I'm 1 week into using my 1st ever Linear Power Supply. I bought a Sbooster 5v to try with my Qutest. It has made a Fantastic difference to an already good DAC. Its like having a new DAC, I'm really pleased I finally tried one after reading about them for a year or so. Great Improvement. : )
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I agree with everything you say about Soundstage, Depth, Imagining, Punch and Attack are much better. Better bass transients with better tone and realism. Next purchase is a Streaming transport like a sms-200 or Limetree bridge to pass Qobuz to my Qutest. Once I have a new streamer as Im only using my Laptop and Audivana Studio just now, I will certainly consider and LPS for my Streamer as well. Im already looking into seeing if I can get a LPS for my Nvidia Shield.
To be clear, linear power supplies have large current pulses and switching going on too. In a linear power supply, as current is drawn, the full wave or bridge rectifiers switch on and off. Their job is in to charge the following capacitive input filter that provides the DC output voltage to the equipment. These current spikes that go thru the rectifiers can be quite high and produce harmonics which radiate into the equipment. In a switch mode power supply that is well designed, the shielding requirements can be quite a bit lower compared to a linear supply. It all depends on how well the designer has taken these factors into consideration for both types of supplies.
Well said. LPS is not always better than a SMPS. I've tested this in networking with indisputable results. You also don't always get what you pay for. TESTING IS EVERYTHING. Test and retest and choose what's best for you.
Just seeing this video for the first time. I've got a couple of iFi PSUs. I DO believe they make an improvement as well. First time out I might have been accepting it on faith, but after the fact, and as my system improves (hopefully!), when I go back to the stock one, that's when I notice it. I think my first one may have been purchased before my system had the resolution it needed, although my hearing became more acute as well. But sometimes I make moves by the better safe than sorry method. So with interconnects and speaker cable, for example, I went from "included" to industrial/diy to dedicated maker, and stopped on the second rung of three. This is still no frills stuff. But well made.The guy I get them from provides nothing more than zip lock bags. He's a small operator out of New York, Jamaica, New York, as I recall. I tried one SPDIF cable from his highest line - it was silver, instead of copper. At the time I preferred the copper. So I've stayed there. Maybe some day I'll put the silver back in. But for a long time I didn't want to be accused of "believing the snake oil", but I still wanted to be safe, so I paid attention to it's construction, and if it made sense and wasn't frivolous then I felt "safe" getting it. Kind of my own rationalization system. 😉
Having upgraded the rest of my system the final step was going to be upgrade my Wiim pro to an more expensive streamer and while I was at it get a linear power supply, having connected the LPS to my Wiim frankly buying a new streamer would be unnecessary ,if still tempting as after all hyfy is a hobby Again I take my hat off to Wiim a remarkable streamer if you are looking to improve your sound a good LPS should come first.(Though I admit the one I got was nearly twice as expensive as the MCRU . If I get one for my DAC it will probably be an MCRU because they are good and my DAC claims not to need one) Do you /anyone have an opinion on where in a system a LPS would make the biggest difference? my assumption is the streamer as that is where your first clock is that sets everything up down stream.
Great advice Tarun. After watching your review, I decided to purchase the iFi iPower. I was a little skeptical, but for $50 I was willing to give it a shot. When I received the iPower I listened to a couple of selections before connecting it to my Topping D50s DAC. After replacing the old 5v power connector with the iPower I was astounded at the difference it made to my listening experience. Best $50 I ever spent. Thank you.
Hi Tarun, well done sir on your explanation of your personal experience. You are a joy to listen to because of your demeanor and well thought out and careful presentation. I am a word man, meaning I listen to every word a person says in a conversation and can pick a lie or a lack of understanding of a topic. You Tarun know and research your topics well and have the unique ability to then explain in layman terms your findings in such a way that even I can understand and be convinced to then go and spend money. Personally I do not stream music but I use a DAP [Hiby R6] which uses a micro SD card loaded with your own music although it can be used as a streamer. Keep up the great content and thank you for all your hard work behind the scenes that we do not see in recording and re-recording and editing that would take a considerable amount of your personal time to put together. Kind Regards.
Thank you Mr Australia. I do try my best to try and get the balance right between technical content and keeping things simple and understandable. Thank you for your kind words of support 😉👍
Linear power supplies are one of the latest upgrade accessories in the audiophile market. They can make a difference but in varying degrees and with widely varying return on your investment. You have to ask yourself why virtually all the major brands be offering their DACs with a power supply that cripples it ? Well they don't. They're selling components that work well if you have clean, stable power. Start with a good line conditioner that filters (cleans) the power for your entire system and then swap your switching power supply. You might still hear a difference but it will be minute by comparison to running it without line conditioning.
Tarun, there are still delusional people that still want to argue about the quality of the power supply doesn’t matter. I’m not getting on my soapbox over it. Let them see for themselves and get a real education. Maybe they’ll get their eyes and mind open. Some still believe all this to be snake oil. Oh well. Ignorance may be bliss, but reality is enlightening. Good video and well explained, even to the nonbelievers. I believe you regardless what the haters say!
Thank you Mark. I knew this was going to be a contentious one but I don’t want to shy away from these kind of topics. I try to keep an open mind but was surprised as to how much difference the linear MCRU made over the switch mode iFi. Would have loved to have reported that the £49 iFi was all that I needed but this simply was not the case. Thank you for your support as always.Stay safe my friend. 😉👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Whether one believes the testimony of what is heard/sensorially experienced OR the testimony on what is technologically measured, it still redounds to trusting the experiment and the experimenter. Numbers people would like to escape the human factor. That's the delusion they're not seeing.
Maybe if he put a mic in the room and took measurements to verify these drastic observed changes and presented them it would be easier to swallow. There is nothint that can heard that cannot be measured. Tighter and more impactful bass being one thing mentioned here. Any POS laptop and room eq wizard and a $100 microphone would clearly capture both the frequency amplitude and the waterfall graph if decay time that would perfectly explain both 'tighter and more impactful'. Yet there is no such measurements...just claims like 'less grainy high end' and 'tighter bass' The brain is extremely succeptible to suggestion. It would take a one off investment in a $100 microphone to be able ti prove your point with every people of equipment, component change, cable differences....forever.... Or you could just make claims and talk about tightness and grainy treble. I think you would find any measurements directly contractict sighted observations when it comes to cables and power supplies.
Hi Dale, the ear is not a mic and the brain is not a recording device. I understand your point of view but most people who make claims that these things make no difference have never tried them on resolving systems. I don’t believe that everything we hear can be captured and measured. You are of welcome to disagree.
Very professional video. I agree that power supplies do indeed make a difference with streamers, dacs, preamps etc. When making something to a price point power supplies seem to get overlooked. Like you said, the caveat is you need a resolving enough system to notice these differences. I have seen those British made power supplies on ebay for years and almost pulled the trigger a few times. I have a chance islands external power supply for my microrendu in the same price range. Their are some more pricey ones out there that will raise the performance more. Not shilling for Upton here in the states but they make some excellent supercapacitor power supplies for streamers as well. Supposed to be even better at rejecting ac noise back into the system. They offer flexibility with different voltages as well. Once you experience a good power supply you won't go back to the cheap ones again . Thanks!
Had the same expiriences since using the ifi's for a RPi 3B+ - based streamer running volumio and an MusicalFidelity V-DAC Gen.1! More bass, more room, sound is clearer! Perfect job done!
The music you listen to was probably made with ordinary xlr cables, mixers, and power supplies. For there to be significant improvement, the everyday products that musicians use should be of such quality in the first place. Only change power supplies if you can test, measure or hear hum or hiss without music playing, clipping transients at max volume (caused by insufficient power), or noise from other devices on the same power line.
It's not surprising that, at the entry level, the external power supplies are junk. What is surprising is that many, so called, high end manufacturers are prepared to ship their products using them, including in their moving coil phono stages, which work on tiny voltages. They will then generously offer an upgrade to the power supply! My advice would be to consider all devices together with their matching linear power supply when making comparisons. Great video, and certainly NOT snake oil!
Chord are the biggest offenders. Selling DACs worth thousands with the cheapest power supplies you can get. And having the cheek to say upgraded power supplies do not affect performance and voiding warranty if you were to use a higher quality one.
A million thanks Tarun. I am Mr Budget, all my gear is used, or in the case of my CD, vintage. I have a WiiM Pro Plus and go coax out to my Mojo, and from there to my Denon PMA600ne.Through my Br03 speakers I could hear my shower pump, commercial freezer and the compressor in the barn come on- both are quite large old-school motors and must draw a lot of current on start up.Annoying, but liveable with, especially after switching the compressor off. I didn't realise there was other noise 'on the line' until I got my (love or hate them) Grados- my ATH M50x didn't reveal it. Just plugged in a iPower 2 to feed the WiiM PP, and wow, it has totally opened everything up, I'm over the moon, best £70 spent within my 'system'. Coming from humble beginnings I was delighted with my sound before, and can't believe it has improved it so much. I'm not even going to piss my wife off by asking her to keep switching the power lead over, so sure am I of what I'm hearing.On the strength of that I've also ordered the power strip What HiFi awarded a prize to, another cheap buy at forty quid.Now I need to ask my sparks why the barn ring is heard on my house ring, here in West Wales things can be primitive! You and Hans (who also specifically recommended my solution) are doing a great job, easy to listen to and concise. David over at AudioMasterclass is also a very amusing, but informative channel. How lucky we are.
I have had the ifi power supply in my raspberry pi and recently I moved it to the wiiM mini. I have never had a problem but I have never tried the stock one so I’m going to have to order a amazon one and try it. $9 vs $69
ive got couple dacs including network devices like denon ns730 or pioneer n-50a which are great devices but with a time some features are come up and it makes those devices a bit obsolete (streaming services) so as a result after trying couple different usb dacs i end up with iFi V2 dac and i was happy with possibilities, but the sound still wasn’t that great as denon or pioneer mention before. thinks has change since i bought iFi iPower X power supply and im amazed how big different of the sound is. dynamics, low noise, clarity and now it become my main dac for network streaming like amazon music (premium). as i conclusion i must say any dac without decent external power supply will not work properly and good psu can shows up real dac potential.
Naim/TeddyPardo/Avondale/Class A and others offer power supply upgrades, it isn’t snake oil! Roon is also an excellent streaming application, although it is pricey, I use it with my March USB DAC, excellent sound! Runs circles around a Majik LP12
Definitely they make a difference doesn't have to be on high end gear either.i got a linear toroidal psu Chinese 1 for my Sony bluray best buy ever and I've tried this psu on a small tpa3116 amplifier and it lowered noise floor improving sound quality of that.
If you are building a PC for streaming (not for gaming) consider these items. No gpu (use the video capabilities of the cpu.) The idea is reducing the sources of unwanted signals. Use a 4 core cpu minimum 2.4Ghz. 8Gb ram. Use passive cooling on the cpu (big heatsink.) Use an external, linear power supply. Use USB 3.0. Connect to external DAC via toslink. Why use anything for home audio with the name "mini"? Decide for yourself if you want to go Windows or Linux. Of course SSD for storage. I would like to compare external DAC with a soundcard like the EVGA NU. I have been told that ESS Sabre dac chipsets produce a unique sound, I ask if this is true.
