.  I wondered what a better LPS could achieve and given that Sean Jacobs had designed and built the 3 LPSs in the Zenith SE I ordered one of his DC2s with standard capacitors. The unit duly arrived and provided 5V to the AQVox SE. How to describe the sound?  Jaw dropping would probably be the most appropriate. The opening bars of my first test track evoked a string of expletives. The improvement was huge....simply lots more of everything I liked and loved about the Zenith SE. The ‘family’ resemblance was crystal clear. Like the Zenith SE and you’ll love SJs LPSs. In fact the unit was so good I got rid of it. If this is what a DC2 sounded like, then how would a DC3 with Mundorfs sound. In a word, great! Again lots more of everything I loved. The level of listener involvement was off the scale....the rhythmic drive, the interplay between musicians brilliant. You can talk about all the usual hi-fi attributes but its far easier to summarise the performance in terms of greater musicality, greater rhythmic bounce and vitality, more music, more fun.  After this experience I went on to add DC3s to modem, router and access point and each time I was rewarded with substantial gains, far beyond what you’d expect from replacing a modem or router power supply.  There’s no doubt that some of the improvement comes from removing cheap and crappy SMPSs from the data stream but there’s far more to it than that. SJ’s power supplies add a liveliness, a vibrancy, a musicality that moves the whole presentation in the direction of live music. Its engaging in the extreme, evoking huge emotional response.....whether the music is heartwarming or sad, movingly beautiful, suspenseful, joyously vibrant or bounce-you-out-of-your-chair rhythmical it communicates with huge gusto....that, sonic purity and musicality are the overwhelming sonic qualities of Sean’s power supplies.

 

[Blackmorec]

1 hour ago, Blackmorec said:

Duplicate

 

 

[adamaley]

@magnuska I'll definitely report back once everything burns in. I'm happy to hear you are enjoying your DC 3. I am thinking about going down that route eventually for the ancillary network components closest to the DAC. I was under the impression the DC 3 could only have a single output. It's always great when one component replaces two- you get to save on power cords.

 

@Blackmorec I've always enjoyed your writing - thanks for breaking down your journey and impressions of Sean's products. Thanks for making my wait more unbearable;-)

 

I myself have gone through a gamut of linear power supplies: LPS 1, LPS 1.2, JS-2, Sonore Signature Rendu LPS, and now Farad Super3s. Each step brought significant improvements and a realization that power is the most critical aspect of a networked digital chain. 

 

I must also add how responsive and accommodating Sean has been throughout my ordering/build process. 

[adamaley]

Here are some more impressions from the wam:

 

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/141102-sean-jacobs-dc4-lps-powering-my-dave-and-mscaler/

[magnuska]

1 hour ago, adamaley said:

@magnuska I'll definitely report back once everything burns in. I'm happy to hear you are enjoying your DC 3. I am thinking about going down that route eventually for the ancillary network components closest to the DAC. I was under the impression the DC 3 could only have a single output. It's always great when one component replaces two- you get to save on power cords.

must also add how responsive and accommodating Sean has been throughout my ordering/build process. 

Thank you! Yes you can have up to 2 rails on the standard DC-3 enclosure. He also builds custom builds in a wider case to accomodate even more rails. So will you power only one item with your DC-4? He can do up to 3 outputs on that too. If you are considering powering ancillary components as you say.😀 The modules are galvanically isolated from each other. And in my case powering the Etherregen with one 12 v rail, he also suggested adding a grounding terminal on the DC-3 for connecting a wire between them, very convienent and good service. 

[Blackmorec]

There is actually more to the story and some future plans I’d like to get some feedback on. 

 

