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Power Supply (8+) Group Test, LPS and SMPS


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1. Breeze Audio DC-1 15V/1A LPS

 

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Unrealistic specification ah, set the 1A load directly, the voltage dropped to 12.4V, error should fall within ± 5% to be considered normal.

 

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Into 0.5A, the voltage is considered normal

 

Test ripple performance:

 

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In the case of load 0.6A, the average ripple is 30.61 mV

 

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In the case of load 0.3A, the average ripple is 303 uV

 

Audio band comparison

 

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Comparison of the two load band, 0.6A cases are "flying" up, low power is ok.

According to 0.3A, this audio frequency band, the peak at 50uV, high frequency part of the more spikes, guess the spike are 50Hz AC is not handled well.

 

2. S.M.S.L Panda dual 9V 9V * 2 /?A LPS

 

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S.M.S.L has two 9V outputs, no rated current, guess AMP is the output of the larger power, use used this output. The output line is relatively short, can only see the "backside", and finishing photos found no shot was done to the face, the power supply also been returned, only from Taobao find a photo for the front.

 

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0.5A load, the voltage is 8.94V is ok.

 

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0.7A load, the voltage is 8.7xV is ok.

 

 

Test ripple performance:

 

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In the case of load 0.5A, the average ripple is 668uV

The results are pretty good to say.

 

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Load 0.7A case, the average ripple is 235mV, this change is too big, when the load become large, performance degraded 300 times?

 

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Audio band comparison

 

The white line is 0.7A, the blue line is 0.5A

Comparison of the two loaded band, two high-frequency processing are relatively good, but after the load, the low frequency are more, the average value of about 50uV it.

 

With their own Panda equipment, power consumption is not high, the performance may be ok.

Digital Sources: Optimised HP TouchSmart PC/CEC TL-1X CD Player/AMR DP-777 DAC/Theta Digital DS Pro Basic II (old)

Analogue Sources:Koetsu Jade Platinum MC Cartridge/Tri-Planar arm/Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable/AMR PH-77 Phono Stage

Amplifiers:The Gryphon Elektra Preamplifier/Convergent Audio Technology JL2 Signature Mk 2 Stereo Amplifier

Speakers:Kharma Grand Ceramique Midi[br]Cables:Nordost Valhalla (interconnect and speaker cables)/Shunyata Research power Snakes power cables

Portable: Sony PHA-1/PHA-2; Dragonfly 1.0/1.2; Meridian Explorer, Director; iFi nano iDSD, micro iDAC, micro iDSD; Geek Out; Hdta Serenade DSD

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5. iFi iPower 9V 9V/2.0A SMPS

 

This is the beginning of the article introduced a magic switching power supply, when I read the data, my cousin and I had the same idea, we want to open it up to see, is this thing any good, and also has a significant price advantage.

 

 

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Loaded with 1A, the voltage actually 0.1V higher.

 

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Load 2A, the voltage is still very stable.

Completely in the specification, product with a conscience.

 

 

Test ripple performance:

 

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Load 1A, my god, the average ripple is 10.31uV!

This is so low, so low ah.

 

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Load 2A, the average ripple is 12.22uV! The

This data is unbelievable, full load is also so low ripple.

 

 

Audio band

 

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Yellow is 2A, red is 1A.

 

Comparison of the two loaded bands, two bands coincide highly, very stable, even the peak of the highest point is not more than 1uV, the overall average of 150nV, measured data lower than iFi official data of 1uV, really low-key marketing.

 

It can achieve this kind of performance with maximum loading, no wonder in the listening test it was much better than the LPS, my friends and I have heard it. Now the mystery has been solved.

 

And later looked at the iFi's official website, may be this is the ANC technology at work, seems a very good “dark-art” technology, indeed should receive some praise.

 

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Also from iFi’s wesite, found that there are many USB, DC purifier, one day if have the opportunity must get some over and then test it.

 

Saw that micro iUSB3.0 actually has a ripple of 0.1uV, really want to test it in the future.

 

(PS: 0.1uV, this data is the same as the 9V battery!)

 

 

The following are some usually stuff we throw into the mix for fun:

 

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6. Xiaomi 10040mAh battery bank 5V/2A SMPS + Battery

 

Test ripple performance:

 

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Load 0.5A, the average ripple is 2.377mV

 

Audio band

 

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Yellow line is the load 0.5A, white line is the load 1.0A, two lines of the average ripple between 50uV ~ 100uV bar.

There is a gap between the different loads, other battery banks also use SMPS inside, and perhaps this is what we call the SMPS is generally not good.

 

7. Apple 5S charger 5V/1A SMPS

 

Test ripple performance:

 

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Load 0.5A, the average ripple is 3.459mV, slightly higher noise than the Xiaomi battery bank.

