Great review. A monumental task to review all these LPS! Agree with your comments and findings on the models of LPS that I've listened to. Never heard of Sean Jacobs until this video.
Okay I bought a Plixir Elite BDC + Statement DC cable for my 5V Chord Qutest, 12V Lumin D2 Streamer, and for my 19V Roon Nucleus + revA about a year ago. The Elite BDC is everything Jay says (see my prior comment). Nothing else is close for the price. HOWEVER, I worked with Ghent @ Ghent Audio and had him make a Gotham GAC 4/1 UltraPro starquad DC cable with JSSG360 shielding and WHOA!! It maintains all of the openness and clarity of the Plixir, but adds more tonal richness, density + contrast, a LOT more slam/punch, lots more meat on the bones, added bass weight/authority, and this very pleasant midrange "glow" that sits on top of everything from watching youtube videos to actual music. I actually think it *added* openness, space, layering, scale, and air compared to the Statement DC cables (which I used for over a year). I started with my Chord, then got a Ghent JSSG360 Gotham for my Lumin and then for me Roon Nucleus. Biggest improvement was on the DAC (obv). Ghent cables are a no-brainer and I would actually say to skip out on the Statement DC cable *UNLESS* you have a dark system.
I have 3 different DC cables...the Ghent, a $300 cryo treated Kimber and a pure silver one from AliExpress. I prefer the Gotham from Ghent over the other two!
Subscribed. Kudos for not only taking on such an arduous endeavour, but communicating the results sufficiently to assist fellow audiophiles searching for a power supply to complement their own system. So much more useful than the typical rag review where the reviewer ecstatically throws adjectives across the page about how good it sounds, but compares the product to nothing.
Just ordered a Plixir Elite BDC from James! With Statement cable! Thank you for this herculean effort, Jay!! It arrived today. It's shocking to me how accurate Jay's description of every aspect of its performance was. I'm superbly happy!!!
Hi. I am curious how you are liking your BDC now? I am on the fence for pairing a BDC with my Qutest given the expense. But if it makes a major difference I would buy. Any thoughts you are willing to share on your experience?
@@robbrookby3350 Oh I absolutely love it. Definitely keeping it. It actually replaced the Allo Shanti, which I had used for a year. Clear and obvious step up. Was able to do a truncated in-home demo with a Denafrips Terminator II and a Holo Audio Spring 3.... two DACs that were previously able to outperform the Qutest to my ears. Welp, Qutest beats them now. That's how much more refined the Elite BDC is, and causes the Qutest to be. Mind you, I love Denafrips and use a GAIA DDC (used it to test all three DACs), and had previously wanted to obtain a Holo May. So, if anything, I was biased slightly against Qutest. But the Elite BDC gave the Qutest more body, refinement, tonal trueness, scale, AND slam. Tone colors are accentuated whereas before they were grey. Sibilance greatly decreased (gone with the GAIA). Refinement was obviously improved. I had a HugoTT2 on loan from a friend and, shockingly, preferred Qutest + Elite BDC by a very slim margin. Add in the Gaia ($4600 USD if all 3 are bought new, at full price) And the Qutest setup was solidly better. The Hugo TT2 did not seem to benefit very much from the Gaia, but the improvement with Qutest + Gaia was huge. HUGE. Gaia brought the same magnitude AND type of improvements as the Elite BDC. My other DAC is a Lumin D2, also with Elite BDC. It is a much more lush and dark and smooth DAC than the original Qutest.... they were nearly opposites in stock form. But, now, they are much more alike than different IMHO. The Qutest adopting a much more lush, colorful, refined analog character (while still having all the famous detail) and the Lumin D2 gaining dynamics and air and scale (while still being lush and analog). The Elite BDC made them both truer to the music. So the Elite BDC truly has no sound of its own. I use Statement DC cables with both Plixirs.
@@DBravo29er incredibly helpful! I have made the purchase of a BDC. Looking forward a genuine upgrade to my Qutest. Do you think the Gaia is the DDC that makes the most difference? Would the Iris or Hermes get you very close to what the Gaia brings? Or is there something special about the Gaia?
@@robbrookby3350 I actually had an IRIS for a year. That alone, makes an obvious difference with Qutest. But stepping up to GAIA made another improvement that was nearly as large... and worth the $$, IMHO.
ive been running my JS-2 for about a week now and the detail retrieval is amazing. With darker background which i didnt know i was missing. Using with the Lumin U1 mini which is already a fantastic streamer the Uptone JS-2 brings the unit to another level. JS2 was recommended by a fellow audiophile as it is one of the few that utilises Rcore transformer
After watching this review, I decided to try the PLiXiR BDC 12V 2A + Statement DC cable for my network switch. I was amazed by how much more revealing it was compared to my Farad + Level 2 DC cable (2021). The PLiXiR is stronger at low level micro detailing, accuracy, speed, and dynamics. The sound is less dark and has more high extension. Even though they have different sound qualities, the PLiXiR tone was more to the truth to me. I didn't expect it because back then I thought the Farad was a safe choice to go. I can confirm this review is quite accurate. Thanks!
Hi, I have enjoyed your most comprehensive video immensely! The next logical steps would be servers/streamers: silent cases, high-grade cards, etc. Many would build their own hi-grade home media servers/streamers with these great linear power supplies instead of paying outrageous sums for the current market's top offerings, like Grimms, Aurenders, or Innuoses of this world.
Yes People are still reading your reviews. I appreciate what you have achieved here. No one else wants to touch this topic of power supplys. Since I do have a RME ADI 2 DAC, would I be better off with the Uptone. Have you heard much about MCRU LPS sound quality?
Thanks for doing these reviews. I have the SBooster on my Roon Nucleus One, and it really broth the Roon device to life. I also have the Fadar Super 3 on my Volumio Rivo streamer, I am still trying to figure that out in regards to sound quality improvements, it is new, and still burning in. As of now, it is a keeper, they both are.
Jay, what a mammoth effort! Really applaud you on this most awesome comparison. I’ve taken so much from it. As you asked if we might have alternatives to suggest, I have one I’d love to see you compare against these. It’s the iFi iPower Elite and the interesting (curveball) thing is it’s a well made (here goes) switching-mode (can’t believe I said it!) power supply. I bought this for my Qutest and decided to go this switching mode route based on comments made online by Rob Watts of Chord. A Linear vs Switching Mode debate is something I don’t care about, I just care about awesome sound and I believe both technologies, when done right, would have their merits. So, on top of your already peerless power supply comparison, would you consider throwing in the iFi iPower Elite? In it’s favour, it’s really well made, a compact size, is readily available from Amazon (for £299) in 4 different voltages (5V, 12V, 15V and 24V) and even comes fully supplied with various connectors, including one for the Qutest. Oh and I think it sounds great, perhaps majoring more on resolution, but would be great to hear your expert opinion. Hope you consider it and hope you’re recovering from the burnout of trying all these supplies. Once again, really top effort and loving your work 🙏
Amazing video with tremendous amount of work, much appreciated. One thing missing, however, is a negative control, a sound clip without using any linear power supply.
Talk about diminishing returns. Don’t get me wrong, a linear power can be quieter when pushing your system comparable to a switch brick. But to really have that many sounds aesthetic differences you need to have an extremely large system with a lossless source (no dirty vinyl records and power driven monitors allowed!)
I heard that the Uptone Audio JS-2 and the JCAT optimo 3 duo are the best. Especially if you use a JCAT XE USB and internet card and use them on that. Personally I recommend JCAT LPSU on everything in a streaming system, and then having the 2 JCAT cards in the PC, and then using an Uptone Audio USB isoregen.