I left my system above with an Innuos Zenith SE kicking some serious ass. With the upgraded, optimised network I now had SJ power supplies from Modem to USB output and I was more that delighted with the result, which I considered to be some of the best sound I’d ever heard, anywhere. Clearly I could do better if I upgraded my room to a custom build and my speakers to some of Magico’s top of the range but why bother when every listening session was such a complete and total pleasure? The only thing was, my analog system was utterly redundant. Not as dynamic, not as rhythmical, not as holographic, not as pure, as transparent and without the ability to utterly grab your attention, it was no longer worth all the messing around with record and stylus cleaning or just handling vinyl records and super delicate styli in general.  When Innuos announced the release of the Statement I didn’t hesitate and traded in both the Zenith SE and the Michell. I kept the Zenith until the Statement delivered. For me the appeal of the Statement was in the engineering.  Specifically designed to minimize EMI and RFI, with in-house developed, SQ optimised InnuOS Op System, and genuinely genius topology for the clocks, customized MOBO and SJ designed power supplies, I believed the Statement to be a major step forward in server technology and I wasn’t wrong.  While the Zenith SE did everything right and lacked nothing in terms of SQ and was, in my opinion an almost perfect product for its price, the Statement added a whole plethora of musical qualities. The way that musicians played together was enhanced, subtle rhythmic interplays and nuances revealed and most difficult of all to describe, the genius and unique talent of musicians showcased as never before. The soundstage ceased to be a soundstage and became a recording venue or soundscape created by master recording engineers. Some soundscapes were like firework displays in terms of how sounds flew around, bloomed and decayed. Simple notes became glorious essays of percussive pinpoint source, bloom then directional decay into distant inky blackness.  Then I added some Chord individually screened umbillicals and yet another level of detail was revealed, notes sounding like they were ‘made by’ rather than ‘coming from’ instruments, the listener able to sense the trumpet or saxophone horns, the body of the guitar, the subtle mouth noises of singers, the ‘collectiveness’ of massed strings. I knew DC cables could make a difference, so I followed Nenon’s advice and tried some Ghent Audio Neotech UPOCC JSSG360’s, which again brought improvements in the focus and specificity of instruments. Indeed they brought such significant SQ improvements that I decided to take more of Nenon’s advice and try his Mundorf Silver/Gold JSSG360 cables . The result of this was to make my system spookily holographic with a level of transparency and purity I have never heard before. My system now transports the listener to fully developed recording venue or studio created soundscape that is totally and completely independent of the listening room, whose dimensions are no longer part of the sonic equation. The contradiction between visual and auditory is now so immense that you can only listen with eyes closed. The reason I mention all this is to give an appreciation of what happens when you improve your DC supplies. Normally, as a system improves, those improvements in SQ get harder and harder to come by. This does not seem to be the case with digital DC supplies. The better and more revealing my system gets, the greater the contribution of each improvement.  Frankly. Its hard to understand (at least for me) why a DC cable to a network switch should even be audible let alone make a night and day difference, until you consider that what a network switch is doing is actually modulating the DC power to create an analog representation of zeroes and ones. In that scenario, anything riding within the DC power is going to become part of the digital feed, to then interact with clocks and DAC’s. It therefore seems logical that the higher the DCs quality, the better the SQ. If you follow this concept, then it’s also perfectly logical for a better DC supply or cable to have a major effect on SQ.  If you continue with this argument, then adding a $3000 power supply and cable to an $800 switch would be entirely logical, as all you’ve essentially done, in terms of SQ is to create a $3,800 switch! 

So, back to my system and SJ’s Supplies, my next step is to once again follow Nenon’s advice and upgrade all my DC3s by adding Statement level transformers, Mundorf Silver/Gold DC cabling and DC4 regulators. At some point I may also consider substituting a Melco S100 switch for the AQVox SE , although I’d really only do this on a 30 day trial basis, given that my AQVox with its SJ power supply and Mundorf cable sounds nothing like the original OEM product. 

[adamaley]

5 hours ago, magnuska said:

Thank you! Yes you can have up to 2 rails on the standard DC-3 enclosure. He also builds custom builds in a wider case to accomodate even more rails. So will you power only one item with your DC-4? He can do up to 3 outputs on that too. If you are considering powering ancillary components as you say.😀 The modules are galvanically isolated from each other. And in my case powering the Etherregen with one 12 v rail, he also suggested adding a grounding terminal on the DC-3 for connecting a wire between them, very convienent and good service. 

 

I'll be powering 4 devices with my DC4. I don't know what misled me to think the DC3 could only be made to power one device. Yes, my DC4 case had to be modded by Sean to cater to the extra heat generated by the high current requirement for the CPU rail @10A. Sean recommended a bigger heatsink on one side of the case. 

 

 

[adamaley]

2 hours ago, Blackmorec said:

There is actually more to the story and some future plans I’d like to get some feedback on. 