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I ask if you comment on the terms "ethernet audio" "streaming audio" "audio over IP" My feeling is that when you connect your device (lets pick a simple PC or a device like a WIIM Ultra) to your router with a cat 5 or better cable you are not "streaming audio" as you are sourcing the signal via ethernet not through the use of some bluetooth codec. "Streaming" is a term (well in my opinion) that should be reserved for using some form of wireless connection to the router(usually by using a bluetooth codec, the WIIM Ultra supports 10 different bluetooth codecs.) Connect to your router with a cable and reserve the bluetooth connection to speakers (better to go cabled here also but my Fender Stratocaster sounds exactly the same either wired or wireless, this is a tumbs up for bluetooth post DAC.) I mention the WIIM Ultra as it is a sort of hit in the streamer/dac market. Terminology can get different when you connect to your device (your streamer/dac) via your phone.
Great video, I have had the MCRU linear power supplies for my turntable and Chord 2qute for a while - best value upgrades to my system. Now I understand a lot more about why this is from watching your very informative video - thanks!
I applaud your care and consideration with maintaining standards, but it sounds to me that a better power supply might just improve the performance of a great many other mid range components. Thanks for the work, and as always, you adherence to standards is greatly appreciated.
You are absolutely right sir. I bought the Innuos LPSU to go with my Zen Mini mk.III. Whew, what an awesome improvement! The difference is far from subtle.The music is now from "one cloth", more realistic than ever.
Hi - great video. Really well explained and super helpful Obvious (to me) question....surely the Hugo is best when playing on battery. Why not just unplug the power supply when listening and put it back when not to charge?
Hi Paul, you can do that with both the Mojo and the Hugo but I got fed up with constantly unplugging the cheap SMPS from my power strip so the £49 on the iFi low noise SMPS was worth it. Thank you for watching and commenting 😉👍
Hi Tarun. Your video was feed to me as I guess the AI knows I am taking interest in this. Firstly love your video and the honest approach and very informative not needing to be an engineer to understand. May I kindly ask a few questions? 1. Say if I have budget to upgrade my power supply only one unit (budget reasons), which would be better used on? Streamer (WiiM Mini) or DAC (iFi Zen DAC)? Currently I am/was using two setup options i) iPhone to zen dac to fosi v3 to Sony sscs5 ii) WiiM Mini to Fosi v3 to SSCS5 speaker. (Planning to get a SMSL SU1) these option brings me to question 1.
@@abritishaudiophile7314 thanks for your kind reply Tarun 💙🙏🏼. I actually have a WiiM Pro Plus but it’s faulty to be send for warranty claim soon. I am not too if it’s the Zen DAC sound much warmer than as compared to the WiiM pro plus sweeter sounding.
I have just bought an IsoTek power block for my system. The noise floor just drops and there is better music and better silence. I thought it may be snake oil until I heard it for myself.
The power supply is a very important component in an audio chain. I have experience with various PSUs and can attest that they make a very apparent difference, no doubt. Rob Watts from Chord himself had to admit in a recent interview that it made a significant difference on one of his designed DACs. This is no snake oil at all.
Great vid! Love my Auralic Mini with an SBooster LPS! As a streamer, it outperforms the MIND unit in my Moon 380D dac (and even the newer MIND2 streaming module)... Though I have to admit that the high end USB cable between the Auralic and Moon also plays a significant role in the SQ equation ;-)
Hi Dennis. Which high end usb have you gone for? I was going to get a Chord model as I have their speaker wire and their interconnect between DAC and amp. Audioquest was also a consideration.
@@Percival1919 I'm using the Audioquest Diamond USB... Kind of crazy when taking the cost of the Auralic Mini into consideration, but I wanted to make sure that if I upgrade my streaming front end in the future, the USB connection wouldn't be the weakest link. However, based upon the improvement in the current setup that the upgrade to the AQ Diamond (from the Furutech GT-2 I was using before that) has given me, the investment is well worth it :-)
@@abritishaudiophile7314 That made me laugh I wonder if there is any science in it :) Also do you have any recommendations for an audio streamer that is sub £400, preferably that is Tidal compatible out of the box and one that can render flac files, you are more hooked into the industry than me so I would appreciate your thoughts
Hi Fat Rat, you should know that I am a little strange by now. I choose the warmest day of the year to put the fire on. Also, I am of Indian descent. 38 degrees is not that 🥵
Very good job here. Was generally not receptive to this idea but then tried a battery powered device into a RME ADI-2 FS and well, wanted not to think it mattered but it really does. It amplified everything you said but the difference in my big tube monoblocks was not small. Combined with the ADI-2, the benefits are stunning and not to the small degree you described with your streamer. I think it took the RME to a whole other level. YMMV. Nice work sharing your findings. Thanks.
My first DAc was the Musical Fidelity Vdac II ($179) that came with a cheap 12v switchmode supply. Having read Sam Telligs review of this DAC I knew the cheap supply they supplied was not great, he suggested a $125 power supply because it was much quieter than the switchmode unit. I ordered a Pyramid linear 12v power supply *($20 at that time), it was not as elegant looking as Sam's suggested supply but it was 5X less expensive. I worked for a power supply company for most of my life and I know what it takes to produce a quiet supply, this $20 supply does what the $125 unit does without the fancy enclosure, you really can't hear the enclosure on a power supply. That vdac II was pretty good for it's day, I've now use a higher end DAC that had a built in linear power supply, much more money but really great sounding
@@morespinach9832 I bought the PS Ausio dacstream several years back and ungraded to their Mk2 version a while back. I like the way it seems to smooth out lower res tracks I'be had for over a decade. It';s expensive but better to spend it on me than whover ends up with my pike of stuff.
I'm challenging myself, I'm building my own linear power supply from scratch. I just finished studying how tubes and transistors work. I'm dabling into the maths. Making sure I soak all the theory, make a plan and buying an oscilloscope. By my estimation for 100 euro i can build a top notch lpsu and for 250 use fancy parts. If everything goes well, I'll custom build 10 for my différent équipements. A significant cut in cost. If i buy what i want it's more like 4k minimum. Wish me luck :)
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Hello Tarun ! update : i just finished my first LPSU. (busy at work i just found the time) A solid 5.02V with no load and 5.06 - 5.07V with a load on it. 1.5 Amp at peak, this is for a small 5V dac with 0.5Amp max. A basic design just to make sure everything works. I left out the choke, too complicated for the moment. For the second round a 15V and 18V for my turntable and phono preamp. I just ordered my first oscilloscope i want to see what the waveform looks like :) the only way to have objective mesures on what is happening when i try other designs like the double regulation and a choke at the + of the rectifier or at the output. The maths are giving me headaces and no way to verify if i'm correct. I need to see it. Have you built a lpsu before ?
As a scientist, I really appreciate how methodical your presentation of your arguments were in a well articulated video with timely visuals and keeping any possible bias to a minimum. It lends you to come across with higher credibility for me and sound advice (no pun intended). Well done! This is much appreciated and I found it to be both educational and helpful. Thank you!
0. Upgrade the streaming source to lossless like Apple Music (don't use compressed Spotify). 1. I upgraded my Eversolo DMP-A6's power supply to the linear supply by Beatechnik. 2. The Cardas Clear USB cable sounds even better than the already great freebie cable from my Eversolo DMP-A6. --- The Cardas Parsec RCA cable sounds even better than my already great WorldsBestCable (using Mogami 2549 and Neutrik connector). The iFi SilentPower Supanova (with noise cancelling) improved the sound quality objectively when it made the speaker buzz go away! The Micca speaker wires improved my sound quality.
The best power supply is no power supply! You can run Daphile Audio OS on an old laptop and use a USB powered DAC like the Topping D10. Daphile is free and the 32bit version runs fine on a single core eeePC laptop.
Tarun thanks for the video, I hadn't thought about streamers( at one point during you're video, I have a inner voice that sounds just like the character portrayed by Red Fox, Fred Standford poncho the American TV series "Stanford and Son" when gets on his son for something in Fred's mind he's supposed to know, he says" You big Dummy" ) like that before,.and after I was telling you before, I was upgrading the components in my KEF 100's and lucky enough for me, my system is revealing enough that " better part" should translate to better sound, it measures the same but the sound is clearer more spacious much more enjoyable. So, why not the streamer" You big Dummy" lol, Tarun, you and Paul McGowan of "P.S. Audio, is my go to source when I get to sit down with my favorite beverage for the day,.with songs that I've been thinking about when it's time to unwind, listening to you guys is like sitting down with a friend,.and he's sharing something you both are passionate about, and my friend, that makes you a very cool individual in my book, so, keep up the good work and I'm still waiting on the r2r dac video. Well, you're American brother, signing off. Take care.
Hi Willie, I always look forward to reading your comments. They are always extremely open and honest as well as you are so generous in your support of what I am doing. I am. It familiar with that show. Will have to check it out. Take care my friend and stay safe 😉👍
I haven't really formed an opinion on power supplies, cables etc., simply because I don't have any personal experience with them (I'll probably give it a shot sometime and surprise myself with the results; kinda openminded both ways here). On a different note: I do appreciate You not classifying these due to a lack of "data points" - shows integrity and a professional attitude 👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I did - good deal of useful tech info in that. I actually do have some moderately expensive (100-150€ a pop) cables from Cardas and Straight Wire in my system (bought them together with my gear), but I never did any head-to-head comparisons with "ordinary" connections. I'll probably sit down and have a go at it when I have some time on my hands, been meaning to do that for a while actually.
I know it is unorthodox, but: Batteries are supposed to be as good or even superior to linear power supplies. So: why not use your Android phone (battery PSU) in airplane mode running bit perfect USB transfer via USB Audio Pro player into a battery-powered DAC such as the cord mojo 2 or a really good dongle DAC -amp ? I am doing this and enjoying the hell out of it ! I think this is a pretty good balance of values that inherently avoids some of the troublesome areas. What I'm wondering though is what is the USB out of an Android phone as described clean dirty in between should something go in the signal chain to clean it up like a USB decrepifier of some kind ? I also found that the wiim pro Plus sounds great running off of a cell phone charger battery.
Great video with lot’s of helpfull information and good explanation. needed this, because i am zooming in on the Qutest, to replace the internal, dac of my Primare D.30.2, cd player and modded Sonos. Many thanks!
Finally finished ! and it is amazing !!! If you still stream Tarun i have a killer upgrade for you. 1. a linear power supply on your internet box 2. a rj45 -> fiber -> rj45 set up (lpsu everywhere) 3. a switch with lpsu and a good rj45 cable to your streamer. i did this for a while and i finally finished all the lpsu for the set up. Everything is improved, even the quality of the pictures on my Tv is better. I built almost 12 lpsu, simple regulation, double regulation, double rectification, galvanicly isolated, passive regulation,.... after a year i made it and i'm confortable now. Next project : 1) building a streamer based on the raspeberry pi 4, the allo digi one signature and volumio with my own lpsus. 2) building my first amp : 1 single ended EL34 and 1 solid state class A. Now that i understand very well power supplies it feels like building a pc in my head. Rendez-vous in 1 year. Maybe i'll send it to you for a review :)
@@abritishaudiophile7314 If the passion is still there after 3 years i'll try something. For now I want to challenge myself more and get a grasp on a complete system. Master all type of amplification and then i'll make a market study in my erea to see if it'll be profitable. For now i have a good job and i'm recouping on my college years lol
LPS have made the biggest difference post any tweak of any component for me. I have 2 now, 1 feeding a phono pre amp and a streamer and another a DAC. I can’t stress enough the step change they make. Admit I have not played with cables, but I just can’t imagine they would hold a candle to the impact of a LPS.
