Goal Zero Battery Power Supplies

[Blake]

I was reading this review of the Raidho TD 4.2, and the reviewer is two different Goal Zero Yeti power supplies.
 

http://d4td1un6f2hha.cloudfront.net/media/CACHE/images/products/goal-zero-yeti-1000-lithium-portable-power-station-yeti-1000-lithium-10-6baf/18869355854fe88ad49e431bb7a3ae5c.jpg

Yeti 1000 Lithium Portable Power Station + MPPT + Nomad 100 Solar Panel Kit

Run all your devices with the clean and quiet Goal Zero Yeti 1000 Portable Power Station. Designed to be the most versatile and innovative power station.

 www.goalzero.com

 

Raidho TD4.2 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review Raidho's TD4.2 delivers the meaning of music within my listening room. Review By Tom Lyle

Raidho TD4.2 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review Raidho's TD4.2 delivers the meaning of music within my listening room. Review By Tom Lyle of Enjoy the Music.com's Superior Audio Audiophile Music and Equipment Review Magazine

www.enjoythemusic.com

He mentions that using the Yeti 400 for the DAC/preamp and other front end components is even better than a dedicated line with power conditioning regardless of the time of day.

He uses a Yeti 1000 for power amps during the day time which he finds is also superior to a dedicated line with power conditioning, but at night time, the dedicated line for the power amps is better.

I've been thinking about trying one of these Goal Zero Yeti battery power supplies.

 

Curious to see if others have tried one of these, and if so, your thoughts on any sonic improvement?

 

 

[Qhwoeprktiyns]

Interesting. Noob questions:

- are there any risks in using a battery to power equipment that is supposed to be grounded? 

- does using a single high capacity battery to power multiple equipment solve ground loop issues? 

[cab33]

you'd get battery noise

[Blake]

My understanding is these battery units are completely silent. 

[Qhwoeprktiyns]

1 minute ago, Blake said:

My understanding is these battery units are completely silent. 

 

... As in "the unit itself doesn't make noise when you put your ear close to it" or as in "the electrical signal is noise-free"? 

[Blake]

The unit itself doesn't make/produce any audible noise.

[Rexp]

I have some desktop speakers that are susceptible to mains issues, thought about running them off a battery but probably better just to get rid and buy something better engineered. 

[cab33]

batteries always produce noise - maybe you can't hear it but it might still sub-liminally affect your listening enjoyment

[Superdad]

I am a fan of having a portable lithium ion battery power station around the house for emergencies (though there are a number of much better units than the Goal Zero line, EcoFlow Delta being my choice).

 

However, as an AC power source for hi-fi such units leave a lot to be desired.  The DC from the battery is converted to AC using an inverter, one that must fit into the compact size of the unit, is but one of a number of circuit boards for all the various operating functions, and is designed to a price point.  Sure these modern units all tout their use of a “pure sine wave inverter,” but how clean are they really and how well do they handle transients, both in comparison to what your utility company (or full house dedicated solar inverter) delivers?

Building a really high quality digital DC>AC inverter is possible but costly.  I’ll not be expecting such from the $45 inverters built into these portable lithium battery stations.

Just my $0.02… 

 

[RickyV]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

I am a fan of having a portable lithium ion battery power station around the house for emergencies (though there are a number of much better units than the Goal Zero line, EcoFlow Delta being my choice).

 

However, as an AC power source for hi-fi such units leave a lot to be desired.  The DC from the battery is converted to AC using an inverter, one that must fit into the compact size of the unit, is but one of a number of circuit boards for all the various operating functions, and is designed to a price point.  Sure these modern units all tout their use of a “pure sine wave inverter,” but how clean are they really and how well do they handle transients, both in comparison to what your utility company (or full house dedicated solar inverter) delivers?

Building a really high quality digital DC>AC inverter is possible but costly.  I’ll not be expecting such from the $45 inverters built into these portable lithium battery stations.

