that is not really why I was mi

But that is not really why I was minded to put pen to paper in response to your review. Beautiful work guys. Secondly, know that none of these power supplies are perfect. Some of these power supplies will be more sensitive to power cords over another so if youre looking for power cable recommendations, check out my review here. Based on your evaluations to date, assuming cost was not a consideration, what upstream hardware signal path chain have you determined sounds best (per your liking) vis--vis network switches, power supplies, clocks and cables? In my particular system where my digital upstream is Cisco Home Network Switch > CAT6 (or Fiber) > EtherRegen/Uptone 1.2 LPS > Gobel Network Cable > Aurender N30SA, Im exploring areas where I can make an improvement ranging from adding an additional audiophile network switch, replacing the Etherregen / Uptone 1.2 LPS, adding a Cybershaft Clock, etc. This comes from truly 100% linear design. There are reasons why disabling power saving schemas is often recommended! thanks! For the OPTIMO ATX whopping current we designed unique active rectifier. audio and, together with Class-D chips, a 7.1 surround sound home Also, the video review will be up soon which will include sound clips of the power supplies. FREE EXPRESS WORLDWIDE SHIPPING FOR PURCHASES OVER 300 SHIPMENTS TO UKRAINE AND RUSSIA HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED, The heart of JCAT OPTIMO ATX PSUs is a separate Linear Regulator Board for each power line; 12V, 5V and 3.3V, providing, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Initio 3 PSU. Im not very proactive on the forums so Im not always aware of whats out there. For each piece of gear, I write my impression of each power supply with quick, full-day listens, and staggered listening (waiting a few days to listen again). The DAC uses 4*3.2V 20AH cells in series, and the streamer 2 of the same in series. But Ive created a table where you could sort by whats important to you. But just buying any linear power supply isnt always going to sound better. These power supplies were recommended by you, the Audio Bacon readers. I then purchased the Hypsos to bypass the internal LPS of my SingXer SU-2 DDI and heard the same level of improvement. Complains about noise caused by PSUs are not uncommon. And Im the only one crazy enough to make the comparisons. This is an incredible review and many thanks for doing this for all of us. Try tofu bacon instead. What fuse and iec did you get within test unit? Well Jay, you have only just gone and done it again. I have not tried any fuses and that could make an even bigger difference. Buying a better (not necessary expensive) PSU solves these problems. I believe they were curious to see where everybody stacks up. We are almost there. How do you like it? Unplug the mains and you are running on pure DC! Amir measured several PSUs I have the JS-2 going to the jcat net card and the Nikola 2 going to the Jcat usb. I just feel the Farad smooths over some of the finer grain details. I take it that your design goal with the Optimo ATX was to minimize noise on the DC output. Switching power supplies have enabled low cost, good quality consumer EU placed supply chain. But generally the tone isnt for me especially with the silver cable. I then have 18 awg OCC coppar cables with cotton sleeves as only insulation, soldered to a DC connector of copper. Glad you enjoyed it! I am interested in just the regulator board. I have an obsession with the enjoyment of all things media - specifically in the realm of music and film. Thanks for the rec! The JCAT Signature LAN A $1,000 Ethernet Cable. could run at a rate of 100s of kHz. Its also worth mentioning that Stromtank (a really expensive HiFi power gear) uses LiFePo4 cells for their magic, but enough of them to also drive power amplifiers. The faith in the benefits of a linear power supply are strong. jay@audiobacon.net. hi HDPLEX 500W ATX linear power supply I am waiting for this OPTIMO_ATX-Linear ATX power supply This will also be released Is the case made of stainless steel?. The cost and weight of magnetics, that is inductors and transformers, (the mains supply in Europe for example) needs to be relatively large, I currently have both the Uptone JS-2 and Jcats Optimo 3 Duo. Generally there is a tendency to go for "belly-feel, blackwhite" (see Orwell 1984) and uncritical duckspeak of "linear good, switched mode bad". You could talk about all the science you want but if its not a sound the listener wantswhats the point? Unfortunately it will be next to impossible to obtain one unless you find one used at this point. players. Sure it can sound decent and engaging without one but you simply wont be able to achieve something closer to life. Im open to giving it a shot! Aussie seller very high quality supplies. I am a builder