 

Audio band

 

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Blue line is the load 0.5A, white line is loaded 1.0A, two lines of the average ripple around 20uV it.

 

There is a strange phenomenon here, when the load is heavy, the noise is lower, especially with high frequency noise.

This is better than the Xiaomi battery bank, Apple's quality is still a little higher after all.

 

8. Nanfu 9V alkaline battery 9V/? Battery

 

Test ripple performance:

 

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Load 0.4A, the average ripple is 15.99uV

 

 

Audio band

 

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The cheapest is the 9V battery, but the most linear, the fluctuations are particularly small, an average of 100nV, and can be used as a benchmark for sustainable power.

 

The test is finished.

Digital Sources: Optimised HP TouchSmart PC/CEC TL-1X CD Player/AMR DP-777 DAC/Theta Digital DS Pro Basic II (old)

Analogue Sources:Koetsu Jade Platinum MC Cartridge/Tri-Planar arm/Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable/AMR PH-77 Phono Stage

Amplifiers:The Gryphon Elektra Preamplifier/Convergent Audio Technology JL2 Signature Mk 2 Stereo Amplifier

Speakers:Kharma Grand Ceramique Midi[br]Cables:Nordost Valhalla (interconnect and speaker cables)/Shunyata Research power Snakes power cables

Portable: Sony PHA-1/PHA-2; Dragonfly 1.0/1.2; Meridian Explorer, Director; iFi nano iDSD, micro iDAC, micro iDSD; Geek Out; Hdta Serenade DSD

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The best thread of the year ! dam man, wish I had the equipment to measure myself. But it is damn interesting to read that the Zero Zone super PSU which is a R-core score that high.

 

ZEROZONE SUPER-PSU 30VA DC9V 2.7A Linear Power supply LPS for Audio Sources | eBay

 

I would love to also get cheap chinese R-core supplies and linear ones with capacitor storage tested too.. they are not expencive.. could be interesting to be honest.

 

Also the ZeroZone doesnt seem to have EMI filter (Berkeley USB to SPDIF/AES has a EMI filter on its AC input). I believe we could get good performance with R-core and a EMI filter on AC input, and then a EMI filter on the DC output of the R-Core with capacitors !

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Interesting, although it should be noted that there is much more to PSU performance than just noise figures: low output impedance over a very wide bandwidth, high slew rate, fast rise-time and fast settling time to control the regulator output voltage during fast varying load current transients.

 

Battery may be low noise champ, but it can't compete with a properly designed PSU in the areas of performance I mentioned.

 

That is true, but it all starts with very clean and filtered current. My ADC has bad artifacts due to the 50hz switching issue. So Im looking to make it better. I already changed PSU once for it, now Im doing a normal linear one, and going to add EMI filter at AC side, and then another EMI filter at DC side before the capacitors and voltage regulator.

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Look at what I have here :D I just got a funny feeling I have seen this one before, may be in my old stuff ...

 

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Digital Sources: Optimised HP TouchSmart PC/CEC TL-1X CD Player/AMR DP-777 DAC/Theta Digital DS Pro Basic II (old)

Analogue Sources:Koetsu Jade Platinum MC Cartridge/Tri-Planar arm/Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable/AMR PH-77 Phono Stage

Amplifiers:The Gryphon Elektra Preamplifier/Convergent Audio Technology JL2 Signature Mk 2 Stereo Amplifier

Speakers:Kharma Grand Ceramique Midi[br]Cables:Nordost Valhalla (interconnect and speaker cables)/Shunyata Research power Snakes power cables

Portable: Sony PHA-1/PHA-2; Dragonfly 1.0/1.2; Meridian Explorer, Director; iFi nano iDSD, micro iDAC, micro iDSD; Geek Out; Hdta Serenade DSD

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  • 2 weeks later...

I sent him a few power supplies to test, he told me new tests will be up next few weeks , stay tuned

Digital Sources: Optimised HP TouchSmart PC/CEC TL-1X CD Player/AMR DP-777 DAC/Theta Digital DS Pro Basic II (old)

Analogue Sources:Koetsu Jade Platinum MC Cartridge/Tri-Planar arm/Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable/AMR PH-77 Phono Stage

Amplifiers:The Gryphon Elektra Preamplifier/Convergent Audio Technology JL2 Signature Mk 2 Stereo Amplifier

Speakers:Kharma Grand Ceramique Midi[br]Cables:Nordost Valhalla (interconnect and speaker cables)/Shunyata Research power Snakes power cables

Portable: Sony PHA-1/PHA-2; Dragonfly 1.0/1.2; Meridian Explorer, Director; iFi nano iDSD, micro iDAC, micro iDSD; Geek Out; Hdta Serenade DSD

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better than most reviews on the net by the pros. argee with op most interesting thread here. CA is richer with this knowledge. really deatiled and properly measured. i showed this to my non audio freind (ok he likes listening to audio but doesnt spend crazy sums) and he told me your friend knows what he is measuring, he couldnt really offer more input. fwiw my ee friend has poked holes in some magazine tech measurments and criticized them. the aquavox is cheap enouugh i used one before when i had a squeezbiz.