 

I left my system above with an Innuos Zenith SE kicking some serious ass. With the upgraded, optimised network I now had SJ power supplies from Modem to USB output and I was more that delighted with the result, which I considered to be some of the best sound I’d ever heard, anywhere. Clearly I could do better if I upgraded my room to a custom build and my speakers to some of Magico’s top of the range but why bother when every listening session was such a complete and total pleasure? The only thing was, my analog system was utterly redundant. Not as dynamic, not as rhythmical, not as holographic, not as pure, as transparent and without the ability to utterly grab your attention, it was no longer worth all the messing around with record and stylus cleaning or just handling vinyl records and super delicate styli in general.  When Innuos announced the release of the Statement I didn’t hesitate and traded in both the Zenith SE and the Michell. I kept the Zenith until the Statement delivered. For me the appeal of the Statement was in the engineering.  Specifically designed to minimize EMI and RFI, with in-house developed, SQ optimised InnuOS Op System, and genuinely genius topology for the clocks, customized MOBO and SJ designed power supplies, I believed the Statement to be a major step forward in server technology and I wasn’t wrong.  While the Zenith SE did everything right and lacked nothing in terms of SQ and was, in my opinion an almost perfect product for its price, the Statement added a whole plethora of musical qualities. The way that musicians played together was enhanced, subtle rhythmic interplays and nuances revealed and most difficult of all to describe, the genius and unique talent of musicians showcased as never before. The soundstage ceased to be a soundstage and became a recording venue or soundscape created by master recording engineers. Some soundscapes were like firework displays in terms of how sounds flew around, bloomed and decayed. Simple notes became glorious essays of percussive pinpoint source, bloom then directional decay into distant inky blackness.  Then I added some Chord individually screened umbillicals and yet another level of detail was revealed, notes sounding like they were ‘made by’ rather than ‘coming from’ instruments, the listener able to sense the trumpet or saxophone horns, the body of the guitar, the subtle mouth noises of singers, the ‘collectiveness’ of massed strings. I knew DC cables could make a difference, so I followed Nenon’s advice and tried some Ghent Audio Neotech UPOCC JSSG360’s, which again brought improvements in the focus and specificity of instruments. Indeed they brought such significant SQ improvements that I decided to take more of Nenon’s advice and try his Mundorf Silver/Gold JSSG360 cables . The result of this was to make my system spookily holographic with a level of transparency and purity I have never heard before. My system now transports the listener to fully developed recording venue or studio created soundscape that is totally and completely independent of the listening room, whose dimensions are no longer part of the sonic equation. The contradiction between visual and auditory is now so immense that you can only listen with eyes closed. The reason I mention all this is to give an appreciation of what happens when you improve your DC supplies. Normally, as a system improves, those improvements in SQ get harder and harder to come by. This does not seem to be the case with digital DC supplies. The better and more revealing my system gets, the greater the contribution of each improvement.  Frankly. Its hard to understand (at least for me) why a DC cable to a network switch should even be audible let alone make a night and day difference, until you consider that what a network switch is doing is actually modulating the DC power to create an analog representation of zeroes and ones. In that scenario, anything riding within the DC power is going to become part of the digital feed, to then interact with clocks and DAC’s. It therefore seems logical that the higher the DCs quality, the better the SQ. If you follow this concept, then it’s also perfectly logical for a better DC supply or cable to have a major effect on SQ.  If you continue with this argument, then adding a $3000 power supply and cable to an $800 switch would be entirely logical, as all you’ve essentially done, in terms of SQ is to create a $3,800 switch! 

So, back to my system and SJ’s Supplies, my next step is to once again follow Nenon’s advice and upgrade all my DC3s by adding Statement level transformers, Mundorf Silver/Gold DC cabling and DC4 regulators. At some point I may also consider substituting a Melco S100 switch for the AQVox SE , although I’d really only do this on a 30 day trial basis, given that my AQVox with its SJ power supply and Mundorf cable sounds nothing like the original OEM product. 

 

Some of the descriptors you've mentioned here are what my system has been hinting at as I've tackled power/digital from multiple fronts. For example, slotting in an Edgerouter yesterday took me past one hitherto unseen ceiling to a level where I'm now sensing so much more harmonic content from instruments. "Notes sounding like they were made by" as you put it, was heightened by this addition. You won't get any arguments from me over the contribution of better DC cabling. I'll be using all @Nenon built cables for my DC4 rails. 