of custom linear power supply in Hong Kong Glad to see your shootout of audiophile LPS would you have time to also review my creation? If you dont see a specific comparison here, then I probably didnt make them directly. And certainly didnt come close to the Antipodes or Ferrum Hypsos hybrid designs in terms of SQ. All of this is to ensure consistent impressions across a multitude of equipment and configurations. If there are any discrepancies (which one had more bass, bigger soundstage, etc), those power supplies are reevaluated in a heads-up comparison. This experiment involved a large number of permutations and was an enormous undertaking. Others have had luck with the newar z490/z590 based i7/i9 builds. Also, a huge thank you to the fan who was gracious enough to loan me his Sean Jacobs DC4. If youre looking for power supply upgrades for your gear, this review may help point you in the right direction. By their very design requirements to pass EMI SMPS's rarely conduct EMI/RFI across the power supply, most linear supplies may as well be transparent to anything above a few 100Hz. Can i use it with my hybrid PC (workstation/audiophile), 3950X + geforce 3080 motherboard asrock creator 64gb of ram 2 SSD 1 hard drive, Your email address will not be published. I have more recently listened again to a DC4 powering the Qutest and although first time around I rejected the idea of a single rail 4,000 DC4 powering a 1.200 Qutest as being any where near a sensible decision I have now begun to wonder whether in fact it brings the 5,200 combination up to a level of similarly priced DACs and I think it might just do that. GX16 sockets with custom cabling would be interesting. supply manages all three and its additional functionality is the ability Thank you. . My first question is price. Depending on which ones Ill be evaluating, Ill hook them up to gear (not under test). means fast slew rates and high currents, which again contributes to My Farad Super 3 is custom modified, but I think it performs very well. A recognized high-end audio consultant. Have a look at the measurements below comparing the iFi iUsb Power to the USB Port on a Laptop, running from battery (charger disconnected), optimised for audio and idling (doing nothing) But the holistic summary should be sufficient. Send us an email when done and we will pre-order it. We all cant afford $600 power supplies on all of our gear. Pachanko Stellar LPS would have been also interesting to see compared with all these. valley switching, resonant mode) that aggressively minimise EMI and noise at the source. Those battery managements are filled with switched cheap electronic. Their power conditioners are great and I would be curious to see how their power supply compares with the others. lately your site became a bit more silent and I figured your time is precious and after all you allready put out in the past years it was time to slow down. Personally, I enjoy a richer, warmer, and denser sound. It also important to stay away from battery management, even if you risk damaging the cells if overcharged or undercharged. COMMENTdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a7f185fe13c67e94d18f9562abe89c64" );document.getElementById("e56dda8f4b").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Employing some basic "audiophile" ideas in an SMPS (e.g. I am curious to know how does it compare against these well known LPSs! Price and all the details will be announced in a newsletter. I have one question though, what was the DC cable used between the LPS units and the JCAT PCIE card? So Id suggest trying these run-in times voor the Farad and leaving him on all the time and reviewing it again. For instance, I really liked the Paul Hynes SR4-12 and Fidelizer Nikola2 for their tone, the Sean Jacobs DC4 for its live molding, Mojo Audio Illuminati v3 for its spatial realism, and UpTone JS-2 for its fun energy and treble. JCAT designed analog control circuit with so called floating ground which means that there is no ground connection for rectifier at any point that otherwise might be path for introducing noise into DC circuit. I do prioritize a warmer/darker tone, so my personal rankings will reflect that. As far as the best power supply, I honestly couldnt settle on a specific one. As long as you enjoy it, it doesnt matter. Hi Jay, First of all my total admiration for this massive effort. I kept all power supplies plugged in for the 4 months. I figured most people wont have fancy power cords they can hook up to each of their power supplies. Yes, it is. It could have low noise and maximum current delivery and still sound like shit to certain people. If the AC adapter is unplugged I don't hear any noises. Yeah fuses could make all the differencemaybe Ill test those at a later time. All my listening notes are subjective. We will announce more details very