Hi Tarun, GBP 230 is still a lot of money. Ifi have come up with a new power supply, the ifi-X priced at just around the 100 mark. I would love to hear your opinion if you can get your hands on one. Power supply and clean power is an undervalued subject....
I recently bought my first standalone Dac, a Topping E50, it has a few upgraded chips that some much more expensive ones have, anyway in my research I found a comment or two talking about this topic, talking about a Jameco Reliapro, in the 5v flavor, it’s a budget option, many positive reviews on Amazon, I gotta say that the quality of the sounds are so far ahead of other things I have, if it fails I’ll get something of better quality
Outstanding video. I viewed this wanting to upgrade the power supply to my Rega Fono MM mk5. I spoke to Rega directly to see if they did one but they only do the replacement wall wart that they use on all their other stuff. The iFi one doesn’t cover 24v dc I don’t think. I shall have a search around to see if anyone else does. Thank you very much for sharing this information. I will definitely subscribe.
Based on some more recent personal experience, I have to agree with Tarun’s thoughts in this video; my current contention is that one of the main reasons why some people think a thousand dollar dac isn’t any better than a $200 or $300 dac is because the thousand dollar dac uses a better power supply, among other things, and, if you don’t have a system that you’ll notice a difference, then you’ll think it doesn’t make a difference. A standalone external dac should probably cost about 1/7 the price of your stereo amp and pair of stereo speakers. In my mind, this would be prudent to avoid “wasting” money on a product and also to avoid being unhappy with a product bc you tried “saving” money. Like anything else in hi-fi, the components should be somewhat matched to their system companions..
Good advice Tarun. I had been using a Bluesound 3rd gun Node as a steamer into my DAC. I was happy until I tried the PD Creative modification converting it to an outboard LPS. The change in sound quality was very noticeable and gratifying. Detail retrieval, comprehension of lyrics, sound stage, overall nuance and tone improved. The internal board is about $100 and arrived in the US in a week from Poland. My 115/5v outboard power supply from China via Ebay for an additional $100 took too weeks. (If you are not on 115v, PD sells their own power supply so recommended for UK and EU users) Accomplishing the upgrade (which is reversible) was 15 minutes requiring only a Phillips screwdriver and optional needle nose pliers. The process can be seen on UTube. Initially I was skeptical as to how much things could improve but I couldn't be happier with the upgrade.
Same here, ordered the modification as well, but with the medicalgrade switching power supply. In time I willbuya more expensive lineair power supply, it takes up too much space now. Ive had experience with the iFi ipower, great value for money.
Yes, I can confirm this approach, as Im sure many thousands will also attest. I fancied fiddling with this issue on my Bluesound Node, so having watched Alvins presentation over at Vinshine Audio, I fitted their linea power supply upgrade. Wow, it really was like lifting a vail from my ears. I wonder why manufacturers dont offer these upgrades themselves? $$$$$
Loved the video. "Water is poured on it".... Once a Desi always Desi :) Just got myself a WiiM Mini Streamer after running my Cambridge AXA61 with my phone all thru the pandemic. Was dilly-dallying on the power supply but you convinced me to go for an Allo Shanti.
Tarun, I watched this video again. I very much agree with you regarding the sonic benefits of providing optimal power to our audio components. Well done.
Thanks for the interesting comparative review. There is a new iFi iPower X that is twice the price but I found it provided a noticeable and worthwhile improvement over the standard iPower. Perhaps for another comparative review down the road? Cheers
I had a friend that was a HiFi nut, he considered switch mode power supplies to be the work of the devil and would often smash them with a hammer. he did the same thing to Televisions and managed to avoid ever owning or watching one. with HiFi he went to extreme lengths including building several pairs of concrete speakers , mounted on concrete pillars that went through the floor , not touching it, and were set in the ground, separate from the foundations for the walls. the turntable would also be mounted on a concrete pillar and layered stone/elastomer plinth also not touching the floor but going through it to concrete block in the ground. big enough to be able to experiment with up 18 inch long arms. and an airtight lid on it that must have weighed 20-25 Kg, . and you couldn't accidentally drop the lid either as it was hydraulically damped so closed quickly but very gently on its own. There was even scope for bettering the design, all you would need is to create a vacuum. and we did have a silent design thought out that didn't require a pump, it was never made but would have used very heavy lead weighted pistons in cylinders to create the vacuum. that's something HiFi nuts today can learn, i've never seen or heard of any sealed turntable designs ever since, and for obvious reasons makes a massive difference. He even built a home made Reel to Reel that took 15 inch reels and 4 tracks, 6 heads, made from 2 Revox machines mounted on a half inch thick aluminium plate, for recording live 3 hour concerts back in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s on to a single tape. before he started using Naks. He had a van to take it around to concerts. The tapes were not spliced either, he had a source of free 1 inch tape from an engineer at Ferranti who made mainframe computers, the tape would be cut into 2 reels of half inch tape, with beautiful aluminium handmade spools, using a winding machine fitted with a razor blade. we later tried something similar cutting high quality VHS and Betacam tape into smaller widths. he died happy of old age about 20 years ago, but anyway here is the point : he lived in a disused quarry well away from civilisation, without mains electricity, he had a huge rotatable aerial array on a tall mast on top of one hill and he had a wind generator on top of a second hill which constantly charged 2V deep cycle cells taken from fork lift trucks. a lot of them actually, as each bank had to supply + and - 90v DC from memory multitaped for every 2V, to make everything work. and he had 2 banks of these batteries, one bank would be getting charged while the other was in use, he would then swap the banks around each night. so all the HiFi equipment he had, and he had a lot of good stuff, was converted to pure DC operation, he would disconnect but leave the original power supplies inside the equipment and add extra sockets on the back for each DC voltage a particular piece of equipment required. cursing Japanese HiFi that needed upteen different voltages required to work. It would be a lot of effort for most people, but he didn't have much choice being so far away from the grid. and I'm telling you, everything sounded superb, even more so after dark. I would go there as often as I could, many others did so too, he had too many people wanting to be his friends. apart from music the only other sounds would be the birds, the wind and the rain, and the occasional sound of a cigarette lighter, otherwise it was eerily absolutely silent. and another thing, even when not listening to music, it was ultra peaceful not being surrounded by everyday electromagnetic fields. something you don't realise unless you've tried wilderness camping,. you can carry a guitar or even a saxophone, and a band can carry a whole range of instruments, but it would be very hard to carry all your HiFi to a perfect wild camp location.
Power supply upgrade from cheap stock wallwart to the cost effective iPower option, to my streamer, was immediately noticeable and I could probably identify it blind (and have). But the changes it made left room for improvement (or were a step back, in one area) so don't doubt that a better option could do more, depending on the system.
You didn't mention the even better power supply for dacs: a good quality AGM lead acid battery partnered with a trickle charger like cytec makes them for instance. A set up and forget it sistem that surpasses any linear power supply IMO.
This video is really important advice if you use a PC with a bus-powered usb dac like the Dragonfly or Soundkey. Connect them via a galvanic isolator that has an input for external power and you can now use whatever power brick you like. The noisy 5v usb power coming from the PC shouldn't ever be allowed near a dac- it can be worse than the cheapest SMPS plug.
Mac Mini | Auralic Aries Mini [ Source ] | Pro-Ject DAC Box D2 | Rein Audio X-DAC | Denafrips Ares ll ( incoming ) Dacs owner here........., and also an avid Teddy Prado | SBooster LPS lover to boot. No snake oil in the least.
Hello sir. Thank you for the useful information. I don’t recall whether you addressed the amp rating at a particular voltage for the power supplies. I’ve seen power supplies that have the same voltage but different amp ratings. My Brooklyn DAC requires 12V/4-6 amp for external supplies. The ifi ipower is rated 12v/1.8a. How do I ensure I correctly match not only the DC voltage but also the corresponding amp? Will a power supply with fewer watts affect equipment performance? Thank you for any thoughts.
Greetings from Toronto. I just picked up the Topping E50 DAC …and everyone is saying ( because it’s a usb powered unit ..5v 1A ) ..this is a very and informative video. Thank you.
Great Taran! I am just waiting to hear from Taran the African, Taran the Australasian and Taran the Asian Audiophile (there have to be a few there) and we have the major continents covered. 😂
Dude - it was 35 in my neck of Britain today. What’s with the fireplace? Clean power, and just as importantly, distance between power supply and signal components is second only to speaker choice in my experience. Really good video, once again.
Just upgraded my Node 2i’s power board to a custom 5v dc board (paired with a 5v battery power bank). Significant audible improvement- thanks for the tips.
hi Neil can you please tell me what exactly you did I have the Node 2i as well and would like to upgrade also ( what did you use ) here is my email dugasb@gmail.com thanks.
Are you using the DAC inside the 2i or bypassing to an external DAC? I specifically use the node as a steamer transport only and using an external DAC, trying to clarify if a Linear power supply is still worth while using on the node for this purpose
Another excellent review. since we're talking about power supplies, anybody old enough to remember the Mission PSX power supply, I remember paying in the region of £500.00 (irish punt) for one around 1985....lunacy money when you think about it now, not sure how much that would be in today's money. Hi Taron. I'm thinking about getting a dedicated streamer now, instead of pc based streaming.
Fire on, fire off, fire on again! It seems like one video but it must have been made in at least three sessions. Very informative and interesting as usual. I’d no idea power supplies could make such an improvement till Tarun’s recent videos. I trust him more than most on RUclips who often seem to have a promotional approach. Thank you again for simply explained yet reasonable technical explanations.
Hi Andrew, if I recall the fire went out in between takes and I didn’t notice straight away 😂 Thank you for watching. Your support is very much appreciated 😊👍
I'd be interested to know your thoughts on the idea of using a "power brick". I bought a 20,000 mAh one from Anker. It can supply 15 V dc @ 1 A and in use lasts about 8 hours before you need to recharge it (which takes forever). I got it on a special for £20. I thought it improved the sound clarity of my dac/amp. I've just watched a couple of your presentations (Chord; Hi-Fi house keeping) which I really enjoyed and got a lot out of FWIW.
Very good. I just have a lot of doubts, do these Power Supply improve the sound or just change the sound signature somehow? I ask because I've already used my DAC connected to a phone charger, power bank and also directly to the notebook, none of these 3 options is great, but I preferred it connected to my notebook for powering the dac, the sound I got connected to the power bank is really cleaner as they say, but poor in bass, a little claustrophobic and a little thin, connected to the phone charger it already has more bass, more depth, but I feel pain in my ear because it's harsh a little, on the notebook, it's more similar to the phone charger, but less harsh (still slightly harsh), with more detail and better sound stage, more organic too. I've read positive reviews that IFI products are good and improve definition, leave almost no noise, but lose bass, is this true?