First of all thank you for such huge effort! This is unique review! I know I would go crazy after 2 lpsu comparisons :) As for Farad, especially with the orange fuses, it takes a lot to break in. My first impression with the Farad was the same as yours. Then I did two things 1. left it to breakin for 15 days 2. asked FTA’s owner Zoran to help me with the DC cables. FTA - makes Callisto which is I believe usb cable in your setup. After 15 days without listening to F3s the sound was a) warmer b) much better vocals c) more spacious With new copper cables (14 strings of copper in parallel, each), it was another SQ boost. And then we have decided to play with the AC cables… Oh boy how F3 reacts to it :) At the end, I think that F3 is great LPSU for my gear which is M2tech Marley Mk2 and Young Mk3. You just need to be aware that it requires a) burn in b) high quality DC cables c) high quality AC cables And than comes the paradox… cables are now more expensive than the lpsu itself :) I have compared F3 against a) switcher psu b) m2tech van der graaf c) hdplex 200W d) soon against the ideon lpsu
Good to hear they work well for you! Yeah I could hear the potential of the Super3. Obviously I can't evaluate all the permutations with third party cables. FTA makes some really good ones.
@@AudioBacon you did great job. Amazing actually. It would be impossible to add 3rd party cables into the mix. That is why I wanted to share my findings. Just to add a bit of additional information. AC cables used are all made by FTA: elara v1 and v2 and FTA clone of Ansuz C2. The clone brings such wonderful bass and midrange and makes soun calm and warm without loosing air and 3d. Elaras bring more sparkle and air. I have sotm sps 500 im my collection as well but I couldn’t hook M2Tech gear to it for comparison against F3. 2 more F3s will be purchased soon to power Sms 200 ultra neo and tx usb ultra. I will share my findings. As for Callisto, get ready for Sinope :) It is Callisto replacement also made by FTA. I have replaced my two Callistos with Sinope in a heartbeat.
Trying not to be a troll here but surely a power supply ether provides enough current or not at the specified voltage. The only concern would be the ripple current at 50Hz when using a none swich mode power supply. Somthing with a big transformer. As long as it has large enough filter capacitors on the DC side it should be fine. If you're going to that much expense why not just use batteries that you charge up before listening. That way you can be completely isolated from the mains voltage. If all you're equipment was supplied by one large battery made up of multiple cells you could just tap into the individual cell connections to get the required voltage. Balancing would need to be worked out somehow. Preferably everything would run on a set voltage like 12 volts. And internal power supplys could be used to step down the voltage for things like preamps. Surely you know that there are many components in your devices like you preamps that use voltages other then the Initially supplied 12 or 5 Volts. It's not like you just supply a clean 5 Volts and everything inside your preamp uses that same 5volts. Some components will use 1volt and others will need 12volts so DC to DC converters and voltage regulators are used internally. Often the same components that are used by a $20 DVD player that your neighbor Purchase from Aldi. A lot of this suff is driven by pure demand coltevated by very clever marketing people. Some of the components are Manufactured to look expensive. Like capacitors with shiny polished metal sleeves. The use of components designed for military and sensitive communications equipment. For things like audio equipment is often completely an absolutely redundant because audible signals Range between 10 Hz and 40 kHz with human hearing falling between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. The components used for frequencies in the megahertz sound cool to the electricaly uneducated. But make no real actually audible difference. Even your DAC at most processes at 92Kh 32 bit but these chips cost very little to produce. But don't think for a second there not cashing in on the audiofile market. They wouldn't print a fancy company logo on their chip if this wasn't the case. They to are posing for the camera. They will manufacture Hundreds of thousands of less glamorous new less glamorous nearly identical chips for the likes of Samsung and Apple. At a fraction of the price. of course the same thing could be said about sugar. I love chocolate mud cake as much as the next guy. But it still just mostly flower and sugar.
these people should listen to gene at audioholics. I used to be a hifi salesman at a magnolia design center and basically got the audioquest rep to admit his stuff was snake oil. when i saw the margins of what we paid vs the selling price i almost spit out my coffee. as to this gentleman , he is either having placebo or lying
I'm pretty sure Gene (to no fault of his own...probably his biology) simply can't hear the differences between cables, etc. But I've followed him for over a decade and he does great work on the non-subjective side of things. Although I don't think you have to spend a ton of money to get something more suited for your tastes - the fact is they could sound different. I have a BS in EE...and we were taught that similarly spec'ed components should MEASURE and perform similarly but were NEVER taught that they should SOUND similar. Also, the smarter engineers WOULD'NT just presume it would apply to sound - but instead experiment for themselves like the guys at Iconoclast cables. They've admitted that cables could measure the same...but sound very different. audiobacon.net/2019/05/27/iconoclast-cables-same-measurements-different-sound/
@@AudioBacon sure cables can have different LCR values... and could effect the sound if they're passing analog audio through rca or xlr for example. But here's the problem with the whole power supply and power cable thing... its powering a digital to analog converter...with a regulator & tons of capacitors in it also probably equipped with delta sigma modulation. Therefore the differences in power supplies would be invisible to the chip doing the actual audio conversion. I have a BS in AE , MS in ECE and design converter IC's and FPGA's for a living. It baffles me that people are genuinely spending 1000's on stuff like that DC4 when actual high end conversion (i.e Lavry Quintessence, Weiss, Prism) use regular $100 skynet or meanwell power supplies.
@@LeeOnTheTrack You just have to listen for yourself - each of those power supplies even with TH-cam compression affect the output differently. Surely, they're not all defective. What we learn in the classroom doesn't explore the perceived sonic consequences of some of these designs. Only whatever our scopes and other measurement devices can tell us. Sure, on paper, it shouldn't make a difference. But it does. Buy why? That's the million dollar question - and I think we still have a lot more exploration to do in this domain. This is coming from someone who's as technical as it gets...so yeah, I thought all this was snake oil a few years ago. Until I actually listened with an open mind. That's what makes this exercise so fascinating to me.
Never thought a big fat power cable thingie would affect sound so much. It did! I just got the cheapest Shanti Twin Ultra. My Lindemann limetree bridge has come alive! Much more detailed.. I have: Limetree (with Shanti) --> RME ADI-2 --> Dynaudio Focus speakers Questions: (Please, if you could share any thoughts when you have a moment)-- 1. The Shanti Twin Ultra LPS doesn't seem to be able to power RME dac. The RME won't come on at all when connected to the Shanti cable. Any idea? 2. If I get the SBooster option.. will it be able to power the RME DAC too?
Thanks for taking the time to put this all together.. its awesome that you have taken this task on. I have a general comments about your setup and your observation.. I have to believe that a Linear powersupply and its effects should be realized differently by different DACs.. ie a highly analytical and resolving FPGA DAC like a Dave may behave differently than a Denafrips Terminator vs a Tube based Dac, etc and how their logic and output stages are constructed... Wondering if this test could have been done differently such that we can see if the colorful description and language you are giving to these power supplies consistent among different dacs.streamers, phono stages, etc. If different results are observed on different genres of devices, then these powersupplies can't categorically be called "warm", "create larger soundstage", "musical", etc.. because these descriptions would be specific to a particular source component.. looking forward to more of your in depth comparison videos!
outstanding review, specially since it uses Chord Qtest, a DAC that is both very power dependent and really underwhelming and not impressive out o the box.
@@QQ-td9id I do use Qtest, but wasn't all good. I upgraded to an ifi psu but that wasn't good ether. I nearly quit the hobby thinking that is such a praised dac is so boring I need to spend 30k on a DAC alone. Luckly I discovered a 6 yo vido. Long story short, I did try it on a phone power bank and was an instant improvement. I ordered a n Initio 3 PSU next day, and with that I see what is so impressive about it, specially if you cut out all USB from the chain, use real glass cable and so quality streamer. The dac will show if you chain is bad.
Great Content. I have a RME ADI 2 Dac FS. I also have a Volumio streamer I just bought. I also have an Exposure 2510 Amp. At this time I am leaning toward the PLIXR Elite. I only want to buy 1 power supply.at this time. Would I be better off buying power supply for the DAC or the Rivo as far as sound quality?
