Mac Mini Power Supply

As far as "how far one needs to take it"...

I'd say the higher quality the better. Nichicon Muse are what I consider my "middle-end" caps.

At some point I'll probably build a Mini PSU using Jensen 4-pole caps ($90+ each) like I use in my amp. But that's a monster power supply that I've only seen in $30k+ amplifiers so if ANYTHING was overkill for a Mini that would be it.

If you are going to build a PSU yourself make sure you have proper tolerance parts. They need to be able to handle the 2-6A that the Mini draws depending on the peripherals attached. That means rectifier diodes and regulators need to be appropriate. There is also an "iSense" connector that needs a resistor attached to it.

If it's a project you're thinking of undertaking I'm happy to recommend some parts as well.

Thank you Mintzar!

If I may bother you further, did you just follow the data sheet schematics for the LM 338? I realize that one can never take a PS too far, I guess what I was curious about was "how far" you need to go to get the noticeable improvement you commented upon.

I know a couple of people that use the Ultra-Fi ECM in their MAC Mini based digital rigs and they feel it is a tremendous upgrade. Here's a link to one that is currently for sale. I'm not affiliated with this seller (don't even know him), but I do know the manufacturer and a couple of his customers who use the ECM. I'm not endorsing the product as I haven't heard it yet. Just passing along some information......

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?powrcond&1284048765&/Ultra-Fi-ECM-music-server-cond

I use Isolation transformers in my system that I modified to great benefit. I am yet to find a power conditioner that works better than the Isolation transformers. The ECM is a transformer-based conditioner. So I imagine it's decent. I just use hospital grade TXs made by Topaz, which are considerably better than the ECM (though bigger, heavier, and uglier).

I partially followed the datasheet for the LM338. I used a LM337 for the negative rail (which doesn't draw much current, I believe it's only duty is iSense).

I think just going from a switchmode supply to a linear supply would give a great benefit, I just wanted to take it a step further and put some decent parts in the supply.

There's a few regulators based on the LM317 that you can just do a parts swap (with a little research).

Before spending money on power supply or expensive power cord, please try the snap-on ferrite cores first to reduce digital noise. Just snap one on each end of all your power cables and digital cables. They are very effective and cheap.