Thank you for watching and sharing your experiences Marcos. The problem products can react differently to power conditioning products. All I can say is that I didn’t have an issue with lack of bass in my 3 systems 😊
After cecking several videos about this topic decided to buy a Brzhifi 3a adjustable 5-24vdc output ultra linear power supply, connected it to my Wiim pro plus streamer / dac and compared to the included Wiim switching power supply the difference in sound is exactly as mentioned in this video....I spend 100 Euro on a linear power supply for a 249 euro streamer, for me it is worth the major audible improvement....Still a better streamer dac is more expensive and less capable then the Wiim app and parametric 10 bands eq
The power supply is not snake oil and it does work on other dacs also. I replaced the power supply in my Lumin D2 with the sbooster and its just like the man said Improvements across the board. Very noticeable and even got better over time. Highly recommended 👍. My question is will this work with the amp and pre amp also?
Hi rshearn, most amplifiers and preamp will have their own in built power supply. These can not be upgraded without engineering expertise. Thank you for watching and sharing 😊👍
Great video Tarun and food for thought. I have similar Dac and DDS set up to you though with a cheap LPS from eBay for the mini. Now I am wondering wether to invest in a better LPS or simply upgrade what is now a 5 year old streamer?
You raise some very good points about power supplies. A lot of people think switched mode power supplies are relatively new. They have been around for a long time I remember my late father repairing them back in the 1970's he hated them. They were used inside televisions for stepping voltages up as well as down. Many of them used to go faulty quite often or disappear in a cloud of smoke!!! They were built very well considering but used to run very hot. The quality was far better than the rubbish that comes out of China now day's. Modern switched modes don't just spew crap down the mains they cause interference across the radio spectrum as well. My other hobby is amateur radio and I can tell you that most of the H.F band 0-30 MHz is full of noise generated by these modern devices. I can't hear anything below 5 MHz 60 metres because of noise!!!! You don't very often see switched mode power supplies in broadcast desks (mixers) they are linear ones in separate boxes rack mounted. The main reason switched mode power supplies are so popular is they are cheap to produce do to the high price of copper.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Tony. My father-in-law is a Radio Am. he had to replace a number of SMPS in his house for the exact reasons you describe. He doesn’t even own a hifi system. 😉👍
Hi Taryn I realize this is an older video but I did remember that you did this video I just bought a new ifi Zen Bluetooth and I am running my signal out through the 4.4 to RCA's and I noticed what an incredible night and day difference that it made . I am looking to upgrade the power supply I've heard only positive things about what it does for the sounds specially being Bluetooth. Appreciate the videos brother. ✌️❤️
Tarun, aren’t you obliged to mention that most circuits fed by switchers (incl. USB fed devices) usually have local onboard regulators and decoupling circuits to provide suitable power for the device ?
My point being, that they must be considered in a discussion of the the power supply and its effect of audible performance. I don’t know for sure but the 5V will probably be converted to 3.5V for the processor, so there is yet another circuit that may introduce noise, or reduce the noise. Just thinking aloud 😀
Hi Dunk O, the more expensive the device, the likelihood is that it will have multiple internal power supplies for different parts of the circuit, all with their own voltage rectification, regulation and use voltage dividers to get the right voltage feed to different components. 😉
I fully take on board that a higher grade power supply can improve the performance of the component it’s connected to.but, my question is this:- would you be better off paying £X for a component and then paying an additional £250 for an upgraded power supply? Or would your money have been better spent on a superior component costing £X+250? I appreciate that this video is over 3 years old and I’m sure that at the time of making it, your advice was accurate. But now IOS and IpadOS devices that are IOS15 or above are, bit perfect. Plus you can turn off noisy aspects of the device like the display. Also, such devices will intigr seamlessly with Apple’s own music streaming service. An outboard DAC is though is essential for premium quality reproduction. Most importantly, enjoy the music.
Excellent video! So I just bought a phono preamp. It's audiophile grade. Cost me 2k Cdn$. Now that company also sells matching PS for the unit for 1,600$. I'm thinking why not buy the MCRU or a similar power supply at a third of the cost. Yes I give up the matching design but am I giving up anything else. My thinking is there's a gigantic markup built into buying the matching PS piece and maybe I'm better off buying the PS from a third party.
Hi Tarun, I am Streaming tidal masters from my MAC-Book Pro 2013. That has an SMPS Power supply. Any recommendations to convert its supply to Leanier mode?
I would get rid of the supplied cheap SMPS and replace it with an iFi iPower. Don't spend a fortune on a Linear PS. Put the money to upgrading to a dedicated streaming transport when you are ready 🙂
Interesting Video Tarun. I recently updated my power suppliers to Linear types on A) My PC to Teac Dac interface through the iFi Audio Micro iUSB3.0 Power Supply and B) A Network Switch suppling a Musical Fidelity Streamer. Both Updates were a definite upgrade in sound quality. I can definitely support your Video finds.
Thanks mate, couldn’t agree more on your assessment. I use a linear power supply with my Clearaudio Concept MC turntable and I am noticing some improvement especially in the bass, seems to be more refined. Quick question: would you get another linear supply, say for your LUMIN T2 streamer? Would you have one more with amps costing more than 3 to 4K such as the Marantz Rubi? Interesting how one can upgrade components gradually to achieve the best sound that works for you. You get an amp, you get a linear power supply then a good power cord and bypass the DAC... is this making sense?
Great video. The imponderables are numerous regarding streaming music. I personally use a desktop pc, reasonable spec, Asus Xonar Essence STX II internal sound card, feeding audiolab 6000a feeding audiolab 8300xp feeding Wharfedale 12.4 , I tried JRiver but did find it over complicated and found that Music Bee is the best all round media player for windows based media centre pc's. I will be looking into the Mains Purifers, specifically the audiolab ones that seem to be getting the flavour of the month attention, I will update this accordingly, keep up the videos, always interesting.
Another great Video Can't beat a good Linear PSU, I build my own but they are not easy to design. Audiophonics do a linear psu for 89 euros. Best to separate analogue & digital circuitry . I use a Rpi and the Audiophonics r2r dac based upon the philips tda 1387. The noise from the RPI was terrible until I separated the power.
Thanks Tarun for the warning on switch mode PSU’s. i am a Ham Radio operator and confirm that many of these little power supplies produce huge amounts of radio frequency interference. I have tried 20 Amp switch mode power supplies, about the size of a paperback novel, without success. I use a large and heavy linear PSU as it does not emit interference. A suggestion for those only with the knowledge is to try powering your DAC/streamer from a suitable battery of the correct voltage. If you hear any improvement then it is worth investing in a better power supply. Again, only do this if you are confident you know what you are doing.
Great video. Could you maybe do a video on the whole audio streaming thing. As you seem to have evperience of it. Maybe my understanding is wrong but my understanding is yes i can get seperates components for streaming services like spotify and amazon. However their maximum bit rate is 320kbps which is less quality than cd. Surely if im going to spend 2k on speakers i want the best source quality, which to my ears would be cd or a proper record, or do people use streaming for convinience? Im a little confused but im sure you can explain it. Thanks, keep up the videos
Hi Jay, I think Amazon might do a higher resolution streaming service as well but I can’t say for sure. You are right that the regular Amazon Music and Spotify services are streaming below CD quality. On a £2k system you will notice a loss in sound quality. My advice would be to subscribe to either Tidal or Qobuz as they both stream in CD quality and MQA enables even higher than CD quality streaming.
I'm 1 week into using my 1st ever Linear Power Supply. I bought a Sbooster 5v to try with my Qutest. It has made a Fantastic difference to an already good DAC. Its like having a new DAC, I'm really pleased I finally tried one after reading about them for a year or so. Great Improvement. : )
Cool 😎 thank you for sharing 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I agree with everything you say about Soundstage, Depth, Imagining, Punch and Attack are much better. Better bass transients with better tone and realism. Next purchase is a Streaming transport like a sms-200 or Limetree bridge to pass Qobuz to my Qutest. Once I have a new streamer as Im only using my Laptop and Audivana Studio just now, I will certainly consider and LPS for my Streamer as well. Im already looking into seeing if I can get a LPS for my Nvidia Shield.
To be clear, linear power supplies have large current pulses and switching going on too. In a linear power supply, as current is drawn, the full wave or bridge rectifiers switch on and off. Their job is in to charge the following capacitive input filter that provides the DC output voltage to the equipment. These current spikes that go thru the rectifiers can be quite high and produce harmonics which radiate into the equipment. In a switch mode power supply that is well designed, the shielding requirements can be quite a bit lower compared to a linear supply. It all depends on how well the designer has taken these factors into consideration for both types of supplies.
Thank you Mike 😊👍
Thanks for the science. But still have to meet a streamer that isn’t significantly improved by LPS. From Node to Lindemann to Lumin.
Well said. LPS is not always better than a SMPS. I've tested this in networking with indisputable results. You also don't always get what you pay for. TESTING IS EVERYTHING. Test and retest and choose what's best for you.
I use the mcru supply on my Mytek Brooklyn and found the same results as yourself
Thank you Roy. I was quite surprised as to how much difference the MCRU supply made over my iFi 😊
Just seeing this video for the first time. I've got a couple of iFi PSUs. I DO believe they make an improvement as well. First time out I might have been accepting it on faith, but after the fact, and as my system improves (hopefully!), when I go back to the stock one, that's when I notice it. I think my first one may have been purchased before my system had the resolution it needed, although my hearing became more acute as well. But sometimes I make moves by the better safe than sorry method. So with interconnects and speaker cable, for example, I went from "included" to industrial/diy to dedicated maker, and stopped on the second rung of three. This is still no frills stuff. But well made.The guy I get them from provides nothing more than zip lock bags. He's a small operator out of New York, Jamaica, New York, as I recall. I tried one SPDIF cable from his highest line - it was silver, instead of copper. At the time I preferred the copper. So I've stayed there. Maybe some day I'll put the silver back in. But for a long time I didn't want to be accused of "believing the snake oil", but I still wanted to be safe, so I paid attention to it's construction, and if it made sense and wasn't frivolous then I felt "safe" getting it. Kind of my own rationalization system. 😉
Daina, you are a wise man. A very sensible approach. Thank you for sharing 😊👍
Having upgraded the rest of my system the final step was going to be upgrade my Wiim pro to an more expensive streamer and while I was at it get a linear power supply, having connected the LPS to my Wiim frankly buying a new streamer would be unnecessary ,if still tempting as after all hyfy is a hobby
Again I take my hat off to Wiim a remarkable streamer if you are looking to improve your sound a good LPS should come first.(Though I admit the one I got was nearly twice as expensive as the MCRU . If I get one for my DAC it will probably be an MCRU because they are good and my DAC claims not to need one)
Do you /anyone have an opinion on where in a system a LPS would make the biggest difference? my assumption is the streamer as that is where your first clock is that sets everything up down stream.
Thx for sharing 😊
Great advice Tarun. After watching your review, I decided to purchase the iFi iPower. I was a little skeptical, but for $50 I was willing to give it a shot. When I received the iPower I listened to a couple of selections before connecting it to my Topping D50s DAC. After replacing the old 5v power connector with the iPower I was astounded at the difference it made to my listening experience. Best $50 I ever spent. Thank you.
Hi Alan, great to hear about your experiences. Thank you for sharing. It is reading comments like yours that makes doing the
Is channel worthwhile. 😉👍
Well done Tarun - another skillfully constructed video. Educational, interesting, and well presented.
