The Hugo of streaming?

???? 

Can’t fault a post that begins with ‘egads’! Useful too. Thanks CP. More homework for me to do. 

dave4jazz posted:

[@mention:1566878603960960] @Charlesphoto

Thanks for the feedback.

I would certainly be interesting to hear comments comparing LPS-1 and LPS-1.2. I believe the LPS-1.2 is now supplied with a customised 7.5v energiser and not the Meanwell.

..

Dave

I had a quick listen with the LPS 1 and LPS 1.2 powering the microRendu 1.3 (mR) f/w 2.2 and could hardly tell the difference! The 1.2 might be slightly better but I cannot swear on it. However either one of them provides a clear improvement in resolution over the supplied smps direct into the mR. In my setup the new smps (direct) improves the higher frequencies somewhat but not the lows.

Please note that some other LPSs (e.g. those described above like the ZeroZone) do give more body to the sound, and might be better vfm. I find the mR to really benefit from the Iso-Regen when inserted before the DAC-V1.

If you can find a deal on an Iso-Regen, I would heartily recommend this setup (at least as good or better than the various mR combos I have tried in my system):

 Zerozone (9V/3A, or bigger*) > mR>USPSCB>Iso Regen>USPCB>DAC-V1

Iso Regen can be split fed from the same ZeroZone. I am using this very setup as I type and it is fab. 

Note: Sellers tend to exaggerate the rating or give  no-load specs.

Mr Underhill has also described above the benefits of the LT3045 regs when inserted in his setup.

ATB.

B.

Brilliant,

I see that you are using an mR with the 1.3 board and much earlier firmware - I highly recommend finding a 1.4 board and/or moving sideways to an Ultrarendu. Either is going to give you a lot bigger bang for the buck than mucking about with incremental improvements in the power supply or adding another cleaner device. 

Best,

CP

Hi CP,

I have a whole lot of stuff that I do not find relevant enough to list in my forum profile! I do have an ultraRendu (listed). If you look in some of my earlier posts  you may find it as a uR. It is a nice unit but so is the mR/Iso-Regen in the setup above!

B.

PS- I never liked the 2.5  MPD/DLNA sound, and when I upgraded it to 2.6, my Win7 setup has trouble seeing it on the LAN! I am working on that, but 2.2 is great for what I use it for.

The LPS-1 output voltages settings are limited to 3.3v, 5v and 7v. The LPS-1.2 offers 5v, 7v, 9v and 12v and an on/off switch has been added. The noise floor has been reduced from 4.2uV/RMS to 0.8uV/RMS and with lower output impedance, 3mOhm in the 10-100KHz range!

A used LPS-1 seems like a good option but the LPS-1.2 is very tempting as a long term investment.

Dave

+1 re:LPS-1/LPS-1.2

When used with the ultraRendu  the 1.2 is better at allowing more resolution. Yes they widened the output voltage range  (probably looking at some future products as well, the down side being  double the power draw!) and added other goodies. They did switch the output regulators (now two // LT 3045s with better specs). An improved unit, but not as obvious with the mR as it is with the uR (IMO, after the quick listen).

ATB

Hi Brilliant,

Sorry to have gone dark, been rather poorly.

WRT IFI Mercury 3:
My thoughts parallel your own. In my system I would say that it allows more information to come through, especially in the higher registers, and that cymbals etc just take on a more natural sheen.
I do have a high regard for the USPCB & have swapped back and forth and listened for extended periods.

I have continued ringing the changes as I find that the fine tuning shades the excellent results I have been getting. For the last couple pf weeks I have been running with:

ultraRendu  (powered by 2 x 1A/5v LT3045 < R-Core 6A/8V LPSU*) > IFI iDefender 3.0 (0.5A/5v LT3045 < R-Core 6A/8V LPSU*) > IFI Mercury 3 > Matrix SPDIF2 (1A/5v LT3045 < R-Core 2A/8V LPSU) > Border patrol SE DAC

*Same.

This much simplified USB chain is the best all round setup I have used to date.

