Simplest Linear PSU?

I think the reason many people report audible benefits from LPSs vs SMPSs is that they have upgraded from a wall wart quality (i.e., low quality) SMPS to a high quality LPS designed for audio. David Berning has been implementing SMPS power supplies in his state of the art amplifiers and preamplifiers for years, if not decades, and no one seems to notice. If it’s done well and well built, an SMPS can certainly hang with an LPS. And the benefit is you won’t get a hernia from lifting an SMPS-powered piece of gear.

@lewm I think the reason many people report audible benefits from LPSs vs SMPSs is that they have upgraded from a wall wart quality (i.e., low quality) SMPS to a high quality LPS designed for audio

Yes, exactly my point and personal experience. I don’t question the existence of high quality and good sounding SMPS. It is however most listener’s experience has been with the wall wart SMPS variety. People have naturally discovered they can do much better. Lewm, I’ll ask you the same question. What are the commercially available SMPS one could purchase?

Charles

@charles1dad @lewm

smps have two problems as i understand it

1) they can produce an output that has nasty digital switching noise, if the output is poorly or is not at all filtered to deliver a pure dc output

2) smps are also notorious for putting noise back into the ac line, which in turn can affect other components on the house circuit

there are industrial and medical grade smps units that address both these issues as they are engineered and built with this in mind - smps units for portable medical and lab/scientific instruments

for hifi, my understanding that ifi of the uk makes several relatively inexpensive upgrade power supplies that are still of the smps variety (not classic transformer driven linear ps’s) but with onboard filtration/noise management

i power 2 with active noise cancellation

i power x (higher version)

there is also this very pricey one which according to its marketing script has both ps technologies on board...

Why would anybody but a piece of equipment with a substandard power supply? Instead of pissing money away on outboard power supplies try buying equipment with decent power supplies to begin with.