Thank you Charles. I appreciate your support 😉👍
Running a SBooster BOTW with my Brooklyn Bridge makes a significant improvement indeed. This is no snake oil..
Thank you for watching and sharing Ton R. 😉👍
Hi Tarun, well done sir on your explanation of your personal experience. You are a joy to listen to because of your demeanor and well thought out and careful presentation. I am a word man, meaning I listen to every word a person says in a conversation and can pick a lie or a lack of understanding of a topic. You Tarun know and research your topics well and have the unique ability to then explain in layman terms your findings in such a way that even I can understand and be convinced to then go and spend money. Personally I do not stream music but I use a DAP [Hiby R6] which uses a micro SD card loaded with your own music although it can be used as a streamer. Keep up the great content and thank you for all your hard work behind the scenes that we do not see in recording and re-recording and editing that would take a considerable amount of your personal time to put together. Kind Regards.
Thank you Mr Australia. I do try my best to try and get the balance right between technical content and keeping things simple and understandable. Thank you for your kind words of support 😉👍
Thank you buddy 😉👍
Linear power supplies are one of the latest upgrade accessories in the audiophile market. They can make a difference but in varying degrees and with widely varying return on your investment. You have to ask yourself why virtually all the major brands be offering their DACs with a power supply that cripples it ? Well they don't. They're selling components that work well if you have clean, stable power. Start with a good line conditioner that filters (cleans) the power for your entire system and then swap your switching power supply. You might still hear a difference but it will be minute by comparison to running it without line conditioning.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Logic.
Tarun, there are still delusional people that still want to argue about the quality of the power supply doesn’t matter. I’m not getting on my soapbox over it. Let them see for themselves and get a real education. Maybe they’ll get their eyes and mind open. Some still believe all this to be snake oil. Oh well. Ignorance may be bliss, but reality is enlightening. Good video and well explained, even to the nonbelievers. I believe you regardless what the haters say!
Thank you Mark. I knew this was going to be a contentious one but I don’t want to shy away from these kind of topics. I try to keep an open mind but was surprised as to how much difference the linear MCRU made over the switch mode iFi. Would have loved to have reported that the £49 iFi was all that I needed but this simply was not the case. Thank you for your support as always.Stay safe my friend. 😉👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Whether one believes the testimony of what is heard/sensorially experienced OR the testimony on what is technologically measured, it still redounds to trusting the experiment and the experimenter. Numbers people would like to escape the human factor. That's the delusion they're not seeing.
Hi DH, when you are evaluating a product on it’s ability to reproduce art. How objective can it be? All I can do is try my best to be honest and fair.
Maybe if he put a mic in the room and took measurements to verify these drastic observed changes and presented them it would be easier to swallow. There is nothint that can heard that cannot be measured. Tighter and more impactful bass being one thing mentioned here. Any POS laptop and room eq wizard and a $100 microphone would clearly capture both the frequency amplitude and the waterfall graph if decay time that would perfectly explain both 'tighter and more impactful'. Yet there is no such measurements...just claims like 'less grainy high end' and 'tighter bass'
The brain is extremely succeptible to suggestion.
It would take a one off investment in a $100 microphone to be able ti prove your point with every people of equipment, component change, cable differences....forever....
Or you could just make claims and talk about tightness and grainy treble.
I think you would find any measurements directly contractict sighted observations when it comes to cables and power supplies.
Hi Dale, the ear is not a mic and the brain is not a recording device. I understand your point of view but most people who make claims that these things make no difference have never tried them on resolving systems. I don’t believe that everything we hear can be captured and measured. You are of welcome to disagree.
Use JRiver with desktop or Tower PC give much better sound than min PC, notebook. Big CPU has less noise than small CPU use in mini / laptop PC.
Thx 😊
Very professional video. I agree that power supplies do indeed make a difference with streamers, dacs, preamps etc. When making something to a price point power supplies seem to get overlooked. Like you said, the caveat is you need a resolving enough system to notice these differences. I have seen those British made power supplies on ebay for years and almost pulled the trigger a few times. I have a chance islands external power supply for my microrendu in the same price range. Their are some more pricey ones out there that will raise the performance more. Not shilling for Upton here in the states but they make some excellent supercapacitor power supplies for streamers as well. Supposed to be even better at rejecting ac noise back into the system. They offer flexibility with different voltages as well. Once you experience a good power supply you won't go back to the cheap ones again . Thanks!
Hi Brandon, I totally agree with you. I think your experiences pretty much mirror my own. Thank you for watching and sharing 😉👍
Thorough, concise thoughts and perspectives. Thank you
@@heavnbound much appreciated 😊👍
Had the same expiriences since using the ifi's for a RPi 3B+ - based streamer running volumio and an MusicalFidelity V-DAC Gen.1! More bass, more room, sound is clearer! Perfect job done!
Thank you Jürgen. Much appreciated 😊👍
The music you listen to was probably made with ordinary xlr cables, mixers, and power supplies. For there to be significant improvement, the everyday products that musicians use should be of such quality in the first place. Only change power supplies if you can test, measure or hear hum or hiss without music playing, clipping transients at max volume (caused by insufficient power), or noise from other devices on the same power line.
Tired old argument. Find another hobby.
can i come to your house and listen? I just switched to the ifi and it didn't do anything for me..........
I will put the kettle on 😂
How to upgrade your DAC? Take out a second mortgage and buy a dCS DAC... 😂
I need to speak to your mortgage lender 😂
@@abritishaudiophile7314 you really want to get in trouble? Get an Accuphase addiction...
Starting ton think the same 👙
It's not surprising that, at the entry level, the external power supplies are junk. What is surprising is that many, so called, high end manufacturers are prepared to ship their products using them, including in their moving coil phono stages, which work on tiny voltages. They will then generously offer an upgrade to the power supply! My advice would be to consider all devices together with their matching linear power supply when making comparisons. Great video, and certainly NOT snake oil!
Thank you Mark. I think you are right probably even more critical with a phono stage. Thank you for watching and sharing your insights 😉👍
Chord are the biggest offenders. Selling DACs worth thousands with the cheapest power supplies you can get. And having the cheek to say upgraded power supplies do not affect performance and voiding warranty if you were to use a higher quality one.
A million thanks Tarun. I am Mr Budget, all my gear is used, or in the case of my CD, vintage. I have a WiiM Pro Plus and go coax out to my Mojo, and from there to my Denon PMA600ne.Through my Br03 speakers I could hear my shower pump, commercial freezer and the compressor in the barn come on- both are quite large old-school motors and must draw a lot of current on start up.Annoying, but liveable with, especially after switching the compressor off. I didn't realise there was other noise 'on the line' until I got my (love or hate them) Grados- my ATH M50x didn't reveal it. Just plugged in a iPower 2 to feed the WiiM PP, and wow, it has totally opened everything up, I'm over the moon, best £70 spent within my 'system'. Coming from humble beginnings I was delighted with my sound before, and can't believe it has improved it so much. I'm not even going to piss my wife off by asking her to keep switching the power lead over, so sure am I of what I'm hearing.On the strength of that I've also ordered the power strip What HiFi awarded a prize to, another cheap buy at forty quid.Now I need to ask my sparks why the barn ring is heard on my house ring, here in West Wales things can be primitive!
You and Hans (who also specifically recommended my solution) are doing a great job, easy to listen to and concise. David over at AudioMasterclass is also a very amusing, but informative channel. How lucky we are.
Thank you Barlow. Great to learn about your experiences 😊👍
I have had the ifi power supply in my raspberry pi and recently I moved it to the wiiM mini. I have never had a problem but I have never tried the stock one so I’m going to have to order a amazon one and try it. $9 vs $69
Cool 😎
ive got couple dacs including network devices like denon ns730 or pioneer n-50a which are great devices but with a time some features are come up and it makes those devices a bit obsolete (streaming services) so as a result after trying couple different usb dacs i end up with iFi V2 dac and i was happy with possibilities, but the sound still wasn’t that great as denon or pioneer mention before. thinks has change since i bought iFi iPower X power supply and im amazed how big different of the sound is. dynamics, low noise, clarity and now it become my main dac for network streaming like amazon music (premium). as i conclusion i must say any dac without decent external power supply will not work properly and good psu can shows up real dac potential.
Naim/TeddyPardo/Avondale/Class A and others offer power supply upgrades, it isn’t snake oil! Roon is also an excellent streaming application, although it is pricey, I use it with my March USB DAC, excellent sound! Runs circles around a Majik LP12
Thank you for watching and sharing your experiences Anglo 😉👍
Definitely they make a difference doesn't have to be on high end gear either.i got a linear toroidal psu Chinese 1 for my Sony bluray best buy ever and I've tried this psu on a small tpa3116 amplifier and it lowered noise floor improving sound quality of that.
Thank you for watching and sharing Mark
I just bought an ipower2 for my dac, waste of money, can hear absolutely no difference
If you are building a PC for streaming (not for gaming) consider these items. No gpu (use the video capabilities of the cpu.) The idea is reducing the sources of unwanted signals. Use a 4 core cpu minimum 2.4Ghz. 8Gb ram. Use passive cooling on the cpu (big heatsink.) Use an external, linear power supply. Use USB 3.0. Connect to external DAC via toslink. Why use anything for home audio with the name "mini"? Decide for yourself if you want to go Windows or Linux. Of course SSD for storage. I would like to compare external DAC with a soundcard like the EVGA NU. I have been told that ESS Sabre dac chipsets produce a unique sound, I ask if this is true.
@@danielrose-tt7os thx for sharing 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I ask if you comment on the terms "ethernet audio" "streaming audio" "audio over IP" My feeling is that when you connect your device (lets pick a simple PC or a device like a WIIM Ultra) to your router with a cat 5 or better cable you are not "streaming audio" as you are sourcing the signal via ethernet not through the use of some bluetooth codec. "Streaming" is a term (well in my opinion) that should be reserved for using some form of wireless connection to the router(usually by using a bluetooth codec, the WIIM Ultra supports 10 different bluetooth codecs.) Connect to your router with a cable and reserve the bluetooth connection to speakers (better to go cabled here also but my Fender Stratocaster sounds exactly the same either wired or wireless, this is a tumbs up for bluetooth post DAC.) I mention the WIIM Ultra as it is a sort of hit in the streamer/dac market. Terminology can get different when you connect to your device (your streamer/dac) via your phone.
Great video, I have had the MCRU linear power supplies for my turntable and Chord 2qute for a while - best value upgrades to my system. Now I understand a lot more about why this is from watching your very informative video - thanks!
Thank you Tom 😊👍
I applaud your care and consideration with maintaining standards, but it sounds to me that a better power supply might just improve the performance of a great many other mid range components. Thanks for the work, and as always, you adherence to standards is greatly appreciated.
Than, you Luke. I appreciate you watching and your support 😊👍
You are absolutely right sir. I bought the Innuos LPSU to go with my Zen Mini mk.III. Whew, what an awesome improvement! The difference is far from subtle.The music is now from "one cloth", more realistic than ever.
Thank you for sharing your experiences André 😉👍
Hi - great video. Really well explained and super helpful
Obvious (to me) question....surely the Hugo is best when playing on battery. Why not just unplug the power supply when listening and put it back when not to charge?