I have parked the IFI Purifier 2 currently. It and the Iso Regen do bring things to the party, but it is subtle and robs the music of reverb while perhaps tightening up on some detail.

WRT LPS-1 & LPS1.2
Alex is a frequent contributor to a thread elsewhere that I have borrowed from heavily. He has acknowledged the efficacy of the LT3045 for a long time and so their use in the 1.2 is no surprise. HDPLEX are using them in a new PSU they are about to release, as well as an R-Core transformer.

My advice:
If you can do a bit of soldering buy a few LT3045s off eBay, get a few project boxes and DC connectors and make your own. Then buy one or two cheap R-Core LPSUs (Teradak/Zero Zone) and roll your own. IF you are competent with a soldering iron 7 multi-meter, or know someone who is.

Alex would try and additionally sell the LPS on the leakage current angle. This is something I have experimented with but have heard nothing to accept it as a definite way forward. Of course Uptone will bang on about it as it is a differentiator for them.

M

@Brilliant

Your feedback re: LPS-1 v LPS-1.2, when used with the microRendu, is very helpful.

There is a Dutch guy, on YouTube, who compared the LPS-1 with the cheaper SBooster power supply. The bottom line seemed to be the LPS-1 controlled sibilances slightly better but the SBooster gave a slightly greater dynamic sound. You pays your money and you takes your choose.

@Mr Underhill

I admire you ingenuity and DIY skills but I think my days of using a soldering iron are (unfortunately) long gone.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Just cheap! .....and, standing on other people shoulders.

Remember the LPS is sensitive to what powers it, and the following DC cable also shapes the resulting sound.

M

Hi M,

Simpler is nice to see -great then!

LPS AC leakage was measured at audiosciencereview . com (Amir) with eyebrow raising results and Alex was challenged to produce evidence  supporting  its design claims. Some obviously goes through due to capacitive coupling in the switches and in the physical layout, and how about EMC etc? Alex seemed in disbelief initially but did produce some  charts later that showed leakage. Most users already knew that the feeder supplies affect the LPS performance.

Personally I do find the LPS  to improve on the smps direct into the mR/uR, but also to give a 'thinner'  sound  when compared to some other LPSUs. I do like them most however because they reveal good mR/uR/DAC-V1 resolution while preserving the PRaT.

ATB.

B.

Hi B,

Personally I do find the LPS  to improve on the smps direct into the mR/uR, but also to give a 'thinner'  sound .....

Precisely. I preferred an R-Core LPSU overall, but valued the precision of the LPS-1, the added LT3045 gives the balance between that detail and the weightier sound of the R-Core.

Amir
Whilst I admire the time and effort he puts in I find he can be too defensive when challenged, and perhaps a tad less than transparent.

Alex
Can be very insightful, but also wants to make sales!

M

Brilliant posted:

Hi CP,

,,

 

PS- I never liked the 2.5  MPD/DLNA sound, and when I upgraded it to 2.6, my Win7 setup has trouble seeing it on the LAN! I am working on that, but 2.2 is great for what I use it for.

re: 2.5 to 2.6 web interface upgrade for the mR- the problem above got solved. From Jesus over at CA:

" Go to Settings and then from whatever output mode you are using press Save.  "

Well having gone through nearly EVERY USB device I have returned to using a series of simple hard adapters between my uR and Matrix SPDIF2.

The USB devices do have some very positive effects, BUT I find they add emphasis to the 9Khz - 12Khz on certain sibilants, all very subtle but annoying. This DOESN'T solve everything, there are just certain tracks which have an issue for my system, but having listened to my system for a fortnight like this 98% of music works VERY well. So I now have a box of bits, need to decide whether to keep them or sell them on!

What works without question, and very well, in my system includes:

1. Matrix SPDIF2
2. R-Core LPSU + LT3045; and
3. Silver/teflon DC cables.

M

Mr Underhill posted:

..

What works without question, and very well, in my system includes:

1. Matrix SPDIF2
2. R-Core LPSU + LT3045; and
3. Silver/teflon DC cables.

M

M,

re: 2. above -I noticed Cornan over at CA  praises the addition of the 560uF Kemet Al polymer cap across the output of the LT3045. Is it something you have tried?