Great job, first time to see someone compare power supplies. I have a question if you are in the mood for a little DYI? IAN Canada has an interesting power supply kit, I made myself a LinearPi dual(5V) + 2x UcConditioner5V (module with supercapacitors) and Toroidy Supreme Transformer. This sounds better to me than anything I’ve tried for a fraction of the price. This power supply is connected to Jcat NET XE and Jcat USB XE cards. It would be interesting to put together one such power supply and test it.
Which of these units would you say pairs the best with the Chord Qutest? I value dynamics, speed and bass quantity/quality over other sound characteristics.
Need a power supply for my Merrill turntable that is output 12V AC. Using the Sbooster 24V on my Rega 6 and Sbooster doesn’t make a 12V AC adapter. Thoughts? Thx
The cymbals at the beginning of the song and the tremolo in her voice is much more pronounced (and realistic) with the Sean Jacobs power supply. Top shelf parts do make a difference. But I personally wouldn't spend that much on a power supply.
@@AudioBacon Ah thanks, later I saw the video footage and there is it clearly visible - at first, I just read your review (a dozen times :)) Now I'm wondering, whether it's sensible to keep upgrading the power supply for ADI-2 (now I'm using iFi Elite 15V), or rather go for a new higher-end DAC and keep the Jcat's outputs for 5V NET card & streamer only? My gear is built around Meze's headphones, powered by GS-X Mini and bass response is in my focus. Thanks a lot!
@@SpaceEncounter Well how much a better power supply improves the sound of a DAC always depends on one's electricity at home. For me, even with a decent power filtering solution, I remember that it brought more intense and lively sound, so I kept it and didn't analyze further much. But there are also other tweaks for similar money, with much better gains in terms of purity, spaciousness and atmosphere. The best one for me were the local grounding units named "Terminos" from Audiophile Rocks, specifically from the Abysscurum level and upwards.
Good subjective analysis! One thing to be aware with linear PSUs is the potential for creating a ground loop and jitter on digital systems. But my view and experience is that they should never alter the sound drastically, if at all. If they do, then perhaps the component they are powering are at fault by not providing proper isolation from noise on the DC rails. That being said, I have 2 Allo PSUs that work well and subjectively seem to improve the resolution in the systems they power. Starting with a component that tests well providing low distortion and high SINAD is the way to go IMO, the PSU is the icing on the cake.
If audio devices are so influenced by the outside, it seems like bad design that does not respect itself to produce good sound. Probably need to get better audio devices with better design. Do these audio companies market themselves with particular audio quality, or invite users to color their music with various power supplies?
Short list first listen Paul Hynes Sr-4 12, Plixir, Shanti, Sbooster, Paul Hynes Sr-7. Just based in the impact of the female voice because it sounded more open and airy. (Listened first and then watched the reviews, so I didn't know anything about the supplies)
I take Jay’s description to mean that any number of particular sonic elements within the presentation sounded blended into one another or squashed, so as to not so easily be able to pinpoint those individual elements in the overall recording, or in parts of the recording thereof. To me, congealed could also be described as sounding mushed, squashed, congested and/or un-dynamic as opposed to sounding articulated, separated, dynamic and/or delineated. That’s my take, FWIW.
@@johenkay1129 Just watched that part of the video again Johen and I’m with you, it is being used as a positive descriptor, my mistake and misinterpretation. Thank you for the correction 🙏
When it comes to power, all the different options really confuse me. Some say, get dedicated outlets (new electrical line put in), some say just a really good power conditioner, then there are power re-conditioners like from PS-Audio. Where do these linear power supplies fall? If you get this for 1 component, do you still need a good power strip/conditioner or should this connect str8 to the wall? But what if you dont have enough outlets, then you have no choice but to get a power strip of some sort? Very good video though, thnx
Get everything it effects sound having o r weak link effects the entire setup. You might only need a power conditioner if you have too much noise in your line. If I'm not wrong some places let you demo try and look where.
The single reg SR7 isn’t the top model. The double regulated DR7 is. And there are extreme versions with z-foils and Teflon boards which take it to another level again.
Hi, I've an ADI-2 DAC FS with an Sbooster connected. I've made a video on it - in german - you can use subtitles. Look for "Soundupgrade REM ADI2 DAC FS mit PSU von Sbooster" . In short, this was the best invest in my hifi for years. The soundstage is now wide open, more details in heights, bass is more precise than with the standard PSU. The only "drawback" was Sophie Zelmanies voice: the "s" in her voice was a bit more emphasized 😄
Can someone here comments on these wonderful power supplies reviewed here vs how battery and or super capacitors sounds, please. I heard other reviewers rave about Paul Hynes LPS…, kind of sad to hear that the company folded. I no electrical engineer but one would think that a fixed regulated DC voltage would be cheaper to manufacture, less engineering to make right this cheaper. Surprisingly even through the the TH-cam compression, I can here the difference between each LPS but less between each DAC’s
Hey! Just wanted to let you know the reviews and several other areas of your website are down. Couldn’t even send this info via the “contact” link at the bottom of your website.
I don’t believe the Farad Super3 (Level 2 Copper) has been recorded the same as the others; or its resolution is much lower - it sounds completely different, and bad.
A linear power supply is easy to make or get a kit to build. all 12 to 30 Volt ish supplies for preamp or dac are often regulated by voltage regualtors witch limit the fast peak responce. a good transformator sice and many good capasitors with a comvined valkue in the 20 -40 000 uF range. A dc suply should always try to be as clean as a battery witch is the clean dc goal to reach when making power suplies. switch mode for sound is still not Ok. wher it has been used they have been very complex to filter out emi irf etc etc.One of my lkaptop brick make it Thrue my stereo with a high pitch constant noice. Maybe a electrolytic cap is going bad in it, since it is a good brand. But the point is some switch noise will get thrue. mostly of what u say here is what i have read and heard from sales people. Nothing real. Always should a customer listen to several system and give sound advice. Had this hobby for 50 years know.
P-R&T ...........the digital issue.............to me for what's worth ( on YT) ........Fedilizer followed by the Farad do the least damage to the music.....
Absolute waste of money. I have two components with switch mode power supplies. These were over 12k uk pounds but were supplied with the cheap laptop type power supplies. The manufacturer states they are totally adequate and they clearly state an upgrade here will be of no use.. The rest of my system is very high end. Top monos and speakers. Basic but good quality connections. No 5k interconnect or speaker cable. The sound is spectacular each and every listening session. Even at extreme volumes there is no background noise. Dont buy those power supplies. They just want your money. They ar ripping you off and giving you a smart box as a trade iff. They dont do anything. Get the best components you can afford or want to spend. Too much scamming in hifi industry these days. Its the components that are critical.ive heard all that bs about fleshed out sound, timbre, realisitc......thats garbage said over and over to sell these boxes. Or dont give a damn what i say. You choose.
@@rrtind a bit of evidence may help. Why would a dac designer not take into consideration that their is going to be noise on the usb and power. You can plug a well designed dac into a very noisy power supply and not change its performance in a audible way, unless maybe you can hear -130dB. And that is very quiet !
@@r423sdex May I ask, are you part of that cohort that needs to see things written on paper for your ears to function? Power supplies aren’t just about low noise. The transient ability of a power supply is important, as is it’s ability not to pollute surrounding equipment hooked up to the same mains line, etc. Not all DAC designers take great care with the power supply, which supports why separate power supplies exist. In my fair experience with hi-fi products (not massive experience, but not non-existent either) I’ve only come across one product where the power supply and grounding was paid a great deal of attention. It doesn’t happen as much as we’d like.
@@rrtind how do you know that a power supply can effect other components ?. As for dacs, £100 gets you one with a -130dB noise floor !. How low noise floor do you think you need ?. Watch the video again and listen to the words he uses to describe the difference. By what he says the difference is huge (easy to measure).