soon. What strikes me about your tests is that they play for a few days at most and then again to do the comparisons. Simple and effective upgrade. It seams promising, only dave the guy that sells them isnt up to date when it comes to customer relation. Another mammoth review. Copyright 2019. It is a huge upgrade to the Dc4. operating frequency, good efficiency and low cost magnetics, prevent its use in high precision, very low noise circuits. As you say in your review the DC4 is a master at revealing the texture of instruments but now the ARC6 version has a transient speed to go with that textural information. On the graph below, the green line shows output voltage. Required fields are marked *. When will this be available for purchase? Significant design margins. It would be great to hear your thoughts on those. Would been nice if u would included Ferrum Hypsos! You can observe superb response for step change of load (turquoise line). I am also curious about the remarks in comparison to other PSUs, which cable was used: silver or copper? It is a quite uncanny combination. A whole nother world there! It gave me a sound that had body and density while still possessing the sweet tone of the JS-2. If a PSU is such a troublesome beast, why not use a laptop. A loop back (sound card out in to sound card in) using RMAA. The high frequency aspect To answer your question, yes. in the meantime, he himself may start to sound worse. All new things win in the market place when they have just sufficient very things that enable the switching supply to work, namely high They said they would send the Hypos inbut I never received it. Lots and lots of caffeine. Adding a linear supply to such systems may make things worse than using a decent SMPS, it may make it different, or sometimes even genuinely better. Glad you enjoy it! circuity. his own low cost power supply for your product. We chose high quality 105 Celcius degrees capacitors for trouble free operation in years to come, and designed in significant margin so even with some capacitance lost over time, there will be no effect on the OPTIMO ATXs performance. Its interesting to hear about your preferences and what you have connected. There are DACs with battery power. high emissions. Great review, impeccable work, I found this LPS very interesting, maybe here I can get an answer if it will sound good in my setup: I use a neutral and half-warm sound DAC, with a bit of smoothness (Topping e30), a neutral and drier amp (Allo Volt+D) and an entry level speaker, also neutral half-warm (Pioneer SB22-LR), the midrange of E30 is a little bit thin (but with a little EQ I can ease it a little), did you say in this review that there is some grain in the midrange of this LPS and a cool tone, could this generate a bit of harshness and annoyance in the sound? The Audiophiles Short List The Best Digi Abyss AB-1266 Phi CC Lambskin Not Your Daddys Ear Pads, Parasound Halo JC 5 Stereo Amplifier Review A 400-Watt BEAST, Crosszone CZ-1 Headphone Review The Ultimate Crossfeed, https://shop.gwl.eu/LiFePO4-cells-3-2-V/LiFePO4-High-Power-Cell-3-2V-20Ah-Alu-case-CE.html, https://shop.gwl.eu/LiFeYPO4-batteries-12V-1-1/Lithium-Battery-LiFePO4-12V-20Ah.html, Chord Electronics Qutest (orange/red filter), Snake River Audio Cottonmouth Signature power cables, Iconoclast UPOCC XLR and RCA interconnects, Synergistic Research Tranquality Base UEF, The Linear Solution Reference Ethernet cables, Audio Art Cable Statement e SC Cryo Speaker Cable, Custom music server powered by a HDPLEX 400W (not part of review). Powering a USB card is a bit too late, degradation has already happened. From the synergistic orange fuse that you had put in the farad, I know that it has to be played for at least 1 month for the right result. Generally, my opinions here were very consistent across the various pieces of gear I evaluated. All Rights Reserved. Coming full circle, modern PC's, streamers etc whatever are full of local Switched Mode Supplies that power some part of the circuit, often they are even designed into chip's themselves. Apacer ECC DDR4 wide-temperature RAM, 8GB, Ghent Audio 24P-24P ATX cable harness (OCC 7N copper). From memory, I thought the Mojo Illuminati V3 paired well with the Qutest. Id also love to know where the Hypsos ranks if they ever send you one. and now several Farads Super3 in use. The reason why I ask is because I had tried using the JS-2 to power both my Jcat usb xe card and xe net card and while I really liked the sweet and nimble tone, having the JS-2 power both at the same time seemed to stretch the sound too thin. the noise will somehow break out and be detectable in the low noise The same generic power cord (one of the better ones) was used on all the power supplies. One thing becomes clear though: Most of them will sound much better than your stock power supply. I heard its very