External Power Supply For My Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport

OP asked, "How do bigger external power supplies improve source components?"

By reducing "noise" . Lowering the noise floor makes for a darker background allowing things to sound clearer.  External power supplies are always linear and will transform AC to the needed DC voltage for the component.  Lower level components (like your Node) will use an internal Switch Mode Power supply which are inexpensive but inherently noisy.  Better components will go the more costly route and have an internal Liner Power Supply that reduces the noise floor.  The best flagship components will separate the LPS into another chassis to get the noise floor as low as possible.  This is why you see many flagship components in the multi box configuration.  They have separated their LPS section.

rick_n :  THANK YOU!

audphile :  I would ask the guys at Teddy Pardo to make me a power supply and implement it.

interesting. Ok. Considering the 6000CDT already has linear power supply and Teddy Pardo are mostly for units that utilize SMPS, not sure how that’s going to work. It would probably have to be an upgrade to the caps and transformer inside the 6000CDT. Which could be a worthwhile investment if you plan to keep the unit and not sell it - you will never recoup your investment with a modded component. 

I would just upgrade to a better transport instead, like Jay’s Audio.

@mitch4t 

I also have the 6000CDT and will be curious to hear your progress. I also bought the TP power supply for my BS Node and it definitely made an improvement.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to architecture of power supply.  There are extremely quiet resonant mode SMPS that switch at zero voltage / zero current, while Linear Power Supplies are in reality primitive switchers that operate at 120Hz producing a lot of high frequency noise (switching at max voltage) and the only "Linear" part of it is that they are line and load unregulated (at least in power amps).  Benchmark reduced noise by 10dB by switching from linear power supply in DAC1 to SMPS in DAC2 and DAC3.  SMPS got Really bad rap from noisy computer applications, but can be wonderful if done right.  My Benchmark AHB2 has SMPS and is very quiet.   All current Rowland products contain SMPS (even preamps). Why then well designed SMPS are not that popular?  Perhaps because of demand - people believe it has to be heavy to deliver a lot of power while "switching" has to be noisy.  After all class D is controlled SMPS.  If it is quiet enough for an amp it should be good enough just for power supply.