@@r423sdex Some power supplies can and do have an audible effect on the performance of other components and/or the rest of the system. The way you can diagnose this is to listen to your system, then plug in and unplug other components to and from the mains block that aren’t being listened to. If you can’t hear any change, that’s great. Part of the problem with the group that gets themselves totally stuck on measurements is A) they are unwilling to use their ears, one of our most marvellous monitoring tools, and B) they perhaps don’t know what they’re listening for and then lead to the conclusion that discernible differences can’t be heard. The good thing about A) and B) is that neither of them are my problem. Remember that the people who make power supplies are electronic/electrical engineers and they aren’t all into bluffing as the cynics out there so wish was the case. I used to work with chemists in a polymer coatings company, they had a large set of tests for the coating and it’s performance, but there were countless times whereby some coatings would perform much better or much worse and it just would not show up or be reflected in the measurements. Yet it could be seen and felt to be better or worse. So go ahead and get stuck fully into the measurements if you wish, they are important, but they aren’t the whole story.
Wow, it would stand to reason that there are some design issues with the JCAT, Chord and RME products if you are able to hear that vast a difference between the external power supplies. Makes for an interesting video I suppose.
I have had the Uptone JS-2 for a long time and know it well and love it. But I just got a Farad 3 (5v stock version), and on my digital streamer its better in every way than the JS-2, and that's without any break in. I realise these things are heavily system dependant, but I cannot trust your LPS rating system if you rate the JS-2 so high and the Farad so low. Its simply not the case in my system, the opposite. Perhaps on other voltages like 12v, or higher current draw requirements, the JS2 pulls ahead, but on my 5v application the Farad 3 is better.
This is just one guy's opinion so if you enjoy the Farad 3 sound more, that's awesome. As you know, "better" is subjective. Out of curiosity, which streamer are you powering?
@@AudioBacon A Lindemann Limetree Bridge II. Despite the very small size its a very good sounding product and a step up in sound vs the Bluesound Node, especially with the Uptone or Farad powering it!
Very informative but this power supplies really breaks the wallet I just used a simple cheapo iFi 5V filter for my ifi DACS and recently bought Audioquest Jitter Bug for my USB source cable I hardly notice any sound difference but it feels good that it’s there, I think you need to rest Dude your kinda sleepy in this video, thanks for sharing 👍
A power supply can not make your device sound better and more "real" as you describe it, unless youre using a tube device (then MAYBE). The noise and therefore the ripple can be lower but anything else wont feed into your audio signal. Change my mind tho, i would love to have your opinion on that topic
Switching power supplies arent fast enought for Hi-Fi audio??? Switching power supplies are fast enought for freaking GPU's (graphics processors units). Those are capable of creating a transients so fast, no audio equipment can match. Still computers use switching power supplies for practically everything. Get lost with this "lineal power supply better" BS.
Linear power supplies wont change the detail/sound stage/bass or anything, you only hear placebo after wasting money on then. The only thing you can hear is the ripple or unfiltered mains on a really really bad power supply. A 15$ linear psu and a 500$ "audiofool" branded one providing the same power will have no audible difference.
Current times voltage equals watts Irregardless of how their developed a good couple in Is what provides transit response this again can be applied to either of the dude different supply technologies it amazes me how people can wax on to such detail on such BS
@@harryconover289 I would in fact say that D Roberson has mad the point that is the topic . the topic of a subjective review a clearly defined subject related to the effect that a power supply can have on the active circuit. The effort at obuscating the power supply function falls short for me.
@@harryconover289 From my measurement that is not the conclusion I reached the bypass does effect the impedance of the power supply . The bypass is not the entire effect from what I have tested in my results . I would suggest you read the interesting listen test done in Linear Audio article. Found it well controlled and repeatable.
Nobody does detail like this guy... Glad to see another video, super helpful, thanks!
Glad it was helpful!!
This hobby just has a LOT of rabbit holes doesn't it?
Way. Too. Many.
I’m just noticing this
YES...INFINITE AMOUNTS UV EM💀
Deliberately sowing doubt to get you to part with your money. A lot of snake oil.
Great review. A monumental task to review all these LPS! Agree with your comments and findings on the models of LPS that I've listened to. Never heard of Sean Jacobs until this video.
Okay I bought a Plixir Elite BDC + Statement DC cable for my 5V Chord Qutest, 12V Lumin D2 Streamer, and for my 19V Roon Nucleus + revA about a year ago. The Elite BDC is everything Jay says (see my prior comment). Nothing else is close for the price. HOWEVER, I worked with Ghent @ Ghent Audio and had him make a Gotham GAC 4/1 UltraPro starquad DC cable with JSSG360 shielding and WHOA!! It maintains all of the openness and clarity of the Plixir, but adds more tonal richness, density + contrast, a LOT more slam/punch, lots more meat on the bones, added bass weight/authority, and this very pleasant midrange "glow" that sits on top of everything from watching youtube videos to actual music. I actually think it *added* openness, space, layering, scale, and air compared to the Statement DC cables (which I used for over a year).
I started with my Chord, then got a Ghent JSSG360 Gotham for my Lumin and then for me Roon Nucleus. Biggest improvement was on the DAC (obv).
Ghent cables are a no-brainer and I would actually say to skip out on the Statement DC cable *UNLESS* you have a dark system.
I have 3 different DC cables...the Ghent, a $300 cryo treated Kimber and a pure silver one from AliExpress. I prefer the Gotham from Ghent over the other two!
Subscribed. Kudos for not only taking on such an arduous endeavour, but communicating the results sufficiently to assist fellow audiophiles searching for a power supply to complement their own system. So much more useful than the typical rag review where the reviewer ecstatically throws adjectives across the page about how good it sounds, but compares the product to nothing.
Just ordered a Plixir Elite BDC from James! With Statement cable! Thank you for this herculean effort, Jay!!
It arrived today. It's shocking to me how accurate Jay's description of every aspect of its performance was. I'm superbly happy!!!
Hi. I am curious how you are liking your BDC now? I am on the fence for pairing a BDC with my Qutest given the expense. But if it makes a major difference I would buy. Any thoughts you are willing to share on your experience?
@@robbrookby3350 Oh I absolutely love it. Definitely keeping it. It actually replaced the Allo Shanti, which I had used for a year. Clear and obvious step up. Was able to do a truncated in-home demo with a Denafrips Terminator II and a Holo Audio Spring 3.... two DACs that were previously able to outperform the Qutest to my ears. Welp, Qutest beats them now. That's how much more refined the Elite BDC is, and causes the Qutest to be. Mind you, I love Denafrips and use a GAIA DDC (used it to test all three DACs), and had previously wanted to obtain a Holo May. So, if anything, I was biased slightly against Qutest. But the Elite BDC gave the Qutest more body, refinement, tonal trueness, scale, AND slam. Tone colors are accentuated whereas before they were grey. Sibilance greatly decreased (gone with the GAIA). Refinement was obviously improved.
I had a HugoTT2 on loan from a friend and, shockingly, preferred Qutest + Elite BDC by a very slim margin. Add in the Gaia ($4600 USD if all 3 are bought new, at full price) And the Qutest setup was solidly better. The Hugo TT2 did not seem to benefit very much from the Gaia, but the improvement with Qutest + Gaia was huge. HUGE. Gaia brought the same magnitude AND type of improvements as the Elite BDC.
My other DAC is a Lumin D2, also with Elite BDC. It is a much more lush and dark and smooth DAC than the original Qutest.... they were nearly opposites in stock form. But, now, they are much more alike than different IMHO. The Qutest adopting a much more lush, colorful, refined analog character (while still having all the famous detail) and the Lumin D2 gaining dynamics and air and scale (while still being lush and analog). The Elite BDC made them both truer to the music. So the Elite BDC truly has no sound of its own. I use Statement DC cables with both Plixirs.