Hi Paul, you can do that with both the Mojo and the Hugo but I got fed up with constantly unplugging the cheap SMPS from my power strip so the £49 on the iFi low noise SMPS was worth it. Thank you for watching and commenting 😉👍
Hi Tarun. Your video was feed to me as I guess the AI knows I am taking interest in this.
Firstly love your video and the honest approach and very informative not needing to be an engineer to understand.
May I kindly ask a few questions?
1. Say if I have budget to upgrade my power supply only one unit (budget reasons), which would be better used on? Streamer (WiiM Mini) or DAC (iFi Zen DAC)? Currently I am/was using two setup options
i) iPhone to zen dac to fosi v3 to Sony sscs5
ii) WiiM Mini to Fosi v3 to SSCS5 speaker. (Planning to get a SMSL SU1) these option brings me to question 1.
Thanks Daren. Hard to say without trying but I would expect the iFi Zen DAC has more potential for improvement over the WiiM Mini 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 thanks for your kind reply Tarun 💙🙏🏼.
I actually have a WiiM Pro Plus but it’s faulty to be send for warranty claim soon.
I am not too if it’s the Zen DAC sound much warmer than as compared to the WiiM pro plus sweeter sounding.
I have just bought an IsoTek power block for my system. The noise floor just drops and there is better music and better silence. I thought it may be snake oil until I heard it for myself.
Thank you for watching and sharing Billy😉👍
MCRU have terrible customer service. Please google them before buying.
The power supply is a very important component in an audio chain. I have experience with various PSUs and can attest that they make a very apparent difference, no doubt. Rob Watts from Chord himself had to admit in a recent interview that it made a significant difference on one of his designed DACs. This is no snake oil at all.
Thank you 😊
Great vid! Love my Auralic Mini with an SBooster LPS! As a streamer, it outperforms the MIND unit in my Moon 380D dac (and even the newer MIND2 streaming module)... Though I have to admit that the high end USB cable between the Auralic and Moon also plays a significant role in the SQ equation ;-)
Thank you for sharing your experiences Dennis 😉👍
Hi Dennis.
Which high end usb have you gone for?
I was going to get a Chord model as I have their speaker wire and their interconnect between DAC and amp.
Audioquest was also a consideration.
@@Percival1919 I'm using the Audioquest Diamond USB... Kind of crazy when taking the cost of the Auralic Mini into consideration, but I wanted to make sure that if I upgrade my streaming front end in the future, the USB connection wouldn't be the weakest link. However, based upon the improvement in the current setup that the upgrade to the AQ Diamond (from the Furutech GT-2 I was using before that) has given me, the investment is well worth it :-)
but if I use the Auralic Mini only for streaming from Tidal, does the linear source bring improvements?
@@catalinniculae5740 That's how I used it too and the LPS definitely brought improvements :-)
Tarun, you have your fire on, it's making me sweat
Hi Simon, It never warm enough for me in this country. I suppose the genetics don’t lie. British Audiophile or not 🥶😂
@@abritishaudiophile7314 That made me laugh I wonder if there is any science in it :) Also do you have any recommendations for an audio streamer that is sub £400, preferably that is Tidal compatible out of the box and one that can render flac files, you are more hooked into the industry than me so I would appreciate your thoughts
Hi Simon, I would go for the Yamaha WXC-50. I hope to get that in for review sometime.
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Thanks I will take a look and probably await your review
Hi Fat Rat, you should know that I am a little strange by now. I choose the warmest day of the year to put the fire on. Also, I am of Indian descent. 38 degrees is not that 🥵
Very good job here. Was generally not receptive to this idea but then tried a battery powered device into a RME ADI-2 FS and well, wanted not to think it mattered but it really does. It amplified everything you said but the difference in my big tube monoblocks was not small. Combined with the ADI-2, the benefits are stunning and not to the small degree you described with your streamer. I think it took the RME to a whole other level. YMMV. Nice work sharing your findings. Thanks.
Thank you Roman 😊👍
My first DAc was the Musical Fidelity Vdac II ($179) that came with a cheap 12v switchmode supply. Having read Sam Telligs review of this DAC I knew the cheap supply they supplied was not great, he suggested a $125 power supply because it was much quieter than the switchmode unit. I ordered a Pyramid linear 12v power supply *($20 at that time), it was not as elegant looking as Sam's suggested supply but it was 5X less expensive. I worked for a power supply company for most of my life and I know what it takes to produce a quiet supply, this $20 supply does what the $125 unit does without the fancy enclosure, you really can't hear the enclosure on a power supply.
That vdac II was pretty good for it's day, I've now use a higher end DAC that had a built in linear power supply, much more money but really great sounding
Thank you for sharing your experiences dell177 😉
Which one do you use now?
@@morespinach9832 I bought the PS Ausio dacstream several years back and ungraded to their Mk2 version a while back. I like the way it seems to smooth out lower res tracks I'be had for over a decade. It';s expensive but better to spend it on me than whover ends up with my pike of stuff.
I'm challenging myself, I'm building my own linear power supply from scratch.
I just finished studying how tubes and transistors work. I'm dabling into the maths.
Making sure I soak all the theory, make a plan and buying an oscilloscope.
By my estimation for 100 euro i can build a top notch lpsu and for 250 use fancy parts.
If everything goes well, I'll custom build 10 for my différent équipements.
A significant cut in cost. If i buy what i want it's more like 4k minimum.
Wish me luck :)
That is great Yannick. I wish you all the luck but I have a feeling you won’t need it 😊👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Hello Tarun ! update : i just finished my first LPSU. (busy at work i just found the time)
A solid 5.02V with no load and 5.06 - 5.07V with a load on it. 1.5 Amp at peak, this is for a small 5V dac with 0.5Amp max.
A basic design just to make sure everything works.
I left out the choke, too complicated for the moment.
For the second round a 15V and 18V for my turntable and phono preamp.
I just ordered my first oscilloscope i want to see what the waveform looks like :) the only way to have objective mesures on what is happening when i try other designs like the double regulation and a choke at the + of the rectifier or at the output. The maths are giving me headaces and no way to verify if i'm correct. I need to see it.
Have you built a lpsu before ?
As a scientist, I really appreciate how methodical your presentation of your arguments were in a well articulated video with timely visuals and keeping any possible bias to a minimum. It lends you to come across with higher credibility for me and sound advice (no pun intended). Well done! This is much appreciated and I found it to be both educational and helpful. Thank you!
Thank you Justin. You have pretty much summed up my approach. I appreciate you watching and your support 😊👍👍
Thank you
Thank you too 👍
0. Upgrade the streaming source to lossless like Apple Music (don't use compressed Spotify).
1. I upgraded my Eversolo DMP-A6's power supply to the linear supply by Beatechnik.
2. The Cardas Clear USB cable sounds even better than the already great freebie cable from my Eversolo DMP-A6.
---
The Cardas Parsec RCA cable sounds even better than my already great WorldsBestCable (using Mogami 2549 and Neutrik connector).
The iFi SilentPower Supanova (with noise cancelling) improved the sound quality objectively when it made the speaker buzz go away!
The Micca speaker wires improved my sound quality.
Thx for sharing 😊
The best power supply is no power supply! You can run Daphile Audio OS on an old laptop and use a USB powered DAC like the Topping D10.
Daphile is free and the 32bit version runs fine on a single core eeePC laptop.
Tarun thanks for the video, I hadn't thought about streamers( at one point during you're video, I have a inner voice that sounds just like the character portrayed by Red Fox, Fred Standford poncho the American TV series "Stanford and Son" when gets on his son for something in Fred's mind he's supposed to know, he says" You big Dummy" ) like that before,.and after I was telling you before, I was upgrading the components in my KEF 100's and lucky enough for me, my system is revealing enough that " better part" should translate to better sound, it measures the same but the sound is clearer more spacious much more enjoyable. So, why not the streamer" You big Dummy" lol, Tarun, you and Paul McGowan of "P.S. Audio, is my go to source when I get to sit down with my favorite beverage for the day,.with songs that I've been thinking about when it's time to unwind, listening to you guys is like sitting down with a friend,.and he's sharing something you both are passionate about, and my friend, that makes you a very cool individual in my book, so, keep up the good work and I'm still waiting on the r2r dac video. Well, you're American brother, signing off. Take care.
Hi Willie, I always look forward to reading your comments. They are always extremely open and honest as well as you are so generous in your support of what I am doing. I am. It familiar with that show. Will have to check it out. Take care my friend and stay safe 😉👍
I haven't really formed an opinion on power supplies, cables etc., simply because I don't have any personal experience with them (I'll probably give it a shot sometime and surprise myself with the results; kinda openminded both ways here). On a different note: I do appreciate You not classifying these due to a lack of "data points" - shows integrity and a professional attitude 👍
Very wise Sebastian. Did you watch my video on cables?
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I did - good deal of useful tech info in that. I actually do have some moderately expensive (100-150€ a pop) cables from Cardas and Straight Wire in my system (bought them together with my gear), but I never did any head-to-head comparisons with "ordinary" connections. I'll probably sit down and have a go at it when I have some time on my hands, been meaning to do that for a while actually.
Thank you Sebastian.
I know it is unorthodox, but:
Batteries are supposed to be as good or even superior to linear power supplies.
So: why not use your Android phone (battery PSU) in airplane mode running bit perfect USB transfer via USB Audio Pro player into a battery-powered DAC such as the cord mojo 2 or a really good dongle DAC -amp ? I am doing this and enjoying the hell out of it ! I think this is a pretty good balance of values that inherently avoids some of the troublesome areas. What I'm wondering though is what is the USB out of an Android phone as described clean dirty in between should something go in the signal chain to clean it up like a USB decrepifier of some kind ? I also found that the wiim pro Plus sounds great running off of a cell phone charger battery.
Great video with lot’s of helpfull information and good explanation. needed this, because i am zooming in on the Qutest, to replace the internal, dac of my Primare D.30.2, cd player and modded Sonos. Many thanks!
Thank you Felix 😊👍
Why not driving the player from a battery pack while you’re listening ?
Most of the equipment comes for 5 V …. So, isn’t that possible ?
Finally finished ! and it is amazing !!!
If you still stream Tarun i have a killer upgrade for you.
1. a linear power supply on your internet box
2. a rj45 -> fiber -> rj45 set up (lpsu everywhere)
3. a switch with lpsu and a good rj45 cable to your streamer.
i did this for a while and i finally finished all the lpsu for the set up. Everything is improved, even the quality of the pictures on my Tv is better.
I built almost 12 lpsu, simple regulation, double regulation, double rectification, galvanicly isolated, passive regulation,.... after a year i made it and i'm confortable now.
Next project :
1) building a streamer based on the raspeberry pi 4, the allo digi one signature and volumio with my own lpsus.
2) building my first amp : 1 single ended EL34 and 1 solid state class A. Now that i understand very well power supplies it feels like building a pc in my head.
Rendez-vous in 1 year. Maybe i'll send it to you for a review :)
You clearly have a passion and talent for this Yannick. You may want to consider making a career out of it. I am not joking 😊👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 If the passion is still there after 3 years i'll try something. For now I want to challenge myself more and get a grasp on a complete system. Master all type of amplification and then i'll make a market study in my erea to see if it'll be profitable.