good. Keep in mind, my favorite power supply might not be the same for you. JS-2 on one of the cards and Optimo on the other, etc. And see if you can reach a balance. Required fields are marked *. In the context of what is the best sounding LPS (for your sonic preferences) on an audiophile network switch, have you evaluated and drawn your personal conclusion? - Audio Science Review. Check out the reasons why here. I than switched the JS-2 for the Optimo 3 Duo and while the Duo retained its sonic integrity when powering both cards, I found myself missing the sweet tone of the JS-2. Its amazing bang for your buck. This is much more important with the Farad with orange fuse and furutech inlet and level2 copper DC cable than with all other power supplies Ive had in the house. Get the Linear Power Supply Sound Pack: Recordings of 14 power supplies, 7 music snippets each. Wonder how I generate such great content? Ill look into it. Just wanted to chime in and say that the biggest performance killer of the JS-2 is the stock DC cable it comes with. I will send a unit to your location for review please drop me an email, will show you photos and the specifications. radiates electro-magnetic noise in the vicinity and the high efficiency http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=66474&hl=. Learn how your comment data is processed. Antipodes claims the hybrid approach is a faster supply, able to deliver better transient current delivery needed in many digital circuits but without the noise of a pure SMPS. Ill have to try that! 2021 : l'anne de l'alimentation ? Conventional PSUs create a large amount of both. As I do with cables, Ill occasionally swap back for stock power supplies as a sanity check. Source: Simple Voltage Regulators - Werner Ogiers 2004, The THD measurement of my Toshiba Satellite running on AC, Same test running on battery instead of mains, http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=66474&hl. How much better power supplies could be if they Ive asked every single one of the recommended vendors to send in at least a 5V supply (12V optional) and 95% of them responded. Finally got my Gershman Speakers so Im setting them up in a fresh room without an easy way to get a wired connection in. And I have a reputation for taking them to extremes. It is using MOS FET transistors instead of diodes that are switched at zero points of AC waveform by special circuit. I still use SOtM ISO-CAT6 adapters. Ive tried using up to 1KW toroids, 80,000uF of Mundorf electrolytics, 2A to 10A chokes after the rectifier and this level of overbuilding did not improve the sound in my setup. I am about to buy a LPSU for my Anubis Dac and not sure how to go because there are so many. These are switchers indeed (SMPS). And some just pair better with specific equipment. Although it was worth it, I burned out. He measured them where it counts, the analog output of a DAC because that is what we hear. Sadly, the Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The unit may be enclosed in a metal box, the IO may I ended up purchasing the Nikola 2 after the review because its reference level tonality. Having had the Dave all this time I was not aware of any deficiencies. - Thorsten Loesch. Will the OPTIMO ATX be able to power such a system without any problems or overheating? More shine? Of course they report great benefits on the audio forums. The company was taken into liquidation now. I have been told that one aspect to the best LPSs is using multiple smaller value caps to lower the impedance. Hi Jay, why dont you post my comment which i sent yesterday? The motivation for this massive survey is to guide you to a power supply that may work for you and your gear. Announces the Launch of PGGB.IO, JCAT Launches OPTIMO Nano PSU Upgrade Set. Eleven low impedance capacitors of total 110mF (110.000 uF) will ensure outstanding dynamic performance of OPTIMO ATX. My major conclusion is that they have relatively little to do with the quality of power reaching the circuitry in side. be inductively snubbed, but experience shows that despite great efforts, In result, the RMS noise of the OPTIMO ATX is impressive <15uV. I then tested the Antipodes S60 vs the Hypsos with the EtherRegens and found them very similar with the Hypsos being half the price and offering the flexibility to vary the voltage and providing 3X the current. SoI spent the last four months listening to the worlds best linear power supplies. The slower, the warmer and denser itll sound. Is there anything more clear you can share about this? And they should! Indeed there are measurable differences but as he pointed out, most of them are below -120 dBFS. Foundations for his breakthroughs finds in areas that others ignore. Caffeine. I would like to add something about your tests. Will include in the next one! Yes, there is no EMI/RFI on the AC side. This