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Post by MartinT on Feb 26, 2017 11:02:49 GMT
All I can offer is to measure the voltage on the 19V output just after switch on and say an hour later. I set mine to 19.04V The power supply voltage is likely to be the least important criteria for sound quality. Current under load, regulation quality, transient demand and noise performance are all factors, as well as what crap it pushes back into the mains affecting the other components. |
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Post by Clive on Feb 26, 2017 11:33:13 GMT
All I can offer is to measure the voltage on the 19V output just after switch on and say an hour later. I set mine to 19.04V The power supply voltage is likely to be the least important criteria for sound quality. Current under load, regulation quality, transient demand and noise performance are all factors, as well as what crap it pushes back into the mains affecting the other components. I very much agree....I can't meadure any of that. I do wonder about the crap smps pollute the mains with. The smps that came with the pc is a brick. 19V 6A, if size is related to quantity of noise pushed back into the mains, then it'll be bad. |
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Post by Stratmangler on Feb 26, 2017 12:18:46 GMT
The power supply voltage is likely to be the least important criteria for sound quality. Current under load, regulation quality, transient demand and noise performance are all factors, as well as what crap it pushes back into the mains affecting the other components. I very much agree....I can't meadure any of that. I do wonder about the crap smps pollute the mains with. The smps that came with the pc is a brick. 19V 6A, if size is related to quantity of noise pushed back into the mains, then it'll be bad. What do you mean by the PSU being a brick? It will most definitely be kicking high frequency switching noise into your machine, and polluting devices connected to the mains in the vicinity. |
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Post by Clive on Feb 26, 2017 14:28:27 GMT
I very much agree....I can't meadure any of that. I do wonder about the crap smps pollute the mains with. The smps that came with the pc is a brick. 19V 6A, if size is related to quantity of noise pushed back into the mains, then it'll be bad. What do you mean by the PSU being a brick? It will most definitely be kicking high frequency switching noise into your machine, and polluting devices connected to the mains in the vicinity. The original SMPS is like a brick because it's about brick sized and shaped. Re the noise, I believe good SMPS aren't too bad one noise being pumped into the equipment they are powering - though I doubt mine is a good 'un. As for not polluting the mains, I believe they all do that. It's quite likely this is the reason the Linear PS make the computer (and other equipment) sound better. |
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Post by Stratmangler on Feb 26, 2017 14:47:22 GMT
The original SMPS is like a brick because it's about brick sized and shaped. Re the noise, I believe good SMPS aren't too bad one noise being pumped into the equipment they are powering - though I doubt mine is a good 'un. As for not polluting the mains, I believe they all do that. It's quite likely this is the reason the Linear PS make the computer (and other equipment) sound better. Is the PSU external? If it is you could possibly add something like an SBooster filter between the PSU and computer - that should supress mmost of the switchng noise. I was shocked at the improvement in sound quality when I put an SBooster filter on the network switch my wired Squeezebox Touch is connected to. The thing to bear in mind is that wired devices are transformer coupled at both ends, so there's no physical earth plane connection. A good SMPS would be filtered at both ends (ie input and output) to suppress switching noise. |
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Post by Clive on Feb 26, 2017 15:52:46 GMT
The original SMPS is like a brick because it's about brick sized and shaped. Re the noise, I believe good SMPS aren't too bad one noise being pumped into the equipment they are powering - though I doubt mine is a good 'un. As for not polluting the mains, I believe they all do that. It's quite likely this is the reason the Linear PS make the computer (and other equipment) sound better. Is the PSU external? If it is you could possibly add something like an SBooster filter between the PSU and computer - that should supress mmost of the switchng noise. I was shocked at the improvement in sound quality when I put an SBooster filter on the network switch my wired Squeezebox Touch is connected to. The thing to bear in mind is that wired devices are transformer coupled at both ends, so there's no physical earth plane connection. A good SMPS would be filtered at both ends (ie input and output) to suppress switching noise. Yes the PS is external. I've already replaced the SMPS with a linear supply, the same one that John is using - an HDPLEX 100W. It has 4 outputs, I use 19V for the fanless PC, 7.5V for my Regen and 9V for the control circuit for my AVC preamp. |
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Post by Stratmangler on Feb 26, 2017 23:22:20 GMT
I missed this post, which is why I was asking the questions and recommending the things that I did. Spurred on by John's comments I too now have an HDPLEX 100W linear PS. I use the same server as John and also run BH. The new PS is certainly a great upgrade over the standard 19V 6A SMPS. I'm hearing more realism, naturalness, dynamics, openness. Low level sounds are more apparent in the mix, sounds are more separated - cleaner and clearer too. Bass is tighter and on a particular test track for the first time I hear detail in the bass, this track was a little ragged, it's now very much improved. I'm also now also powering my Regen with the HDPLEX and this sounds better too even though I had been using a linear PS previously. Very pleased....great recommendation from John! |
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Post by John on Mar 4, 2017 19:58:25 GMT
Been trying Kodi 17 as a music player quite pleased with the results I had to play around with it Audio output settings to get it to sound good, much like foobar
Very intuitive to load music and sound on par with foobar when properly configured
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 4, 2017 21:15:23 GMT
Please keep going if only for me John  I love software that just works |
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Post by John on Mar 5, 2017 5:55:42 GMT
Yes a bit lonely lol
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Post by Clive on Mar 5, 2017 14:24:05 GMT
I've had a go with Kodi 17. Using wasapi, turned off replay gain and a couple of other things.
I find vocals have a stronger focus than with Foobar, otherwise it's similar.
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Post by John on Mar 5, 2017 14:47:58 GMT
Yes very similar in sound quality.
Grove music is not as good Lacks authority
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