For now i have a good job and i'm recouping on my college years lol
Excellent video so many audiophiles don’t put enough attention to clean power nice to bring awareness to this subject.
Thank you 😊👍
Hi Tarun, with regards to the Chord Mojo, how does the sound compare when running it on its internal battery with no power supply connected ?
LPS have made the biggest difference post any tweak of any component for me. I have 2 now, 1 feeding a phono pre amp and a streamer and another a DAC. I can’t stress enough the step change they make. Admit I have not played with cables, but I just can’t imagine they would hold a candle to the impact of a LPS.
Cool 😎 thank you for sharing 👍
Very interesting. Please could you tell me which ifi power supply you used on your Mojo 2 ?
Hi, thanks for advices. I wonder these power supplies output connectors generic, all power adapters share same?
Hi, nice review. I suggest to consider also a battery pack which may guarantee many hours of clean power supply .
Thank you LP 😊
Hi Tarun, GBP 230 is still a lot of money. Ifi have come up with a new power supply, the ifi-X priced at just around the 100 mark. I would love to hear your opinion if you can get your hands on one. Power supply and clean power is an undervalued subject....
Thank you Bert 😊👍
Does anyone have an idea if you can upgrade the schitt modius dac power supply if so what should I try thanks
Another great informative review. Well done!
Thank you Ajay 😉👍
I recently bought my first standalone Dac, a Topping E50, it has a few upgraded chips that some much more expensive ones have, anyway in my research I found a comment or two talking about this topic, talking about a Jameco Reliapro, in the 5v flavor, it’s a budget option, many positive reviews on Amazon, I gotta say that the quality of the sounds are so far ahead of other things I have, if it fails I’ll get something of better quality
Thank you for sharing 😊
hi there. were EU/UK adapters included in Jameco Reliapro psu 5v?
@@masterblaster8119 No they were not, I got mine on Amazon, I don’t remember if there was an option for US or UK plugs
@@masterblaster8119 also I am in the US
Outstanding video. I viewed this wanting to upgrade the power supply to my Rega Fono MM mk5. I spoke to Rega directly to see if they did one but they only do the replacement wall wart that they use on all their other stuff. The iFi one doesn’t cover 24v dc I don’t think. I shall have a search around to see if anyone else does. Thank you very much for sharing this information. I will definitely subscribe.
Thank you Tony 👍
Hi Tarun.
How to improve the audio of my tablet?
Thank you.🙂
Based on some more recent personal experience, I have to agree with Tarun’s thoughts in this video; my current contention is that one of the main reasons why some people think a thousand dollar dac isn’t any better than a $200 or $300 dac is because the thousand dollar dac uses a better power supply, among other things, and, if you don’t have a system that you’ll notice a difference, then you’ll think it doesn’t make a difference. A standalone external dac should probably cost about 1/7 the price of your stereo amp and pair of stereo speakers. In my mind, this would be prudent to avoid “wasting” money on a product and also to avoid being unhappy with a product bc you tried “saving” money. Like anything else in hi-fi, the components should be somewhat matched to their system companions..
Thank you for sharing your experiences 😊
Good advice Tarun. I had been using a Bluesound 3rd gun Node as a steamer into my DAC. I was happy until I tried the PD Creative modification converting it to an outboard LPS. The change in sound quality was very noticeable and gratifying. Detail retrieval, comprehension of lyrics, sound stage, overall nuance and tone improved. The internal board is about $100 and arrived in the US in a week from Poland. My 115/5v outboard power supply from China via Ebay for an additional $100 took too weeks. (If you are not on 115v, PD sells their own power supply so recommended for UK and EU users) Accomplishing the upgrade (which is reversible) was 15 minutes requiring only a Phillips screwdriver and optional needle nose pliers. The process can be seen on UTube. Initially I was skeptical as to how much things could improve but I couldn't be happier with the upgrade.
That is great Jim. Looking forward to you telling me more if you can make the ABA Club meeting this Sunday 👍
Same here, ordered the modification as well, but with the medicalgrade switching power supply. In time I willbuya more expensive lineair power supply, it takes up too much space now. Ive had experience with the iFi ipower, great value for money.
Yes, I can confirm this approach, as Im sure many thousands will also attest. I fancied fiddling with this issue on my Bluesound Node, so having watched Alvins presentation over at Vinshine Audio, I fitted their linea power supply upgrade. Wow, it really was like lifting a vail from my ears. I wonder why manufacturers dont offer these upgrades themselves? $$$$$
Thank you for sharing. As you alluded, it come down to cost 😊
Loved the video. "Water is poured on it".... Once a Desi always Desi :)
Just got myself a WiiM Mini Streamer after running my Cambridge AXA61 with my phone all thru the pandemic. Was dilly-dallying on the power supply but you convinced me to go for an Allo Shanti.
Thank you for sharing 😊
Tarun, I watched this video again. I very much agree with you regarding the sonic benefits of providing optimal power to our audio components. Well done.
Thank you Richard 😊👍
Thanks for the interesting comparative review. There is a new iFi iPower X that is twice the price but I found it provided a noticeable and worthwhile improvement over the standard iPower. Perhaps for another comparative review down the road? Cheers
Thank you Guan Tan 😉
I used the ifi x on my BLURAY player and the picture on my 1080 TV looks better than the older ifi power supply.
I had a friend that was a HiFi nut, he considered switch mode power supplies to be the work of the devil and would often smash them with a hammer.
he did the same thing to Televisions and managed to avoid ever owning or watching one.
with HiFi he went to extreme lengths including building several pairs of concrete speakers , mounted on concrete pillars that went through the floor , not touching it, and were set in the ground, separate from the foundations for the walls.
the turntable would also be mounted on a concrete pillar and layered stone/elastomer plinth also not touching the floor but going through it to concrete block in the ground.
big enough to be able to experiment with up 18 inch long arms. and an airtight lid on it that must have weighed 20-25 Kg, .
and you couldn't accidentally drop the lid either as it was hydraulically damped so closed quickly but very gently on its own.
There was even scope for bettering the design, all you would need is to create a vacuum.
and we did have a silent design thought out that didn't require a pump, it was never made but would have used very heavy lead weighted pistons in cylinders to create the vacuum.
that's something HiFi nuts today can learn, i've never seen or heard of any sealed turntable designs ever since, and for obvious reasons makes a massive difference.
He even built a home made Reel to Reel that took 15 inch reels and 4 tracks, 6 heads, made from 2 Revox machines mounted on a half inch thick aluminium plate, for recording live 3 hour concerts back in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s on to a single tape. before he started using Naks. He had a van to take it around to concerts.
The tapes were not spliced either, he had a source of free 1 inch tape from an engineer at Ferranti who made mainframe computers, the tape would be cut into 2 reels of half inch tape, with beautiful aluminium handmade spools, using a winding machine fitted with a razor blade.
we later tried something similar cutting high quality VHS and Betacam tape into smaller widths.
he died happy of old age about 20 years ago, but anyway here is the point :
he lived in a disused quarry well away from civilisation, without mains electricity, he had a huge rotatable aerial array on a tall mast on top of one hill and he had a wind generator on top of a second hill which constantly charged 2V deep cycle cells taken from fork lift trucks.
a lot of them actually, as each bank had to supply + and - 90v DC from memory multitaped for every 2V, to make everything work.
and he had 2 banks of these batteries, one bank would be getting charged while the other was in use, he would then swap the banks around each night.
so all the HiFi equipment he had, and he had a lot of good stuff, was converted to pure DC operation,
he would disconnect but leave the original power supplies inside the equipment and add extra sockets on the back for each DC voltage a particular piece of equipment required.
cursing Japanese HiFi that needed upteen different voltages required to work.
It would be a lot of effort for most people, but he didn't have much choice being so far away from the grid.
and I'm telling you, everything sounded superb, even more so after dark.
I would go there as often as I could, many others did so too, he had too many people wanting to be his friends.
apart from music the only other sounds would be the birds, the wind and the rain, and the occasional sound of a cigarette lighter, otherwise it was eerily absolutely silent.
and another thing, even when not listening to music, it was ultra peaceful not being surrounded by everyday electromagnetic fields.
something you don't realise unless you've tried wilderness camping,.
you can carry a guitar or even a saxophone, and a band can carry a whole range of instruments,
but it would be very hard to carry all your HiFi to a perfect wild camp location.
Wow! Great anecdote. I have to say I admire his commitment and resolve. May he rest in peace. Thank you for sharing 😊👍
Ifi has a Lan galvanic isolator now , was wondering what you thought about it for the source data
Power supply upgrade from cheap stock wallwart to the cost effective iPower option, to my streamer, was immediately noticeable and I could probably identify it blind (and have). But the changes it made left room for improvement (or were a step back, in one area) so don't doubt that a better option could do more, depending on the system.
Thx for sharing 😊
You didn't mention the even better power supply for dacs: a good quality AGM lead acid battery partnered with a trickle charger like cytec makes them for instance. A set up and forget it sistem that surpasses any linear power supply IMO.
Hi Andrej, I can only talk about what I have got and experienced. Thank you for watching and sharing 😉
This video is really important advice if you use a PC with a bus-powered usb dac like the Dragonfly or Soundkey. Connect them via a galvanic isolator that has an input for external power and you can now use whatever power brick you like. The noisy 5v usb power coming from the PC shouldn't ever be allowed near a dac- it can be worse than the cheapest SMPS plug.
Thank you beetooex 😉
Mac Mini | Auralic Aries Mini [ Source ] | Pro-Ject DAC Box D2 | Rein Audio X-DAC | Denafrips Ares ll ( incoming ) Dacs owner here........., and also an avid Teddy Prado | SBooster LPS lover to boot. No snake oil in the least.
Thank you for watching and sharing NosTubes58 😉👍
Hello sir. Thank you for the useful information. I don’t recall whether you addressed the amp rating at a particular voltage for the power supplies. I’ve seen power supplies that have the same voltage but different amp ratings. My Brooklyn DAC requires 12V/4-6 amp for external supplies. The ifi ipower is rated 12v/1.8a. How do I ensure I correctly match not only the DC voltage but also the corresponding amp? Will a power supply with fewer watts affect equipment performance? Thank you for any thoughts.
Yes, you need the right voltage and current rating 😊
Greetings from Toronto.
I just picked up the Topping E50 DAC …and everyone is saying ( because it’s a usb powered unit ..5v 1A ) ..this is a very and informative video.
Thank you.
Thank you 👍
Hi my name is Taran and I'm american audiophile ;)
Great Taran! I am just waiting to hear from Taran the African, Taran the Australasian and Taran the Asian Audiophile (there have to be a few there) and we have the major continents covered. 😂
iFi iPower switch mode power supply made in China.
Dude - it was 35 in my neck of Britain today. What’s with the fireplace?
Clean power, and just as importantly, distance between power supply and signal components is second only to speaker choice in my experience. Really good video, once again.
I know. Not so warm in the middle of the night when I film these vids.
Lol I was thinking that
Maybe he dont like cold sound 🤔😁
How did you know Micke? 🥶🥶😂
Just upgraded my Node 2i’s power board to a custom 5v dc board (paired with a 5v battery power bank). Significant audible improvement- thanks for the tips.
Thank you for watching and sharing Neil 😉👍
hi Neil can you please tell me what exactly you did I have the Node 2i as well and would like to upgrade also ( what did you use ) here is my email dugasb@gmail.com thanks.