does not help a complex topic. More often than not, the darker stuff will blanket the more nuanced gear. This shootout was just done out of sheer curiosity. Classically, a power supply operating at 50Hz I would be curious to hear the ARC6! Many of us have experienced the substantial benefits of powering single CPU and dual CPU builds with the Taiko instead of the HDPLex. One that seems to stand out a bit in terms of price/ value is the mcru psu. You will gather that I like the ARC6 upgrade to the DC4 for the Dave. I'm using a laptop with an Edirol UA-1Ex usb sound card, when my computer is plugged to AC I hear some noise on the speakers, Moreover when I do something cpu intensive tasks I hear more noises (while cpu is working hard). Some users think apparently the more expensive ones of $ 1000+ could/should last 10 to 20 years I was also told. There are large heatsinks mounted directly on the linear regulator boards, so please dont worry about heat dissipation. Do you need linear power supply for DACs? All above information and specifications are preliminary/prototype and final product may vary. Which LPS? Yeah, its a bit lean. Hey Jay great work! And leave a message on what you want to see in the next shootout. So I ordered their external stand-alone 12V hybrid version [S60 model] and found it too, to deliver a significant jump in SQ over my over-built, homemade LPSs using Bellison regulators powering Uptone Audio EtherRegens. As with all things audiophile, you cant have it all. These included the Sbooster with Ultra Mk2 upgrade, Farad Super3, Allo Shanti, MCRU, Sean Jacobs DC3, PowerAdd battery, iFi, a cheap LPS from China and of course, because I could, the 5V rail from a DC4. I believe the DC cable has a huge impact. These power supplies are in no particular order. I have not. Your email address will not be published. the magnetics that it needs. This EAhibrid PureDC-B1 from Taiwan seems a very promising product, it uses the same type of battery as used in Tesla. The batteries last more than a day so I charge at night when sleeping. Best regards, Marcin Ostapowicz JPLAY & JCAT Founder, Hello, I will soon be installing a new system as following: Fractal Define 7 (with 4 fans) Gigabyte Z390 UD ATX Intel Core i9-9900K (3.60GHz, 8-Core) TPD 95W Noctua NH-D15 Chromax RAM CORSAIR Dominator Platinum DDR4-2400MHz CL10 32GB (4*8) CMD16GX4M2B2400C10 2400MHz Intel PRO/1000 CT single port desktop adapter SAMSUNG SSD 850 PRO 256 GB 2.5 externally powered by Phobya External Power JCAT NET FEMTO card powered externally by the BOTW P&P ECO 5V 6V MKII Sbooster. Your email address will not be published. Its fairly simple to do so using their chart to size up the proper transformer specs. Ive heard great things about the Taiko DC-ATXis there specific components people are pairing it with? In my case, I use it with an i9 9900k CPU / Gigabyte Designare Z390. Is the hot heat handled well?. Listening was primarily done with the copper cable. The ones in the review unit were SR Orange. Even if you are using a linear power supply to power the PC, the components are still powered by SMPS. Of course, low end, "commodity" type SMPS often have filtering that is totally inadequate on both input and output and are noisy as heck, but that is not because they are SMPS per se, but simply because they are made as cheap as possible. today a commodity item provided by the subcontractor: you may have For completeness we also include dry cell and rechargeable batteries1, as these are often hyped as ultimate power sources, Source: Why a USB Power Supply? Dont you ever sleep!? We do not plan on selling the linear regulator modules separately. So, thanks once again for the huge undertaking and it is nice of course to see you still using my WAVE STREAM cables with your Dave. Thank you! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I see a a bunch of small LPS on the market, but the bigger ones (150watt+), not so much. Since this is a power supply review, a lot of time is spent powering on and off these components. faster that the circuit operates the less the size, the lower the cost of I think youd enjoy hearing the impact of this + replacing the HDPlex 800W DC-ATX with the Taiko DC-ATX. Did you ever consider or evaluate life expectancy for a LPS. So if youd like to support the work I do, here are a few ways. Gold plated 70 um copper PCB. Thank you! Such a good read and source, thank you! No, not because it is a portable but because sound quality improves when using the pure DC from a battery. Would love to hear what your thoughts are in your experiment. Replace the power supply and the performance increase a ton. Didnt you miss Teddy Pardo ? Your email address will not be published. your product assembled in the Far East and the contractor will provide Invariably a linear PSU is recommended; a switched one is considered an