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Showing results for tags 'battery power'.
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Hi Guys - I'm researching powering my front end, preamp and DAC at least and amp if possible, from batteries. I just spent about an hour looking for solid information but did't find what I was looking for. I'm sure it's out there I just didn't find it. I'm not interested in powering my computers or music servers from battery yet, just the components. Does anyone have experience powering components from battery? What's needed to do this?
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Hi, Having built a C.A.P.S. Lagoon server I also decided to build a battery supply to go with it (I really like making things...). I've run it for a couple of months now without issue and at the risk of being flamed by the engineers here I thought I'd share my creation in case anyone else has similar ideas and is wondering or cares to share their own versions... Ingredients: 16Ah LiFePOeF4 battery from DEBEN.com | Home SPower regulated supply module from Fidelity Audio : SPower low noise voltage regulators Sockets, plugs and cables from Canford - Professional audio, video and broadcast equipment Switches from eBay - one of the UK's largest shopping destinations Oak, paint and sheet aluminium from my workshop stash... These things are of course highly subjective but the Lagoon server running from a standard 12v supply borrowed from an old LaCie hard drive already sounded noticeably cleaner, clearer and more spacious to my ears than my previous 2009 Mac Mini with iTunes and Audirvana+. Whilst my system did not reveal any of the server noises that Chris C described in his system before adding the Red Wine Audio power supply this DIY unit still produced a notable leap in audio performance again. Funny how you don't really miss what you haven't heard until you hear it! There're a few LiFePO4 batteries available here in the UK and mainly supplied for use in golf carts. I chose what appeared to be one of the better quality ones with overcharge protection and management circuits built in. I was already convinced by the merits of LiFePO4 power having long used a J Kenny modified HiFace spdif converter powered with this type of battery and by Chris C's results as previously mentioned. The Tracer battery has a separate charge socket and does not accept a charge from the output terminals so I've setup a two way and a 3 way switch. The upper switch allows pure battery output when the lower switch is in the middle "off" position and puts the charger competely out of circuit. With the lower switch flicked up charger power is sent to the output terminals. With the lower switch flicked down charger power is sent directly to the charge circuit of the battery. Both switches in the up position allow for continuous listening without battery run down. I really cannot be sure whether I do notice any audible difference between pure battery power and power combined with the charger supply. As previously stated there was a positive difference changing from a single 12v switch mode server supply when compared to this battery and external USB card supply but this may be down to the SPower module as much as the battery or it could be that the battery is somehow "buffering" the output from the charger. The SPower module quotes a 4v dropout so I choose 8v rather than 9v output to be sure to accommodate this. Acceptable SOtM supply voltages are +6.5v ~+9v. This USB card regulated 8v dc supply module is screwed to one of the brass legs left from my first discarded cheap voltage regulator board and acts as a heat sink. I felt it important to use good quality connectors and screened cable between the unit and the server so that they are not acting as aerials and picking up noise. I found these at Canford - Professional audio, video and broadcast equipment. It was a fun project to build, considerably less costly than the Red Wine Audio unit but hopefully performs equally well. More pictures here.
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Has anyone tried the MolexT battery power supply with an SOtM card? The supply uses 9V batteries and is quite a bit cheaper that other power supplies mentioned in other threads. Buy MOLEXT - Battery Powered Molex Power Supply - XCONSOLES USA - Fast WorldWide Shipping