@@DBravo29er incredibly helpful! I have made the purchase of a BDC. Looking forward a genuine upgrade to my Qutest.
Do you think the Gaia is the DDC that makes the most difference? Would the Iris or Hermes get you very close to what the Gaia brings? Or is there something special about the Gaia?
@@robbrookby3350 I actually had an IRIS for a year. That alone, makes an obvious difference with Qutest. But stepping up to GAIA made another improvement that was nearly as large... and worth the $$, IMHO.
Glad our impressions matched! Enjoy :)
That is a LOT of work! Appreciated!
Sure was. Definitely burned out. But it was worth it.
ive been running my JS-2 for about a week now and the detail retrieval is amazing. With darker background which i didnt know i was missing. Using with the Lumin U1 mini which is already a fantastic streamer the Uptone JS-2 brings the unit to another level. JS2 was recommended by a fellow audiophile as it is one of the few that utilises Rcore transformer
Great to hear!
I use the Farad Super 3 to power my Roon Rock NUC and an Sbooster for my Modem, pretty happy with the results.
After watching this review, I decided to try the PLiXiR BDC 12V 2A + Statement DC cable for my network switch. I was amazed by how much more revealing it was compared to my Farad + Level 2 DC cable (2021). The PLiXiR is stronger at low level micro detailing, accuracy, speed, and dynamics. The sound is less dark and has more high extension. Even though they have different sound qualities, the PLiXiR tone was more to the truth to me. I didn't expect it because back then I thought the Farad was a safe choice to go. I can confirm this review is quite accurate. Thanks!
Glad you were able to hear for yourself! I do like the darker tone of the Farad but yeah...the PLiXiR is very special. Happy listening!
Switch mode power supplies are the way of the future. Technology has greatly advanced.
Very informative video! Would like to see the Ifi ipower Elite and the "Ferrum Hypsos " in future videos also. Thanks!
I bought a Plixir for my Melco S100. Sooo glad I bought the plixir.
Great post and great effort Jay! :))) Thanks so much for coming up with this video!
My pleasure!
Hi, I have enjoyed your most comprehensive video immensely! The next logical steps would be servers/streamers: silent cases, high-grade cards, etc. Many would build their own hi-grade home media servers/streamers with these great linear power supplies instead of paying outrageous sums for the current market's top offerings, like Grimms, Aurenders, or Innuoses of this world.
Are there any particular streamers that would be interesting? Raspberry Pi based? Custom PCs?
@@AudioBacon Silent custom PCs - powered by great PSUs and having isolated USB or I2S cards.
Yes People are still reading your reviews. I appreciate what you have achieved here. No one else wants to touch this topic of power supplys. Since I do have a RME ADI 2 DAC, would I be better off with the Uptone. Have you heard much about MCRU LPS sound quality?
Did you get RME ADI2 DAC with uptone JS-2 combination, just ordered one unit today.
Thanks for doing these reviews. I have the SBooster on my Roon Nucleus One, and it really broth the Roon device to life. I also have the Fadar Super 3 on my Volumio Rivo streamer, I am still trying to figure that out in regards to sound quality improvements, it is new, and still burning in. As of now, it is a keeper, they both are.
Change the fuse on the S booster you will be surprised
@@razzman2987 I don't know how much of an affect that would have on what is essentially a computer.
@@michaelwright1602 u will be suprised the difference is significant
Try hifi tuning copper cheap upgrade and very good quality
Jay, what a mammoth effort! Really applaud you on this most awesome comparison. I’ve taken so much from it.
As you asked if we might have alternatives to suggest, I have one I’d love to see you compare against these. It’s the iFi iPower Elite and the interesting (curveball) thing is it’s a well made (here goes) switching-mode (can’t believe I said it!) power supply.
I bought this for my Qutest and decided to go this switching mode route based on comments made online by Rob Watts of Chord. A Linear vs Switching Mode debate is something I don’t care about, I just care about awesome sound and I believe both technologies, when done right, would have their merits.
So, on top of your already peerless power supply comparison, would you consider throwing in the iFi iPower Elite? In it’s favour, it’s really well made, a compact size, is readily available from Amazon (for £299) in 4 different voltages (5V, 12V, 15V and 24V) and even comes fully supplied with various connectors, including one for the Qutest. Oh and I think it sounds great, perhaps majoring more on resolution, but would be great to hear your expert opinion.
Hope you consider it and hope you’re recovering from the burnout of trying all these supplies. Once again, really top effort and loving your work 🙏
Amazing video with tremendous amount of work, much appreciated. One thing missing, however, is a negative control, a sound clip without using any linear power supply.
Are you getting the DC4 for your Dave after hearing it?
In He-man voice: "I have the power!" Great video!
May the force be with you
Magnificent work! thanks so much for this review.
Talk about diminishing returns. Don’t get me wrong, a linear power can be quieter when pushing your system comparable to a switch brick. But to really have that many sounds aesthetic differences you need to have an extremely large system with a lossless source (no dirty vinyl records and power driven monitors allowed!)
"This power supply sounds more HiFi"...made my day...
Amazing Jay! Thanks for the great work!
any benifits of buying a normal Lumin U2 over the Lumin U2 Mini w/ linier power supply BOTW Linier piwer supply...?
any sound differences❓
I heard that the Uptone Audio JS-2 and the JCAT optimo 3 duo are the best. Especially if you use a JCAT XE USB and internet card and use them on that. Personally I recommend JCAT LPSU on everything in a streaming system, and then having the 2 JCAT cards in the PC, and then using an Uptone Audio USB isoregen.
Good combo!
First of all thank you for such huge effort! This is unique review! I know I would go crazy after 2 lpsu comparisons :)
As for Farad, especially with the orange fuses, it takes a lot to break in. My first impression with the Farad was the same as yours. Then I did two things
1. left it to breakin for 15 days
2. asked FTA’s owner Zoran to help me with the DC cables. FTA - makes Callisto which is I believe usb cable in your setup.
After 15 days without listening to F3s the sound was a) warmer b) much better vocals c) more spacious
With new copper cables (14 strings of copper in parallel, each), it was another SQ boost.
And then we have decided to play with the AC cables… Oh boy how F3 reacts to it :)
At the end, I think that F3 is great LPSU for my gear which is M2tech Marley Mk2 and Young Mk3. You just need to be aware that it requires
a) burn in
b) high quality DC cables
c) high quality AC cables
And than comes the paradox… cables are now more expensive than the lpsu itself :)
I have compared F3 against
a) switcher psu
b) m2tech van der graaf
c) hdplex 200W
d) soon against the ideon lpsu
Good to hear they work well for you! Yeah I could hear the potential of the Super3. Obviously I can't evaluate all the permutations with third party cables. FTA makes some really good ones.
@@AudioBacon you did great job. Amazing actually. It would be impossible to add 3rd party cables into the mix. That is why I wanted to share my findings. Just to add a bit of additional information. AC cables used are all made by FTA: elara v1 and v2 and FTA clone of Ansuz C2. The clone brings such wonderful bass and midrange and makes soun calm and warm without loosing air and 3d. Elaras bring more sparkle and air.
I have sotm sps 500 im my collection as well but I couldn’t hook M2Tech gear to it for comparison against F3.
2 more F3s will be purchased soon to power Sms 200 ultra neo and tx usb ultra. I will share my findings.
As for Callisto, get ready for Sinope :) It is Callisto replacement also made by FTA. I have replaced my two Callistos with Sinope in a heartbeat.
@@MirkoCetkovic I guess I have more exploration to do! Need to hear the Sinope!
@@lsantista1481 hi, no I haven’t. Enjoy the F3s, you did a good choice!
@@MirkoCetkovic How was Farad powering Sotm SMS200Ultra in comparison with Sotm SPS500?