 

I'll be amiss if I didn't state @Nenon's selfless contributions to my system. His build thread was inspirational to me going all in. Along the way, he provided constant advise, helped with speccing the power supply, and so much more. IMHO, he gives out nuggets of information that many would hoard for commercial gain. I must say most of us owe a debt to the likes of him and @romaz whose experimentations richly enhance our individual journeys.

[dminches]

1 hour ago, adamaley said:

 

I'll be powering 4 devices with my DC4. I don't know what misled me to think the DC3 could only be made to power one device. Yes, my DC4 case had to be modded by Sean to cater to the extra heat generated by the high current requirement for the CPU rail @10A. Sean recommended a bigger heatsink on one side of the case. 

 

 

 

Can you list the 4 devices you plan on powering with the DC4 and what the amperage output is for each of the rails?

 

So many positive comments about Sean’s power supplies.

 

[adamaley]

Hi @dminches Here are the specs for my DC4.

 

ATX/Motherboard - 20V (5A) (overspecced as I believe 19V would be sufficient).

EPS/CPU - 12V (10A)

Jcat Femto Net card - 5V (5A) ( CX Filter will limit it to 2A, but removing jumpers will allow 5A)

Pink Faun USB card - 5V (5A) (CX Filter here as well).

 

These are all specific to the Asus ROG Crosshair 7 Hero + Ryzen 3700x combo.

[Downtheline]

30 minutes ago, adamaley said:

CX Filter will limit it to 2A, but removing jumpers will allow 5A

What is a CX filter?

[adamaley]

I will quote and defer to Sean's description of what it is as he relayed it to me here:

"for low-current rails the module works best if the CX section is enabled. If the current draw is more than around 2A then it is best to disable the CX filter, as it has no benefit at higher currents. I know that the 20V and 12V rails need to be high-current rails, the USB and NIC cards probably draw less than 2A (I would estimate they draw less than 1A in fact)), so for these I could enable the CX filters. It can be changed later on if you need the full 5A though, it is just a small set of jumpers to move on the circuit board."

 

 

 

[Downtheline]

6 minutes ago, adamaley said:

for low-current rails the module works best if the CX section is enabled

Got it, thank you

[adamaley]

After looking through my correspondence with Sean in order to answer some PMs I received on here, I think I have to clarify one important thing. The DC4 is made with three outputs as the standard maximum limit. My build with four outputs was a one off, and it had its own set of difficulties that Sean had to address. 

 

I cannot assume that Sean will be willing to make another DC4 4 rail in one case again. 

[Iving]

Although I ended up with a PH, I made enquiries with SJ first. He was incredibly thoughtful, helpful, intelligent. btw he lives in the next town to me. I didn't get an SJ instead of PH mainly because of spec/price ratio. My SR7T is awesome. So I'd really like to read an abundance of SJ listening impressions in due course.

[BigAlMc]

First post in a while from me but +1 on recommending Sean and the DC3.

 

My journey was similar to @Blackmorec as first discovered SJ via Innous and the astonishing Zenith SE. Then when I moved into tinkering with AudioLinux and NUC servers and endpoints ordered a DC3 from Sean. Experience was flawless, very helpful, very knowledgeable and reliable. What a great product too. Highly recommended.

 

Cheers,

Alan 

[magnuska]

As I wrote earlier in this thread I have a dual rail DC-3 on order for delivery in July. For now its ordered without the addon with Mundorf caps. This addition costs 250GBP. What do you say? Is it worth it? Or would this money be better spent elsewhere, like upgraded DC cables? 

I will power the etherRegen with one rail 12volt and the other 7volt will power an Ideon audio USB regenerator. 

 

Cheers /Magnus

[Blackmorec]

46 minutes ago, magnuska said:

As I wrote earlier in this thread I have a dual rail DC-3 on order for delivery in July. For now its ordered without the addon with Mundorf caps. This addition costs 250GBP. What do you say? Is it worth it? Or would this money be better spent elsewhere, like upgraded DC cables? 

I will power the etherRegen with one rail 12volt and the other 7volt will power an Ideon audio USB regenerator. 