Are you using the DAC inside the 2i or bypassing to an external DAC? I specifically use the node as a steamer transport only and using an external DAC, trying to clarify if a Linear power supply is still worth while using on the node for this purpose
Another excellent review. since we're talking about power supplies, anybody old enough to remember the Mission PSX power supply, I remember paying in the region of £500.00 (irish punt) for one around 1985....lunacy money when you think about it now, not sure how much that would be in today's money. Hi Taron. I'm thinking about getting a dedicated streamer now, instead of pc based streaming.
Thank you Bill. I was late jumping into to streaming myself 😊👍
Fire on, fire off, fire on again! It seems like one video but it must have been made in at least three sessions. Very informative and interesting as usual. I’d no idea power supplies could make such an improvement till Tarun’s recent videos. I trust him more than most on RUclips who often seem to have a promotional approach. Thank you again for simply explained yet reasonable technical explanations.
Hi Andrew, if I recall the fire went out in between takes and I didn’t notice straight away 😂
Thank you for watching. Your support is very much appreciated 😊👍
Your videos are very much appreciated! Both you and Hans Beekhuizen always provide technical background to your reviews and opinions.
@@andrewwebb4635 thank you Andrew. Very kind and flattering to be compared to Hans 😊👍
Tatum , which voltage IFI POWER X should I buy for the WIIM PRO PLUS ? Do I buy the 5 or 12 volt ? Response greatly appreciated
Check the voltage and the current rating on the Pro Plus 😊
Thank you, that is information that I was looking for and delivered in a useful unbiased manner
Thank you Trevor 😉👍
I'd be interested to know your thoughts on the idea of using a "power brick". I bought a 20,000 mAh one from Anker. It can supply 15 V dc @ 1 A and in use lasts about 8 hours before you need to recharge it (which takes forever). I got it on a special for £20. I thought it improved the sound clarity of my dac/amp. I've just watched a couple of your presentations (Chord; Hi-Fi house keeping) which I really enjoyed and got a lot out of FWIW.
Thank you for watching and commenting Ian 😉👍
Very good.
I just have a lot of doubts, do these Power Supply improve the sound or just change the sound signature somehow?
I ask because I've already used my DAC connected to a phone charger, power bank and also directly to the notebook, none of these 3 options is great, but I preferred it connected to my notebook for powering the dac, the sound I got connected to the power bank is really cleaner as they say, but poor in bass, a little claustrophobic and a little thin, connected to the phone charger it already has more bass, more depth, but I feel pain in my ear because it's harsh a little, on the notebook, it's more similar to the phone charger, but less harsh (still slightly harsh), with more detail and better sound stage, more organic too. I've read positive reviews that IFI products are good and improve definition, leave almost no noise, but lose bass, is this true?
Thank you for watching and sharing your experiences Marcos. The problem products can react differently to power conditioning products. All I can say is that I didn’t have an issue with lack of bass in my 3 systems 😊
After cecking several videos about this topic decided to buy a Brzhifi 3a adjustable 5-24vdc output ultra linear power supply, connected it to my Wiim pro plus streamer / dac and compared to the included Wiim switching power supply the difference in sound is exactly as mentioned in this video....I spend 100 Euro on a linear power supply for a 249 euro streamer, for me it is worth the major audible improvement....Still a better streamer dac is more expensive and less capable then the Wiim app and parametric 10 bands eq
@@stefsnijder8282 thx for sharing 😊
The power supply is not snake oil and it does work on other dacs also. I replaced the power supply in my Lumin D2 with the sbooster and its just like the man said Improvements across the board. Very noticeable and even got better over time. Highly recommended 👍. My question is will this work with the amp and pre amp also?
Hi rshearn, most amplifiers and preamp will have their own in built power supply. These can not be upgraded without engineering expertise. Thank you for watching and sharing 😊👍
Great video Tarun and food for thought. I have similar Dac and DDS set up to you though with a cheap LPS from eBay for the mini. Now I am wondering wether to invest in a better LPS or simply upgrade what is now a 5 year old streamer?
Thank you Matt. Tough choice 😊👍
You raise some very good points about power supplies. A lot of people think switched mode power supplies are relatively new. They have been around for a long time I remember my late father repairing them back in the 1970's he hated them. They were used inside televisions for stepping voltages up as well as down. Many of them used to go faulty quite often or disappear in a cloud of smoke!!! They were built very well considering but used to run very hot. The quality was far better than the rubbish that comes out of China now day's. Modern switched modes don't just spew crap down the mains they cause interference across the radio spectrum as well. My other hobby is amateur radio and I can tell you that most of the H.F band 0-30 MHz is full of noise generated by these modern devices. I can't hear anything below 5 MHz 60 metres because of noise!!!! You don't very often see switched mode power supplies in broadcast desks (mixers) they are linear ones in separate boxes rack mounted. The main reason switched mode power supplies are so popular is they are cheap to produce do to the high price of copper.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Tony. My father-in-law is a Radio Am. he had to replace a number of SMPS in his house for the exact reasons you describe. He doesn’t even own a hifi system. 😉👍
Hi Taryn I realize this is an older video but I did remember that you did this video I just bought a new ifi Zen Bluetooth and I am running my signal out through the 4.4 to RCA's and I noticed what an incredible night and day difference that it made . I am looking to upgrade the power supply I've heard only positive things about what it does for the sounds specially being Bluetooth. Appreciate the videos brother. ✌️❤️
Thank you Trey. Please let me know how the PS upgrade works out 😉👍
Wow , now I know why iMac can’t produce better music at 24bit 192 and through my Old CD player at 16bit simply outclasses those 24bit , cheers Tarun
Thank you Atri 😉👍
Tarun, aren’t you obliged to mention that most circuits fed by switchers (incl. USB fed devices) usually have local onboard regulators and decoupling circuits to provide suitable power for the device ?
Surely they do but still benefit from have a stable input voltage with adequate current reserves 😉
My point being, that they must be considered in a discussion of the the power supply and its effect of audible performance. I don’t know for sure but the 5V will probably be converted to 3.5V for the processor, so there is yet another circuit that may introduce noise, or reduce the noise. Just thinking aloud 😀
The 5v version outputs 2.5A. With a USB splitter I suppose it could power a DAC and other device?
Hi Dunk O, the more expensive the device, the likelihood is that it will have multiple internal power supplies for different parts of the circuit, all with their own voltage rectification, regulation and use voltage dividers to get the right voltage feed to different components. 😉
That should work in theory. Just make sure the splitter circuitry does not add any noise.
I fully take on board that a higher grade power supply can improve the performance of the component it’s connected to.but, my question is this:- would you be better off paying £X for a component and then paying an additional £250 for an upgraded power supply? Or would your money have been better spent on a superior component costing £X+250?
I appreciate that this video is over 3 years old and I’m sure that at the time of making it, your advice was accurate. But now IOS and IpadOS devices that are IOS15 or above are, bit perfect. Plus you can turn off noisy aspects of the device like the display. Also, such devices will intigr seamlessly with Apple’s own music streaming service. An outboard DAC is though is essential for premium quality reproduction.
Most importantly, enjoy the music.
Thx for sharing 😊
Excellent video! So I just bought a phono preamp. It's audiophile grade. Cost me 2k Cdn$. Now that company also sells matching PS for the unit for 1,600$. I'm thinking why not buy the MCRU or a similar power supply at a third of the cost. Yes I give up the matching design but am I giving up anything else. My thinking is there's a gigantic markup built into buying the matching PS piece and maybe I'm better off buying the PS from a third party.
Hi David, I can’t say for sure without an AB test. I can’t fault your logic. The MCRU supply is excellent value for money IMHO 😉👍
Hi Tarun, I am Streaming tidal masters from my MAC-Book Pro 2013. That has an SMPS Power supply. Any recommendations to convert its supply to Leanier mode?
I would get rid of the supplied cheap SMPS and replace it with an iFi iPower. Don't spend a fortune on a Linear PS. Put the money to upgrading to a dedicated streaming transport when you are ready 🙂
Interesting Video Tarun. I recently updated my power suppliers to Linear types on A) My PC to Teac Dac interface through the iFi Audio Micro iUSB3.0 Power Supply and B) A Network Switch suppling a Musical Fidelity Streamer. Both Updates were a definite upgrade in sound quality. I can definitely support your Video finds.
Thank you Robert. I appreciate you watching and sharing your experiences 😊👍
Thanks mate, couldn’t agree more on your assessment. I use a linear power supply with my Clearaudio Concept MC turntable and I am noticing some improvement especially in the bass, seems to be more refined. Quick question: would you get another linear supply, say for your LUMIN T2 streamer? Would you have one more with amps costing more than 3 to 4K such as the Marantz Rubi? Interesting how one can upgrade components gradually to achieve the best sound that works for you. You get an amp, you get a linear power supply then a good power cord and bypass the DAC... is this making sense?
Perfect sense. Thank you Ben 😊👍
Great video. The imponderables are numerous regarding streaming music. I personally use a desktop pc, reasonable spec, Asus Xonar Essence STX II internal sound card, feeding audiolab 6000a feeding audiolab 8300xp feeding Wharfedale 12.4 , I tried JRiver but did find it over complicated and found that Music Bee is the best all round media player for windows based media centre pc's.
I will be looking into the Mains Purifers, specifically the audiolab ones that seem to be getting the flavour of the month attention, I will update this accordingly, keep up the videos, always interesting.
Thank you Dougie. I appreciate you sharing your experiences 😊👍
Another great Video
Can't beat a good Linear PSU, I build my own but they are not easy to design. Audiophonics do a linear psu for 89 euros. Best to separate analogue & digital circuitry . I use a Rpi and the Audiophonics r2r dac based upon the philips tda 1387. The noise from the RPI was terrible until I separated the power.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Mike. 😉👍
Thanks Tarun for the warning on switch mode PSU’s. i am a Ham Radio operator and confirm that many of these little power supplies produce huge amounts of radio frequency interference. I have tried 20 Amp switch mode power supplies, about the size of a paperback novel, without success. I use a large and heavy linear PSU as it does not emit interference.
A suggestion for those only with the knowledge is to try powering your DAC/streamer from a suitable battery of the correct voltage. If you hear any improvement then it is worth investing in a better power supply. Again, only do this if you are confident you know what you are doing.
Thank you Geoff. My father-in-law is a Radio Am and has to replace cheap SMPS for his Tv streaming box. He doesn’t even own a hifi. 🤔
Great video. Could you maybe do a video on the whole audio streaming thing. As you seem to have evperience of it. Maybe my understanding is wrong but my understanding is yes i can get seperates components for streaming services like spotify and amazon. However their maximum bit rate is 320kbps which is less quality than cd. Surely if im going to spend 2k on speakers i want the best source quality, which to my ears would be cd or a proper record, or do people use streaming for convinience? Im a little confused but im sure you can explain it. Thanks, keep up the videos
Hi Jay, I think Amazon might do a higher resolution streaming service as well but I can’t say for sure. You are right that the regular Amazon Music and Spotify services are streaming below CD quality. On a £2k system you will notice a loss in sound quality. My advice would be to subscribe to either Tidal or Qobuz as they both stream in CD quality and MQA enables even higher than CD quality streaming.