Trying not to be a troll here but surely a power supply ether provides enough current or not at the specified voltage. The only concern would be the ripple current at 50Hz when using a none swich mode power supply. Somthing with a big transformer. As long as it has large enough filter capacitors on the DC side it should be fine. If you're going to that much expense why not just use batteries that you charge up before listening. That way you can be completely isolated from the mains voltage. If all you're equipment was supplied by one large battery made up of multiple cells you could just tap into the individual cell connections to get the required voltage. Balancing would need to be worked out somehow. Preferably everything would run on a set voltage like 12 volts. And internal power supplys could be used to step down the voltage for things like preamps. Surely you know that there are many components in your devices like you preamps that use voltages other then the Initially supplied 12 or 5 Volts. It's not like you just supply a clean 5 Volts and everything inside your preamp uses that same 5volts. Some components will use 1volt and others will need 12volts so DC to DC converters and voltage regulators are used internally. Often the same components that are used by a $20 DVD player that your neighbor Purchase from Aldi. A lot of this suff is driven by pure demand coltevated by very clever marketing people. Some of the components are Manufactured to look expensive. Like capacitors with shiny polished metal sleeves. The use of components designed for military and sensitive communications equipment. For things like audio equipment is often completely an absolutely redundant because audible signals Range between 10 Hz and 40 kHz with human hearing falling between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. The components used for frequencies in the megahertz sound cool to the electricaly uneducated. But make no real actually audible difference. Even your DAC at most processes at 92Kh 32 bit but these chips cost very little to produce. But don't think for a second there not cashing in on the audiofile market. They wouldn't print a fancy company logo on their chip if this wasn't the case. They to are posing for the camera. They will manufacture Hundreds of thousands of less glamorous new less glamorous nearly identical chips for the likes of Samsung and Apple. At a fraction of the price. of course the same thing could be said about sugar. I love chocolate mud cake as much as the next guy. But it still just mostly flower and sugar.
these people should listen to gene at audioholics. I used to be a hifi salesman at a magnolia design center and basically got the audioquest rep to admit his stuff was snake oil. when i saw the margins of what we paid vs the selling price i almost spit out my coffee. as to this gentleman , he is either having placebo or lying
I'm pretty sure Gene (to no fault of his own...probably his biology) simply can't hear the differences between cables, etc. But I've followed him for over a decade and he does great work on the non-subjective side of things. Although I don't think you have to spend a ton of money to get something more suited for your tastes - the fact is they could sound different.
I have a BS in EE...and we were taught that similarly spec'ed components should MEASURE and perform similarly but were NEVER taught that they should SOUND similar. Also, the smarter engineers WOULD'NT just presume it would apply to sound - but instead experiment for themselves like the guys at Iconoclast cables. They've admitted that cables could measure the same...but sound very different. audiobacon.net/2019/05/27/iconoclast-cables-same-measurements-different-sound/
@@AudioBacon sure cables can have different LCR values... and could effect the sound if they're passing analog audio through rca or xlr for example. But here's the problem with the whole power supply and power cable thing... its powering a digital to analog converter...with a regulator & tons of capacitors in it also probably equipped with delta sigma modulation. Therefore the differences in power supplies would be invisible to the chip doing the actual audio conversion.
I have a BS in AE , MS in ECE and design converter IC's and FPGA's for a living. It baffles me that people are genuinely spending 1000's on stuff like that DC4 when actual high end conversion (i.e Lavry Quintessence, Weiss, Prism) use regular $100 skynet or meanwell power supplies.
@@LeeOnTheTrack You just have to listen for yourself - each of those power supplies even with TH-cam compression affect the output differently. Surely, they're not all defective. What we learn in the classroom doesn't explore the perceived sonic consequences of some of these designs. Only whatever our scopes and other measurement devices can tell us. Sure, on paper, it shouldn't make a difference. But it does. Buy why? That's the million dollar question - and I think we still have a lot more exploration to do in this domain. This is coming from someone who's as technical as it gets...so yeah, I thought all this was snake oil a few years ago. Until I actually listened with an open mind. That's what makes this exercise so fascinating to me.
Except with all your self professed technical prowess, you forgot to volume match. SMH.
Hi, do you think the characteristics you described transfer over to the Chord TT2 with its supercapacitors?
Never thought a big fat power cable thingie would affect sound so much. It did! I just got the cheapest Shanti Twin Ultra. My Lindemann limetree bridge has come alive! Much more detailed..
I have:
Limetree (with Shanti) --> RME ADI-2 --> Dynaudio Focus speakers
Questions:
(Please, if you could share any thoughts when you have a moment)--
1. The Shanti Twin Ultra LPS doesn't seem to be able to power RME dac. The RME won't come on at all when connected to the Shanti cable. Any idea?
2. If I get the SBooster option.. will it be able to power the RME DAC too?
Yes, no problem. I could notice a little bit wider soundstage with SBooster powering my RME ADI-2 Pro FSR.
Would be interesting to compare zerozone, teradak, or other made in china nameless r-core linear psus.
👍👍
For arcam irdac 12v - 1.5a MCRU or SBooster BOTW P&P ECO MKII? For jazz and house music? Or maybe ifi power elite?
Thanks for taking the time to put this all together.. its awesome that you have taken this task on. I have a general comments about your setup and your observation.. I have to believe that a Linear powersupply and its effects should be realized differently by different DACs.. ie a highly analytical and resolving FPGA DAC like a Dave may behave differently than a Denafrips Terminator vs a Tube based Dac, etc and how their logic and output stages are constructed... Wondering if this test could have been done differently such that we can see if the colorful description and language you are giving to these power supplies consistent among different dacs.streamers, phono stages, etc. If different results are observed on different genres of devices, then these powersupplies can't categorically be called "warm", "create larger soundstage", "musical", etc.. because these descriptions would be specific to a particular source component.. looking forward to more of your in depth comparison videos!
They are pretty consistent regardless of components. The impressions were the same with the USB and NET cards and the Quest DAC.
They already filter the power, any well made dac, amp, streamer and cd player would do this. It's simple to do.
@@r423sdex uh huh (pat pat). You're so smart!
@@AudioBacon Strongly doubt about this claim -- each component built differently, so is their immunity to PS noise.
Hi! Thank you! For my ears Paul Hynes 7 give more insrumets separation and best tembre sr7 more clean
Very clean :)
outstanding review, specially since it uses Chord Qtest, a DAC that is both very power dependent and really underwhelming and not impressive out o the box.
not impressive out o(?) the box? Show your relative standard o impressive ones!
@@QQ-td9id I do use Qtest, but wasn't all good. I upgraded to an ifi psu but that wasn't good ether. I nearly quit the hobby thinking that is such a praised dac is so boring I need to spend 30k on a DAC alone. Luckly I discovered a 6 yo vido. Long story short, I did try it on a phone power bank and was an instant improvement. I ordered a n Initio 3 PSU next day, and with that I see what is so impressive about it, specially if you cut out all USB from the chain, use real glass cable and so quality streamer. The dac will show if you chain is bad.
Is there a way to test the output of a supply to figure out what makes them match?
Oh I forgot. I have Buchardt 400 S speakers. God Bless you!
Great Content. I have a RME ADI 2 Dac FS. I also have a Volumio streamer I just bought. I also have an Exposure 2510 Amp. At this time I am leaning toward the PLIXR Elite. I only want to buy 1 power supply.at this time. Would I be better off buying power supply for the DAC or the Rivo as far as sound quality?
How do you connect these power supplies since the Qutest has only one type of input?
Adapters
Do you think any of these power supply is good for Nagra Tube Dac? How about Sean Jacobs.
Great job, first time to see someone compare power supplies.
I have a question if you are in the mood for a little DYI?
IAN Canada has an interesting power supply kit, I made myself a LinearPi dual(5V) + 2x UcConditioner5V (module with supercapacitors) and Toroidy Supreme Transformer. This sounds better to me than anything I’ve tried for a fraction of the price. This power supply is connected to Jcat NET XE and Jcat USB XE cards.