audiophile crime. Maybe invest in some gear to measure them Jay? Its calculated and tested extensively. I've done a lot of measuring and listening to different supplies with the Touch and other SB devices. Thank you! Take for instance the EMU 0404 USB. A few of the LPSs offer optional upgrades (Farad and Plixir). However, increasing load current to 35 mA yields the light blue trace for the battery: at least 20dB worse than the regulator! But really both of these products should be applauded for the price performance ratio. I also used a custom one for the SR4/SR4T (UPOCC copper instead of silver). You wont know until you listen for yourself. J. Gordon Rankin. In consumer electronics the art and manufacture of switching power yet, possibly also to all other PSUs tested here. I would recommend trying all the permutations. Is there a tonal color difference between DC4 and ARC6? I do randomize the order of the power supplies each time. These are literally just IEC inlet, transformer, LPS module, output. Never heard of the Cypershaft Clock. During each session, I rank each according to detail, tonality, body, and personal preference. Same with the Squeeze box. I run my RME ADI-2 fs DAC and streamer on pure LiFePo4 cells (without any battery management electronics of course). Manufacturer, curator, and distributor of high-quality audio products. supplies is so advanced that rarely does a manufacturer bother to design I must admit I was hoping to see one of the new SR7s in on the bench. Still great for the price, especially if you enjoy a full bodied and smooth sound. Kraftwerk 2, https://www.gieseler.com.au/product-page/kraftwerk-ii. You may be right and that the Farad needs more time to break in. However all of that is about to change because Sean has been kind enough to loan me a prototype of his new ARC6 version of the DC4 power supply. A switching power I can certainly agree with your observations, recognize that too, but leaving everything on for at least a month gives an even much better sq. But it is NOT because "the evil SMPS has been removed", because it has not One might wonder if having a PSU working at 50 or 60 Hz is realy benificial. can be relatively high, particularly when the frequency at which they AudioWise Inc. That said, if you want to see measurements, Audio Bacon isnt for you. comment to the Sbooster PSU: i kind of relate to your findings (using mk 1 version), adding (now unavailable) Padis fuse and Furutech Absolute Power adds LIVE to it. During the more recent PHD days Paul released larger SR7s with 12v/12a an 19v/10a railed with option for Turbo which was supposed to bring the production units more in line with the dual regulated supplies. Antipodes Audio offered internal power supply upgrades for their legacy server/players changing out the existing LPS to their Hybrid-Linear/SMPS. If one power supply were thick and dense with a specific DAC, it was also relatively thicker and denser on a USB PCI card. Switching and Linear Power Supplies As for the Taiko DC-ATX, there is no specific recipe. You should definitely add one of the highly acclaimed newcomers, the ifi Power Elite. Hey Jay, thank you for doing these comparisons. Audio Bacon himself. If there are LPSUs youd like to see here, please let me know and Ill add them at the bottom. Yes Good news first batch is being manufactured and the PSU is scheduled for release (and shipping) in September. The table of results especially. For cutting edge performance, instead of discrete elements, we used 11 state of an art LT3086 integrated linear regulators working in parallel. The funny thing is that even if you supply 12V DC using a linear PSU , on the mobo there are all kind of voltage regulators as different components need a different voltage. Hi Jay, Fantastic. The faster the CPU, the more grip and clarity. Makes one wonder if this is audible at all. To my question now. They give me at least somewhat of an idea of what to expect. Im thinking amplifiers. I have good luck with Teddy Pardo units, one for a Chord 2Qute, and one for my Raspberry Pi / HifiBerry Digi + combo. Will let you know. Thanks again for taking the time to perform this outstanding LPS evaluation and shootout. This also goes for resolution, soundstage, etc. Not to mention photography, videography, and all the editing. Such is the benefit of the DC4 with a Qutest. But if they can add a benefit And what a lot of work this must be to do this as correctly as possible. I had upgraded both fuses on both lps to the SR purple fuses. The Optimo 3 Duo had bass in spades, (sometimes even fatiguing amounts) as well as body and tonal density, but I found myself gravitating towards the JS-2 just slightly and I began to wonder if relegating both power supplies to power each card could result in the best of both worlds scenario.

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