B.

Brilliant posted:

Uptone Audio has improved on the LPS-1 with the LPS-1.2 power supply. When using the supplied smps charger with it and powering the uRendu, there is even more detail/timbre resolution perceived especially in the lower frequencies. Musically very engaging but again that  'thinness' of sound is still apparent when compared to the naked DAC-V1! Nonetheless - a keeper.

I also have tried the Paul Hynes SR4 with the uR. A high performer as well, especially in the sound stage focus dept! I do find it somewhat less captivating with the uR however (note:-perhaps needs more break-in as it only has been a couple of weeks). The magic happens though when it powers/charges the LPS-1 (not LPS-1.2, which needs 36W)!. The LPS-1 obviously has noise coupling through it and benefits from a 'quiet' charger! With the SR4 as its (rather expensive) charger, the LPS-1/uR results in  a captivating more 'fleshed out/smoother' sound albeit not as detailed as the LPS-1.2/smps. It begs the query whether the LPS-1.2 could be farther improved in a similar way (i.e. more body) with a better charger? A 2018 winter project perhaps!

 

Yes it can! The SR4 is rated at 2A/20A transient. It proves to be quite capable at charging the LPS-1.2 Ultracaps in my setup. (Warranty alert: Paul Hynes has stated that it is not designed for such usage).

SR4 @9V (cu DC lead)->LPS-1.2 @7V-->ultraRendu-->USPCB(90deg)>NAIM DAC-V1

B.

Hi Brilliant,

No, I hadn't seen Cornan's post, thx.

I do think how we get the DC power into devices is critical to getting the best performance.

Having given up on the widget chain and even swapped out the Matrix for my F1 I am now listening to the best my system has sounded - via some of the widgets into the Matrix, the critical difference being how I am powering the devices. The order that works best for me is:

[ ] = power

uR [R-Core 8V 6A LPSU * >> 2 x 7V1 1A LT3045] > PCUSB [Power thru ON] > Iso Regen [R-Core DC30W 2A LPSU >> 7V2 1A LT3045 > 5V 0.5A LT3045] > IFI Idefender [No power] >

PCUSB [Power thru OFF] > USB B power injector [R-Core 8V 6A LPSU * >> 5V 0.5A LT3045] > IFI iPurifier 2 > SingXer F1

This chain was singing and I was very happy. The Matrix, although tonally better & with a better sound stage, had been having trouble with vocals on a fair few rock & pop tracks.

With the new chain I was tempted to swap the Matrix back in, but frankly I just wanted to listen to music for a few days!

To me the important thing was giving my USB interface the cleanest power I could by blocking DC from higher up the chain and injecting a new  power source as close to the USB interface as possible.

Experimental Idea
On a thread I follow a chap had used cheap PoE adapters with IBRA CAT7 cables to give a very positive effect.He tried many different types of CAT7 cable, the IBRA and the UGREEN were the best.

Being a cheap idea I decided to give it a go. Bought the adapters for £1.40 a pair and pairs of the IBRA 1 meter patch cables for £3.50 each. I found that just one placed on the USB B power injector gave 90% of the effect, i.e.:

PoE = PoE adapter > CAT7 IBRA > PoE adapter

Placing one before every LT3045 gained you a bit more.

New chain:

uR [R-Core 8V 6A LPSU * >> 2 x (PoE >> 7V1 1A LT3045)] > PCUSB [Power thru ON] > Iso Regen [R-Core DC30W 2A LPSU >> 7V2 1A LT3045 >> PoE >>5V 0.5A LT3045] > IFI Idefender [No power] > PCUSB [Power thru OFF] > USB B power injector [R-Core 8V 6A LPSU * >> PoE >> 5V 0.5A LT3045] > IFI iPurifier 2 > Matrix SPDIF 2

The effect
To my ears it is as though the PoE remove hash/noise. The bass line becomes clearer. After a few hours you notice that the cymbals have more sheen and ring truer. This is NOT a tone control, tracks that are bright remain so. Edge is reduced and you can here into the music more easily.