It would be interesting to put together one such power supply and test it.
Congrats. I too use Ian's stuff. For my linear power supplies I wire point to point very simple but effective. Sounds great. Dirt cheap.
module with supercapacitors - if 12V doesn't work. what model Toroidy Supreme Transformer you used? I have hammond 1182M9 12V
“If a power supply were to smoke weed…” LOL Am I the only one who likes the Paul Hymes SR4T? I think it sounds great. Where can I find one?
I guess Hifishark is your friend lol
Which of these units would you say pairs the best with the Chord Qutest? I value dynamics, speed and bass quantity/quality over other sound characteristics.
I’m looking for a power supply 24 V 13 W for my TT. A Yamaha GT 2000L. What would you recomended?
Need a power supply for my Merrill turntable that is output 12V AC. Using the Sbooster 24V on my Rega 6 and Sbooster doesn’t make a 12V AC adapter. Thoughts? Thx
I have had a chance to listen to a good switch mode power supply like the ifi ipower elite?
The cymbals at the beginning of the song and the tremolo in her voice is much more pronounced (and realistic) with the Sean Jacobs power supply. Top shelf parts do make a difference. But I personally wouldn't spend that much on a power supply.
What random buzzword generator do you use in those product descriptions?
Excellent comparison.
One question - did you try Jcat's supplies with ADI-2 or did you have just 5V outputs?
I had a 12V output as well
@@AudioBacon Ah thanks, later I saw the video footage and there is it clearly visible - at first, I just read your review (a dozen times :))
Now I'm wondering, whether it's sensible to keep upgrading the power supply for ADI-2 (now I'm using iFi Elite 15V), or rather go for a new higher-end DAC and keep the Jcat's outputs for 5V NET card & streamer only?
My gear is built around Meze's headphones, powered by GS-X Mini and bass response is in my focus.
Thanks a lot!
Did the Ifi elite improve the sound of your ADI-2 DAC?
@@SpaceEncounter Well how much a better power supply improves the sound of a DAC always depends on one's electricity at home. For me, even with a decent power filtering solution, I remember that it brought more intense and lively sound, so I kept it and didn't analyze further much.
But there are also other tweaks for similar money, with much better gains in terms of purity, spaciousness and atmosphere. The best one for me were the local grounding units named "Terminos" from Audiophile Rocks, specifically from the Abysscurum level and upwards.
Good subjective analysis! One thing to be aware with linear PSUs is the potential for creating a ground loop and jitter on digital systems. But my view and experience is that they should never alter the sound drastically, if at all. If they do, then perhaps the component they are powering are at fault by not providing proper isolation from noise on the DC rails. That being said, I have 2 Allo PSUs that work well and subjectively seem to improve the resolution in the systems they power. Starting with a component that tests well providing low distortion and high SINAD is the way to go IMO, the PSU is the icing on the cake.
If audio devices are so influenced by the outside, it seems like bad design that does not respect itself to produce good sound. Probably need to get better audio devices with better design.
Do these audio companies market themselves with particular audio quality, or invite users to color their music with various power supplies?
Short list first listen Paul Hynes Sr-4 12, Plixir, Shanti, Sbooster, Paul Hynes Sr-7. Just based in the impact of the female voice because it sounded more open and airy. (Listened first and then watched the reviews, so I didn't know anything about the supplies)
Can you explain what you mean by "congealed"?
I take Jay’s description to mean that any number of particular sonic elements within the presentation sounded blended into one another or squashed, so as to not so easily be able to pinpoint those individual elements in the overall recording, or in parts of the recording thereof.
To me, congealed could also be described as sounding mushed, squashed, congested and/or un-dynamic as opposed to sounding articulated, separated, dynamic and/or delineated. That’s my take, FWIW.
@@rrtind I'm pretty sure he's using congealed as a positive descriptor. Another way to say it would be coalesced or tangible.
@@johenkay1129 Just watched that part of the video again Johen and I’m with you, it is being used as a positive descriptor, my mistake and misinterpretation. Thank you for the correction 🙏
@@rrtind congealed allows it to be sold for more money, so does nuanced
@@mainsource8030 😂😂
What would be best for a Hugo 2 ?
Probably one of the warmer sounding ones (optimo, fidelizer, etc)
When it comes to power, all the different options really confuse me. Some say, get dedicated outlets (new electrical line put in), some say just a really good power conditioner, then there are power re-conditioners like from PS-Audio.
Where do these linear power supplies fall? If you get this for 1 component, do you still need a good power strip/conditioner or should this connect str8 to the wall? But what if you dont have enough outlets, then you have no choice but to get a power strip of some sort?
Very good video though, thnx
Get everything it effects sound having o r weak link effects the entire setup. You might only need a power conditioner if you have too much noise in your line. If I'm not wrong some places let you demo try and look where.
Why Didn’t you try the Nirvana from allo
Do you now still think Paul Hynes SR7 the best?
The single reg SR7 isn’t the top model. The double regulated DR7 is. And there are extreme versions with z-foils and Teflon boards which take it to another level again.
Which power supply is best for the RME ADI-2 Pro FSR BE?
Hi, I've an ADI-2 DAC FS with an Sbooster connected. I've made a video on it - in german - you can use subtitles. Look for "Soundupgrade REM ADI2 DAC FS mit PSU von Sbooster" . In short, this was the best invest in my hifi for years. The soundstage is now wide open, more details in heights, bass is more precise than with the standard PSU. The only "drawback" was Sophie Zelmanies voice: the "s" in her voice was a bit more emphasized 😄
I think I want the LPS that smokes weed. 😂
Great job.
Can someone here comments on these wonderful power supplies reviewed here vs how battery and or super capacitors sounds, please.
I heard other reviewers rave about Paul Hynes LPS…, kind of sad to hear that the company folded.
I no electrical engineer but one would think that a fixed regulated DC voltage would be cheaper to manufacture, less engineering to make right this cheaper.
Surprisingly even through the the TH-cam compression, I can here the difference between each LPS but less between each DAC’s
When comparing power supples, are you matching levels to within 1db.? If not your results are invalid.
Hey! Just wanted to let you know the reviews and several other areas of your website are down. Couldn’t even send this info via the “contact” link at the bottom of your website.
Which ones?
Hybrid power supplies are best, ...high efficiency and very clean power!
Is the Farad slower sounding than the Nikola 2
From memory, yeah.
So you think Sean Jacobs sound the best?
Check out the more comparable Paul Hynes model instead of his mid range SR7. The DR7t+ double regulated, turbo unit.
First correct pronunciation of toroidal I've heard in an audiophile video, at friggin' last 🏆
Please. Do Eversolo a-8.
I don’t believe the Farad Super3 (Level 2 Copper) has been recorded the same as the others; or its resolution is much lower - it sounds completely different, and bad.
yes the difference is very noticeable
don know why
even on the first one
I assure you it wasn't recorded differently. Would've been too much work for me lol
A linear power supply is easy to make or get a kit to build. all 12 to 30 Volt ish supplies for preamp or dac are often regulated by voltage regualtors witch limit the fast peak responce. a good transformator sice and many good capasitors with a comvined valkue in the 20 -40 000 uF range. A dc suply should always try to be as clean as a battery witch is the clean dc goal to reach when making power suplies. switch mode for sound is still not Ok. wher it has been used they have been very complex to filter out emi irf etc etc.One of my lkaptop brick make it Thrue my stereo with a high pitch constant noice. Maybe a electrolytic cap is going bad in it, since it is a good brand. But the point is some switch noise will get thrue. mostly of what u say here is what i have read and heard from sales people. Nothing real. Always should a customer listen to several system and give sound advice. Had this hobby for 50 years know.
Hi, which is the best budget wired headphones
Sundara best under $500.
Beyerdynamic DT range
You forgot to review Ferrum Hypsos? How that one stands vs others?
