Eldartford - you asked about why a large analog power supply might be beneficial, when a module is so efficient. An electronics engineer has explained it to me this way.
The module must be fed energy on demand. Digital switching is one way of going about it. By it's very nature, some noise is introduced into the signal. Some may argue the noise is insignificant. Others can clearly hear it.
An Analog power supply, that has substantial amounts of capacitance, acts as a relatively clean energy supply, that is always present. That energy can be drawn upon by the module without switching noise.
Another benefit of a high capacitor storage analog power supply is it absorbs the ripple effect caused my AC/DC rectification.
The module must be fed energy on demand. Digital switching is one way of going about it. By it's very nature, some noise is introduced into the signal. Some may argue the noise is insignificant. Others can clearly hear it.
An Analog power supply, that has substantial amounts of capacitance, acts as a relatively clean energy supply, that is always present. That energy can be drawn upon by the module without switching noise.
Another benefit of a high capacitor storage analog power supply is it absorbs the ripple effect caused my AC/DC rectification.