 

Cheers /Magnus

Hi Magnus, 

If I were in your shoes I’d go for the Mundorf caps now and add a DC cable later

Why?

• The Mundorfs enhance SQ well in line with their costs, so are well worth the money
• Adding Mundorfs later means sending your DC-3 to Sean, with the down time that involves for the upgrade plus shipping
• It adds shipping $$$ and hassle
• It means 2 lots of running in, which is a bit of an up, down, UP^ process as regards SQ
• Its hassle free to upgrade the DC cables
• It gives you the chance to build or buy DC cables using Nenon’s Mundorf silver/gold JSSG360 recipe which sound AMAZING with the DC3
• Running in the DC cables also takes time but is more of an up, UP, UP^ process so not at all bothersome.   

[magnuska]

15 minutes ago, Blackmorec said:

Hi Magnus, 

If I were in your shoes I’d go for the Mundorf caps now and add a DC cable later

Why?

• The Mundorfs enhance SQ well in line with their costs, so are well worth the money
• Adding Mundorfs later means sending your DC-3 to Sean, with the down time that involves for the upgrade plus shipping
• It adds shipping $$$ and hassle
• It means 2 lots of running in, which is a bit of an up, down, UP^ process as regards SQ
• Its hassle free to upgrade the DC cables
• It gives you the chance to build or buy DC cables using Nenon’s Mundorf silver/gold JSSG360 recipe which sound AMAZING with the DC3
• Running in the DC cables also takes time but is more of an up, UP, UP^ process so not at all bothersome.   

Hi Blackmorec,

 

I appreciate your taking time to answer. It seems like a good idea then to add the Mundorfs.

 

Regards Magnus

[Nenon]

1 hour ago, magnuska said:

It seems like a good idea then to add the Mundorfs.

 

2 hours ago, magnuska said:

Is it worth it? Or would this money be better spent elsewhere, like upgraded DC cables? 

 

I would prefer the Mundorf caps over my DC cables (which several people have reported to make a quite significant difference, even over the Ghent 7N copper cables). In fact, I would go a step further and say that I would not buy a Sean Jacobs LPS without the Mundorf upgrade for myself. That's how important I think this upgrade is.

If you can afford it, go for it!  

[magnuska]

50 minutes ago, Nenon said:

 

 

I would prefer the Mundorf caps over my DC cables (which several people have reported to make a quite significant difference, even over the Ghent 7N copper cables). In fact, I would go a step further and say that I would not buy a Sean Jacobs LPS without the Mundorf upgrade for myself. That's how important I think this upgrade is.

If you can afford it, go for it!  

Thank you Nenon,

 

Yes I will order the Mundorf caps.👍

 

/Magnus

[ASRMichael]

Sean Is as great guy!
 

Was over seeing him few months ago regarding another multi-rail DC3, before Covid-19 came along. 
 

My two DC3,s have 11 rails on total. Powering everything in my network chain for audio. 
 

He’s so helpful too! I just accidentally broke a capacitor off my Pink Faun usb card & he fixed it as a favour for me. 
 

Highly recommended

[TheAttorney]

On 5/18/2020 at 2:12 PM, Nenon said:

In fact, I would go a step further and say that I would not buy a Sean Jacobs LPS without the Mundorf [caps] upgrade for myself. That's how important I think this upgrade is.

 

Sean's ultimate DC4 uses different caps. From his website...

 

"The new DC4 regulator design uses the very best components - we use a full set of Vishay Z-foil "naked" resistors for the regulator section, and extremely low noise resistors for the (non-critical) CX section and for one filter network of the regulator itself. We also now use Vishay bulk film capacitors for all decoupling duties, as well as some very special Audio Note KAISEI capacitors for all the important regulator module capacitors. These are a relatively new capacitor, designed by the same team behind the legendary Black Gate capacitors. The CX module uses the same Nichicon KZ "MUSE" capacitors as the DC3 design, as we found that the AN capacitors made no difference at all here."

 

The above implies that Sean thinks these new caps are better than the Mundorfs.

 

In my less sane moments, I've been considering getting a 3-rail DC4 to replace DAVE's built-in SMPS, as per Triode-User's review. If I do go down that route, I would try very hard to get Sean to up-front replace his Neotech copper wires with the Mundorf Silver/Golds - at least in all places after the regulator.