Just my $0.02… 

 

Just my €0.02…🤓

 

Hi Superdad, now wouldn’t that be a fantastic product for you, an “audiophile inverter” plus LiFePO4 battery pack. 😀
Couldn’t a big capacitor after the battery help the transients response?

[StephenJK]

On 7/8/2021 at 2:13 PM, Blake said:

I was reading this review of the Raidho TD 4.2, and the reviewer is two different Goal Zero Yeti power supplies.
 

http://d4td1un6f2hha.cloudfront.net/media/CACHE/images/products/goal-zero-yeti-1000-lithium-portable-power-station-yeti-1000-lithium-10-6baf/18869355854fe88ad49e431bb7a3ae5c.jpg

Yeti 1000 Lithium Portable Power Station + MPPT + Nomad 100 Solar Panel Kit

Run all your devices with the clean and quiet Goal Zero Yeti 1000 Portable Power Station. Designed to be the most versatile and innovative power station.

 www.goalzero.com

 

Raidho TD4.2 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review Raidho's TD4.2 delivers the meaning of music within my listening room. Review By Tom Lyle

Raidho TD4.2 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review Raidho's TD4.2 delivers the meaning of music within my listening room. Review By Tom Lyle of Enjoy the Music.com's Superior Audio Audiophile Music and Equipment Review Magazine

www.enjoythemusic.com

He mentions that using the Yeti 400 for the DAC/preamp and other front end components is even better than a dedicated line with power conditioning regardless of the time of day.

He uses a Yeti 1000 for power amps during the day time which he finds is also superior to a dedicated line with power conditioning, but at night time, the dedicated line for the power amps is better.

I've been thinking about trying one of these Goal Zero Yeti battery power supplies.

 

Curious to see if others have tried one of these, and if so, your thoughts on any sonic improvement?

 

 

 

The battery aspect of it aside, you still need an inverter to produce the 120 VAC @ 60 Hz to power your gear.  I suspect that inverter section could be very noisy, as it's designed for emergency power use - not to give "pure power" for stereo gear.  

 

There's a lot of mystery around various power supplies and power conditioners that I think in many cases solves a problem that doesn't necessarily exist.  

 

OK, I don't expect everyone to pull our their scope and analyze the output waveform looking for harmonics or other noise, but for the most part the power supply in any decent stereo equipment is designed to be exactly that - a quiet and clean linear power supply.  

 

Oscilloscopes don't lie.  That's what they're for, to analyze an irregular waveform.  And, for the article posted to be relevant, I would want to see a waveform comparison of the utility supply vs. the output of the battery gizmo before I thought it had any merit.  

[mr. Fancypants]

I have a Leoch power station (LiFePO4 batteries with 2000 watt inverter) and I plugged my PSA PP10 into it to see what the quality of the AC coming out of the unit measured.  It made nice smooth sine waves but THD started around 1% and increased as the load increased.  Even though the inverter can produce 2000 watts, the output got really ugly at around 600 watts of output.  So no bueno for a power hungry system.  However the Leoch works great for my class-D integrated amp.  My Technics SU-G30 sounds wonderful being powered by the Leoch and its power draw is so minimal the fan inside the Leoch never needs to turn on.

[astrotoy]

Our seniors group has chosen Goal Zero to recommend to our members for power outages which are becoming more common in the SF Bay Area and northern California, where we are located.  They seem to be very reliable and can be operated inside the house (unlike a gasoline generator) and have an optional cart to carry around the house.  The portable solar panels as an option can extend the life of the battery.  The main use for most people is to keep the refrigerator plugged in at least a couple of hours twice a day - which will keep the food from spoiling if you keep the frig door closed except when necessary.  Keeping mobile phones and computers running for communications.  No use in hifi as far as I know.  My understanding that battery power can inject a lot of noise into the electrical system.  OK for refrigerators, maybe not so good for hifi.  

 

Larry