I inserted the PoE on my back end LPSU/LT3045. This gained me a tiny bit I think.

Would this work without the LT3045? I don't see why not, and it is a cheap and easy experiment.

I set this up two days ago and have listened with increasing pleasure since.

M

Hi M,

Interesting CAT7 usage-obviously has good EMI shielding. The 2 twisted pairs of( 22AWG?) PoE should be sufficient for the LPS and could  be soldered directly to the DC connectors (with some care).

B

Well, here is where I've gotten to since I started this thread almost two years ago. I think my little system is punching way above it's weight, in large part due to the sum of many small but relatively inexpensive optimizations put into the source side. Care in speaker siting, room remodel with recording room oak floors and rock wall insulation didn't hurt, and ROON and Tidal software most of all, for the sound, and the fun of discovery. I've had to work with the Ikea Besta cabinet the TV sits on as well, but I've reinforced it and the Naim gear sit on a 2 1/4" maple cutting board inside it. Herbie's grungebusters everywhere - a $20 sheet goes a long way and doesn't kill the music. 

The microRendu 1.4 board upgrade was probably the biggest bump in sq. The recent addition of Cisco 2690's the second. The 4.6 upgrade for the UQ in the office was huge too. 

SERVER CLOSET (in office directly below living room stereo):

NUC 7i5BNH with Roon ROCK and OWC external 2.5" HD (HDPLEX 100 powering both)>Cisco 2690 switch>SFP>optical fiber>

 LIVING ROOM:

Cisco 2690 (optical fiber in)>Ghent Audio JSSG Cat 6a cable>Sonore microRendu 1.4> (<Ghent DC cable<Uptone LPS-1<Uptone LPS 1.2 SMPS charger) Uptone USPCB>

Naim DAC V1>Witchhat DIN>Naim NAP 110>Chord Rumor 2>Rega RX3’s.

 OFFICE:

Cisco 2690 switch>basic cat 6a>TP Link 10/100 FMC pair - both powered by own iFi iPowers>Melcord Opal lan cable>

Naim Unitiqute version 1>NACA5>KEF Ls50’ (near field, mounted to 6X6 posts- sound amazing - the joys of working from the home basement).

What you really need is one of the newer, white 2960s as these have two SFP ports, then you can run fibre to your office and ditch another set of FMCs ????

Just had a look at the Cisco switch (2960) as also on the Linn DS forum a few have mentioned upgrading their switches.

$400 for a switch??

glevethan posted:

Just had a look at the Cisco switch (2960) as also on the Linn DS forum a few have mentioned upgrading their switches.

$400 for a switch??

Ebay is your friend! 

Yes just had a look on eBay.  I also went back to the thread on the Linn forum and people are taking about the same 2960 switch.

I seems as though it is not consumer friendly at all?

Are these no longer manufactured new?  I get that impression based on what I see on eBay

glevethan posted:

Are these no longer manufactured new?  I get that impression based on what I see on eBay

The range is a bit confusing as there are so many variants, but the old blue ones have been replaced by newer models with a slightly larger, white case. 

glevethan posted:

Yes just had a look on eBay.  I also went back to the thread on the Linn forum and people are taking about the same 2960 switch.

I seems as though it is not consumer friendly at all?

Are these no longer manufactured new?  I get that impression based on what I see on eBay

Actually they should be just plug and play. Most sellers should do a hard reset to default (if not it’s just a long push of the mode button). If you can, have a look at the date of manufacture or the version - get a higher version if you can (mine are 03). Blue/grey ones start at just under $30; white ones about $120. Remember, these were $500 plus switches when new, so the hardware is good; considered end of life now because of no more software suppport but that’s a non-issue if using as a plain switch. 

ChrisSU posted:

What you really need is one of the newer, white 2960s as these have two SFP ports, then you can run fibre to your office and ditch another set of FMCs ????

Yep, thought about that! Might happen...