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I am a little confused here.  Why does the Xiaomi battery pack need an SMPS?  Is the voltage of the batteries a lot higher than 5v and the SMPS brings it down to 5V?  I am using an Inland 15,600 mWh battery pack to power an Audioengine D1 DAC.  (Inland is the house brand of Microcenter.)  My impression is it sounds better than  powering the DAC than using one of the Apple battery chargers I have around here.  Is there an explanation for that, or is it my imagination?  

 

Perhaps this $20 battery pack isn't worth the trouble, although it would be useful for charging my phone if the power goes out around here, and that happens a lot

 

http:// http://www.microcenter.com/product/453791/15,600mAh_Power_Bank_Battery_Charger_-_LED_Flashlight_for_Mobile_Devices_-_Silver.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...
On 4/1/2017 at 2:36 AM, Ron Scubadiver said:

I am a little confused here.  Why does the Xiaomi battery pack need an SMPS?  Is the voltage of the batteries a lot higher than 5v and the SMPS brings it down to 5V?  I am using an Inland 15,600 mWh battery pack to power an Audioengine D1 DAC.  (Inland is the house brand of Microcenter.)  My impression is it sounds better than  powering the DAC than using one of the Apple battery chargers I have around here.  Is there an explanation for that, or is it my imagination?  

 

Perhaps this $20 battery pack isn't worth the trouble, although it would be useful for charging my phone if the power goes out around here, and that happens a lot

 

http:// http://www.microcenter.com/product/453791/15,600mAh_Power_Bank_Battery_Charger_-_LED_Flashlight_for_Mobile_Devices_-_Silver.

Li-Po voltage is normally 3.7-4V, in order to give a 5V output, a SMPS is needed. 

Digital Sources: Optimised HP TouchSmart PC/CEC TL-1X CD Player/AMR DP-777 DAC/Theta Digital DS Pro Basic II (old)

Analogue Sources:Koetsu Jade Platinum MC Cartridge/Tri-Planar arm/Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable/AMR PH-77 Phono Stage

Amplifiers:The Gryphon Elektra Preamplifier/Convergent Audio Technology JL2 Signature Mk 2 Stereo Amplifier

Speakers:Kharma Grand Ceramique Midi[br]Cables:Nordost Valhalla (interconnect and speaker cables)/Shunyata Research power Snakes power cables

Portable: Sony PHA-1/PHA-2; Dragonfly 1.0/1.2; Meridian Explorer, Director; iFi nano iDSD, micro iDAC, micro iDSD; Geek Out; Hdta Serenade DSD

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  • 6 months later...

@DM How did that Aqvox perform? I have one, which I’m using between my Mac Mini and a Peachtree X1 USB-SPIDF converter. I certainly prefer the sound with it in the signal path to the sound going direct from Mac Mini to Peachtree X1, though I haven’t tried any other USB signal cleaners (eg Schiit Wyrd, iFi iPur or iUSB, etc.)

 

Also, if you are still gathering LPSes to test, I’m curious about the TeraFak DC-30W (new version).

 

Many thanks, and great review! I bought an iFi iPower for my Raspberry Pi and couldn’t be happier.

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  • 2 months later...

I will do an Aqvox post in the next couple of days "How to improve the Aqvox?".? The simple answer is Aqvox is not really a match for iPower, but that's not the point.  Something else very interesting came up during the review. 

Digital Sources: Optimised HP TouchSmart PC/CEC TL-1X CD Player/AMR DP-777 DAC/Theta Digital DS Pro Basic II (old)

Analogue Sources:Koetsu Jade Platinum MC Cartridge/Tri-Planar arm/Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable/AMR PH-77 Phono Stage

Amplifiers:The Gryphon Elektra Preamplifier/Convergent Audio Technology JL2 Signature Mk 2 Stereo Amplifier

Speakers:Kharma Grand Ceramique Midi[br]Cables:Nordost Valhalla (interconnect and speaker cables)/Shunyata Research power Snakes power cables

Portable: Sony PHA-1/PHA-2; Dragonfly 1.0/1.2; Meridian Explorer, Director; iFi nano iDSD, micro iDAC, micro iDSD; Geek Out; Hdta Serenade DSD

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10 hours ago, DM said:

I will do an Aqvox post in the next couple of days "How to improve the Aqvox?".? The simple answer is Aqvox is not really a match for iPower, but that's not the point.  Something else very interesting came up during the review. 

 

Hello, thank you very much!

But where it places the AQVOX in the classification? What are the measures?

 

Best regards

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