Cambridge 640P Power Supply Upgrade

Nothing special...a carefully set up Linn Basik/Akito/Sumiko Pearl (upgrade coming as soon as I decide what to replace it with...not in any hurry as it sounds fine). I don't use any esoteric power cables as I have never noticed them improving anything beyond what my trusty ACE515 does...and I've tried! I did put a PS Audio AC plug in the wall though. Note that I thought the 640P sounded great already, just cleaner with the P100. Maybe I'm merely hypnotized by the blue LEDs!

I considered the Pangea P100 power supply for my Cambridge 640P and am holding off. Looking at the wall wart that comes with the 640P, it is a 120vac to 12vac supply. Then, looking at the Pangea information, there are two outputs. A 12vdc out and a 12vac out. I assume you would use the 12vac out to power the 640P. I wonder if the 12vac output is merely a direct tap off of the secondary of the transformer in the Pangea. If that's the case, the only advantage is the 12vac is coming from a larger transformer vs the wall wart. All of the regulation and filtering in the Pangea would be for the 12vdc output which would be totally unused with the Cambridge phono stage. Bottom line, you would not be using most of what the Pangea has to offer. Now, if one is using the 12vdc out of the Pangea to power a different device like a DAC, that would be a different situation. Without a schematic of the Pangea unit I don't know for a fact that the above is true but that would be my guess. So I personally have put the Pangea for my 640P on hold. For 99 bucks, it's probably a great value when powering a 12vdc device like the Cambridge and MF DACs.

Hey Woodrow...You're making my addled brain fog up...I'm not sure what you mean about the 640P as from what I see the inputs are marked as 12 volts on both the 640P and the DACMagic, and both original wall wart power supplies (that I just looked at in their new homes in my cold basement) are marked as "12 volt AC". There is one output on the P100. Right square in the middle of its face...and having lived with 2 of these little gems for a while I can say wholeheartedly they ROCK. Interestingly (to me anyway), Sam Tellig raves about them in his latest Stereophile screed which will no doubt sell a few thousand of 'em. The P100 makes my 640P better...both in sound (truly) and the sense of self worth instilled in the 640P itself, as I think my gear has feelings. I'm hopping Pangea comes up with more of these things for my other gear (Squeezebox Touch, Bravo II, all the non AC Cord stomp boxes in my guitar setup, etc.) as I'd like to see wall warts disappear from the world as I know it.

Woodrow...you're correct in that the P100 has both ac and dc output based on what cable is used. See? I learned something!

In the interview with the Pangea P100's designer, he said the P100 was first designed for use with the Cambridge Audio DacMagic, and Musical Fidelity was an addition after he saw how the P100 improved the DacMagic's performance. So I'd guess both DC and AC outputs are filtered and regulated.