Subscribed*
AWESOME!
I'm honestly lost here. With so many devices that effect sound signature. There should be a jumbled mess in the music you get.
Bravo !!
Chceck Your mic system, I hear a very high pitch noise, when You are speaking.
Thanks! Sorry about that.
The small lose of power with linear vs switching in the use id small at worst about 10% so what 10 to 30 watts not that much .
I think it's more about noise rejection
@@AudioBacon Agreed my point was the cost of reducing a large amount of both in band and out of band noise is very little in terms of power loss.
This is kind of petty but it's pronounced In-i-shio like "initiated"
Good to know! Does sound a lot nicer lol
I’d love to see you review the plixir statement psu.
I'll try to get it in...
Cheers
Do you think it is better to leave a linear psu on in between listening or just while using?
Thanks
I use multiple Elite BDC's and I find that they sound best while left on 24/7. They seem to draw very little current when idling.
@@AudioBacon Having owned 3 Elite BDC's, I'm *very* interested to know how the new Statement BDC sounds.
you are hearing things my ears (wallet) can;t hear. but good subjective review.
P-R&T ...........the digital issue.............to me for what's worth ( on YT) ........Fedilizer followed by the Farad do the least damage to the music.....
28:35 Drunk as fuuuuu.....
fo sho
Absolute waste of money. I have two components with switch mode power supplies. These were over 12k uk pounds but were supplied with the cheap laptop type power supplies. The manufacturer states they are totally adequate and they clearly state an upgrade here will be of no use.. The rest of my system is very high end. Top monos and speakers. Basic but good quality connections. No 5k interconnect or speaker cable. The sound is spectacular each and every listening session. Even at extreme volumes there is no background noise. Dont buy those power supplies. They just want your money. They ar ripping you off and giving you a smart box as a trade iff. They dont do anything. Get the best components you can afford or want to spend. Too much scamming in hifi industry these days. Its the components that are critical.ive heard all that bs about fleshed out sound, timbre, realisitc......thats garbage said over and over to sell these boxes. Or dont give a damn what i say. You choose.
I don't hear any difference! 🙄
Then you are very lucky :)
Thanks for the video, I haven’t laughed this much in years.
You’ve clearly punched the wrong coordinates into your sat-nav to arrive here. Hope your tears of laughter aren’t frying your oscilloscope ;)
@@rrtind a bit of evidence may help. Why would a dac designer not take into consideration that their is going to be noise on the usb and power. You can plug a well designed dac into a very noisy power supply and not change its performance in a audible way, unless maybe you can hear -130dB. And that is very quiet !
@@r423sdex May I ask, are you part of that cohort that needs to see things written on paper for your ears to function? Power supplies aren’t just about low noise. The transient ability of a power supply is important, as is it’s ability not to pollute surrounding equipment hooked up to the same mains line, etc. Not all DAC designers take great care with the power supply, which supports why separate power supplies exist. In my fair experience with hi-fi products (not massive experience, but not non-existent either) I’ve only come across one product where the power supply and grounding was paid a great deal of attention. It doesn’t happen as much as we’d like.
@@rrtind how do you know that a power supply can effect other components ?. As for dacs, £100 gets you one with a -130dB noise floor !. How low noise floor do you think you need ?. Watch the video again and listen to the words he uses to describe the difference. By what he says the difference is huge (easy to measure).
@@r423sdex Some power supplies can and do have an audible effect on the performance of other components and/or the rest of the system. The way you can diagnose this is to listen to your system, then plug in and unplug other components to and from the mains block that aren’t being listened to. If you can’t hear any change, that’s great. Part of the problem with the group that gets themselves totally stuck on measurements is A) they are unwilling to use their ears, one of our most marvellous monitoring tools, and B) they perhaps don’t know what they’re listening for and then lead to the conclusion that discernible differences can’t be heard. The good thing about A) and B) is that neither of them are my problem. Remember that the people who make power supplies are electronic/electrical engineers and they aren’t all into bluffing as the cynics out there so wish was the case. I used to work with chemists in a polymer coatings company, they had a large set of tests for the coating and it’s performance, but there were countless times whereby some coatings would perform much better or much worse and it just would not show up or be reflected in the measurements. Yet it could be seen and felt to be better or worse. So go ahead and get stuck fully into the measurements if you wish, they are important, but they aren’t the whole story.
Power supplies are not musical. Are you talking about speakers?
They impact the overall sound of your system.
Wow, it would stand to reason that there are some design issues with the JCAT, Chord and RME products if you are able to hear that vast a difference between the external power supplies. Makes for an interesting video I suppose.
Vivid imagination.
I have had the Uptone JS-2 for a long time and know it well and love it. But I just got a Farad 3 (5v stock version), and on my digital streamer its better in every way than the JS-2, and that's without any break in. I realise these things are heavily system dependant, but I cannot trust your LPS rating system if you rate the JS-2 so high and the Farad so low. Its simply not the case in my system, the opposite. Perhaps on other voltages like 12v, or higher current draw requirements, the JS2 pulls ahead, but on my 5v application the Farad 3 is better.
This is just one guy's opinion so if you enjoy the Farad 3 sound more, that's awesome. As you know, "better" is subjective. Out of curiosity, which streamer are you powering?
@@AudioBacon A Lindemann Limetree Bridge II. Despite the very small size its a very good sounding product and a step up in sound vs the Bluesound Node, especially with the Uptone or Farad powering it!
Shanti was designed for a raspberry pi hat streamer as opposed to a dac
Very informative but this power supplies really breaks the wallet I just used a simple cheapo iFi 5V filter for my ifi DACS and recently bought Audioquest Jitter Bug for my USB source cable I hardly notice any sound difference but it feels good that it’s there, I think you need to rest Dude your kinda sleepy in this video, thanks for sharing 👍
Rested for a year now lol
Word salad, ffs.
A power supply can not make your device sound better and more "real" as you describe it, unless youre using a tube device (then MAYBE). The noise and therefore the ripple can be lower but anything else wont feed into your audio signal. Change my mind tho, i would love to have your opinion on that topic
Trouble maker spotted.
We are talking about a guy that suggests trying different fuses.
@@Spentelectrons And yet, here you are...
Switching power supplies arent fast enought for Hi-Fi audio???
Switching power supplies are fast enought for freaking GPU's (graphics processors units). Those are capable of creating a transients so fast, no audio equipment can match. Still computers use switching power supplies for practically everything.
Get lost with this "lineal power supply better" BS.
Linear power supplies wont change the detail/sound stage/bass or anything, you only hear placebo after wasting money on then. The only thing you can hear is the ripple or unfiltered mains on a really really bad power supply. A 15$ linear psu and a 500$ "audiofool" branded one providing the same power will have no audible difference.
lol ok
Incredible snake-oil nonsense ...
Stick to your tv Sound thank you
What does electric sound like ?, I listen to music !.
Well, your music is powered by electricity...
lol
Current times voltage equals watts Irregardless of how their developed a good couple in Is what provides transit response this again can be applied to either of the dude different supply technologies it amazes me how people can wax on to such detail on such BS
So the impedance of the power supply across the used frequency range does not mater well at least from your statement.
@@droberson3012 this has nothing to do with the subject pleas try to stay on topic
@@harryconover289 I would in fact say that D Roberson has mad the point that is the topic . the topic of a subjective review a clearly defined subject related to the effect that a power supply can have on the active circuit. The effort at obuscating the power supply function falls short for me.
@@johnwilliamson467 no you misunderstand impede what is determined by the bypass you use agin not set by previous stages
@@harryconover289 From my measurement that is not the conclusion I reached the bypass does effect the impedance of the power supply . The bypass is not the entire effect from what I have tested in my results . I would suggest you read the interesting listen test done in Linear Audio article. Found it well controlled and repeatable.
Theres no mention on the content of the review im which the ps was used with? Is used a server? Or a dac? And what kind? Etc