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Inexpensive but good sounding power supply (and hard drive) for PC audio?

Hello! I am about to replace my hard disk and power supply in my audio PC due to aging and I'm wondering if there's room for improvement (but without investing significant money) compared to what I'm currently using. Please advise me:

1. What power supply to buy? What to look for if I'm interested in sound quality on a ~ 150Euro budget: brand (I'm reading good things about Seasonic and Corsair), power (600W? 750W?), bronze vs. gold and so on?I know some people are raving about dedicated servers running on LPS and so on but I cannot afford the expense atm.

2. Can I expect a better or at least not worse sound after replacing the hard drive with a SSD? Any specific recommendation for a SSD?

 

My system consists of:

- a generic PC running Windows 10, used for streaming Tidal and Qobuz. It sports a WD Blue hard disk (no SSD), a cheap, generic power supply that costs about 10-15 Euro, I3-6100 processor @ 3.7GhZ, Asus B150M-K D3 motherboard and a Clearer Audio power cord (about 250 Euro) that, to my surprise, brought a significant improvement;

- much more expensive, "audiophile" audio components: Aurender DDC, Accuphase player / DAC and amplifier, Martin Logan hybrid electrostats

 

The reason for this disproportion between the cheap computer and expensive audio gear is that I've tried several "improvements" to the computer part and in the end I didn't prefer the result:

- a dedicated Lumin U1 Mini streamer. My PC was better to my ears (fuller, less sterile sounding)

- a Matrix PCI-USB card. Even when fed by an expensive Ferrum power supply, it was not a straight upgrade and overall I think I preferred the PC

- more expensive cables (power, USB, Ethernet) or DDC (Audio GD) that sounded worse

- a few Cisco switches, a better (Sotm) power supply for my router - sidegrades or downgrades

 

Thank you!

donquichotte
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

In terms of the PSU itself, I don’t think that will impact sound quality. Because it’s a computer, not an audio component.

All good DACs will pre-filter the USB input from any noise over USB, so that’s not a concern.

I disagree with this based on personal experience.  The power supply will definitely affect a digital source.  My own experience is with a Pink Faun S/PDIF PCI card mounted in a computer.  Using the computer's power supply, the sound was nice, but I can definitely hear harshness and noise/distortion in the sound.  When I connected an external Farad Super3 linear power supply to the Pink Faun card, the sound really cleaned up and became more solid and more powerful.

Even in this case, the quality of the computer switching power supply will affect the digital signals being passed to the Pink Faun S/PDIF card (even though the Pink Faun itself is powered by an external linear power supply).

auxinput
2,920 posts
 

Actually the opposite is often the case. Nothing could be more inefficient than a Class A power supply.

@cleeds  - I assume you are meaning this as a joke.  99% of all computer power supplies are switching power supplies (the most efficient type).  However, there are differences in performance between manufacturer/model of power supply.  Even HDPlex, which is a computer linear power supply, is not going to be a "Class A" power supply like the shunt regulated PS circuits that you find on high end preamp/sources.

donquichotte OP
113 posts
 

@mastering92 Thank you for your advice.

 

I would be very surprised to discover the power supply of my PC didn't matter for the sound. The power cord feeding the PC certainly did make a difference. And, counterintuitively, it made a difference even when I was taking the USB signal from  the Matrix PCI-USB card powered by an external Ferrum Hypsos power supply!

mastering92
870 posts
 

@donquichotte

You’re most welcome.

The power transformers in audio gear are of varying quality and can influence performance in profound ways. I don’t believe the same is true for PSUs in computers. I don’t think a PSU in computer would influence sound quality that much. Unless of course the PSU itself is defective or has blown/bad capacitors. A restriction of even the smallest amount of electricty can impact performance. Power supplies with Japanese-branded capacitors tend to last longer in my experience).

This is what I use for my DAC - 13A at just 3 feet. shorter distances and higher Ampere tolerances for cables are better. Even if it’s way overspecced. For very little money, you can get a power cord that is certified for use in demanding applications and guaranteed to provide exactly the amount of power needed. In my experience, only very inferior/cheap power can impact performance negatively.

Hospitals, scientific laboratories, and medical equipment in Doctor’s offices depend on on power cords that meet these specifications. Even the inbuilt (already soldered onto the device) power cords must pass extensive certification testing/safety testing prior to product release. Sensitive instrumentation in these environments can be plagued by insufficient power delivery. So...good enough for me. I definitely heard a positive difference. You may as well if you buy one.

 

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