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Excellent Power Supply Solution

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s very hard to find a good, affordable DC power supply from a U.S. dealer. I wanted a 12 volt 3.5 amp model for a Netgear router.  The quality linear power supplies are considerably more expensive than the router. But, then I stumbled upon an interesting product from Waveform Lighting. They offer a $49 DC power supply for strip lighting purposes. The 12 volt model can handle up to 10 amps and 100 watts. I do not know the technical details on how it works, but the description states “very low ripple and noise.” It also has overload voltage protection. The DC cable is 16 AWG wire.  A nice feature is that you can attach an audio grade power cable with a C7 connector. I used a Shunyata Venom cord. 

The unit did add a noticeable increase in sound quality. A little more clarity, more lifelike vocals and less harshness  in the upper treble. If you have a 12 volt modem, router or switch, give the Waveform Lighting DC power supply a listen. Here is the link: https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/power-supplies-and-dimmers/products/filmgrade-12v-24v...
boakey39
boakey39 OP
10 posts
 
Using some of the logic here, everyone would throw away their linear power supplies that go with their music streamers. After all, streaming music is digital and bits are bits, right?

Every audiophile forum should have a special “Snake Oil” thread for people who don’t think cables, power cords and power supplies can improve sound. Let the serious audiophiles pursue their passion in the regular threads. As for using quality, filtered power supplies on modems and routers, you often get the advantage of using better than stock AC power cords. I use mostly Shunyata cords in my system, and they improve the sound, regardless of which components I attach them to.

One last thought. This very forum has several previous threads with thoughtful and helpful comments on DC power supplies. I have found that some of the better quality, but still affordable ones have a detachable brick with a C7 AC cord connector, like the ones from Waveform Lighting.
oldears
386 posts
 
I see absolutely nothing to indicate that the Waveform Lighting brick is anything other than a switching power supply with a higher amp output than a wal-wart.
boakey39 OP
10 posts
 
You must not have read the specs. It is designed for critical lighting applications, and also works well with audio equipment. It has good filtering and voltage overload protection. I would recommend checking customer reviews and reading impressions from other audiophiles. I can attest that the unit improved my system when attached to a Shunyata Venom AC cord. Of course it won’t beat a Paul Hynes LPS or an SBooster. It is an affordable alternative, and significantly better than a stock wall wart.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
Just keep your digital gear & SMPS type psus and walwarts AWAY from your analog gear. That is all you need to do. They may affect your analog gear but they will have NO effect on your digital stuff
This is actually inaccurate.  The power supply on digital equipment, including digital transports such as streamers or disc players, will defintiely impact the sound quality.  If you cannot hear a difference on this it means your listening skills and/or hearing are not as sensitive as others or your audio system does not have enough resolution to reveal these differences.

I've been reading this thread.  I think the OP has a good point on this product for an alternative to the really cheap small 3" x 3" wal-warts that come with a lot of our audio equipment.  Of course, this will not be as good as a nice linear power supply (which he has said), but it should give a good improvement over this small wal-warts.  For $50 you can get a nice improvement, but for $250-800 you can get the top end linear power supply.  It all depends on how much you want to spend and how important it is to you.
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