Linear Power supplies for DACs...?
i have a Chord Qutest and it has a wall wart. Lots of people say there’s real benefit to adding an external LPS.
Plenty of choices ranging from $50 - $500.
Sure, a home audition is ideal.
but, what do you guys think?
Not just for the Qutest, but in general for DACs.
- ...
- 48 posts total
I want to upgrade the sound I have. I just purchased a Swagman Labs Linear Power Supply on ebay for my Arcam DAC. The wall wart it came with is not factory and is just a small universal one with the correct voltage but it does not fit securely into the back of the arcam dac. I hope my sound will improve. The Dac is a bit lean right now but oh so open in highs and midrange. Arcam was one of the earlier companies to design dacs I think. Any suggestions guys? I am using a Schitt Asgar 2 headphone amp into nice Grado cans. When I play an analogue source like my nakamichi it is still better (fuller). I need the dac for my music on my phone. |
Switch modes can be very quiet T&A uses them in one area of their excellent 200 dac , a top linear supply is better 90% of the time the downside is they are much larger , use much more power , but infused to operate the whole unit then LPS for sure. I use Linear Tube Audio , And a mojo audio both are one of the best out there. |
@djones51 Thanks for letting me know that I have three placebos on my rack. My listening skills and those of others who have heard my system must be in question, so take the rest of my post with a healthy grain of salt. I first bought a MCRU linear power supply for my Arcam irDAC. The MCRU was souped up for me at the factory and had a Furutech rhodium IEC socket and fuse, and a pure silver DC tail. Adding this lps to my system made a very positive difference in the sound of the DAC, better bass, less hash in the mids, and smoother highs. Overall an improvement over the stock switching power supply. When I upgraded my DAC to a Chord QuteHD, the 12V MCRU improved the performance of that DAC as well compared to the stock smps. I am now using a Chord Qutest DAC and Bluesound N130 as a streamer/server, and I have ordered a Teddy Pardo Dual 5V LPs to supply both devices. I will report on how that works. I was so pleased with the performance of the MCRU supply that I bought a Swagman SE linear supply for my Pro-Ject Tube Box DS to replace its switching supply, and again, a noticeable improvement. I have since added a less built out lps for my Amazon Firebox, the goal being to eliminate smps from my system entirely. I can’t tell if the benefit of replacing smps with lps is accrued at the component or system level, or to what portion of each the benefit applies. I just know for my ears in my system the benefits are real. My reason for going in this direction was the fact that Naim and many high end makers of digital gear routinely put capable linear power supplies in separate boxes, and the performance of the improved power supplies are routinely lauded by audiophiles and reviewers alike. Adding an lps also allows me to explore using different power cables, which in my system, also can make remarkably large differences in how my gear sounds. The differences are significant and not always good. As someone who assembles many of my own PCs, this allows me more ways to experiment with different materials and designs to see what works best in different applications. I have a fairly busy rack, with AV, analog and digital front ends, and keeping signals in their own lanes and noise contained may be of greater importance for me, ymmv. I use a Shunyata power supply/conditioning, so there is some filtering from the wall and between components. I also have a dedicated power line from the breaker box and my listening room is purpose built for audio, so I have put significant thought and time into maximizing the performance of my fairly modest components. Why are some higher end manufacturers going to switching supplies? Well, in Europe, power consumption is an important issue, and there is no question that linear power supplies are less efficient than smps. Switching supplies have gotten quieter and more robust, perhaps as a result of efficiency driven demand for less power use and better performance. The stock switching power supply on my Qutest DAC is pretty good, and iFi is making some well received smps available at different voltages for not a lot of money. But I am not sure that the smps hype from manufacturers is fully consistent with reality. Rob Watts of Chord insists that the switching supplies for their DACs can’t be improved. Experience of customers say otherwise. Theory meets reality at your ears. That is where I make my decisions. |
- 48 posts total