The All Purpose Advice Thread - Part 2

Your reply comes at a good time. I've done quite more digging in the last few days. To purchase the 1st or 2nd units below, you'll need the measurement of the DC cable that will plug into your streamer. For example, the measurement my DDC requires is 5.5/2.1 mm. The 3rd unit comes with multiple adapters, making the measurements issue moot.

Based on many user comments and occasional reviews, I have focused on 2 mid-priced LPSs. Neither one is in the high-end/audiophile range (>$1K and way up); nor in the el cheapo/mystery meat category. I'm preparing to buy the first one listed based on some very favorable user comments:

Farad Super3: This is the one I plan to buy in 12v. It's sold by one of Farad's US dealers. The highest volt rating this LPS has is 15v. It's very possible 15v will be enough for your streamer. You'll have to check with them. I say this because IRL 15v and 16v often seem to work with each other.
https://tweekgeek.com/products/farad-super-3?variant=40871077150787

Note: If you buy direct from Farad instead of their U.S. dealer, you can configure your Super3 with a voltage other than the nominal 15v or 19v listed on Farad's website. Your total cost will be in the mid $700s after USD/Euro exchange--but shipping is free (nice!)
https://www.faradpowersupplies.com/?sfid=611&_sft_pa_ac-voltage=115&_sft_pa_dc-output=other-e-49​

Keces P6: The link below is to Keces' U.S. distributor, and one of the better people around to deal with (Arthur Power/Power Holdings). This very well regarded unit costs the same as the Farad, but you'll run into the same 15v vs 16v thing with this unit, also with the P8, Keces' higher model (~$899). You could always just call Arthur to discuss. He may deal with this same issue all the time and know what's what.
https://power-holdings-inc.com/Keces-P6-6-Amp-Linear-Power-Supply-p485459710

SBooster OTW P&P ECO MKII: This unit is well regarded and somewhat cheaper, but not usually mentioned as equivalent sonically to Farad or Keces. I'm giving you the URL because this unit lists an output voltage of "15v-16v," which is the only mention of 16v I've seen anywhere.
https://upscaleaudio.com/products/sbooster-botw-p-p-eco-mkii-power-supply?variant=42051189670072

BTW, adding the LPS drama is the issue of after-market DC cables. This one is by a vendor I can strongly recommend, Ghent Audio. I've read some admiring comments about this cable (compared to various "level" Farad cables). I plan to buy one of these:
https://ghentaudio.com/products/dc-gac4?VariantsId=11137,11160,11182

 

Yeah I was going to recommend Farad if your budget is that high - they hit all the nervosa targets (optional moar better fuse and DC cable), plus things that make more sense to me practically (super caps). Not being able to adjust voltage is a downside, but otherwise. Keces and SBooster all get good marks around the web too. The only other supply I can think of would be Uptone Audio’s JS-2. It’s pricey now though, I remember when it used to be $650 and now it’s almost 1k.

Otherwise your choices are the aforementioned Chi-Fi stuff, which is a crapshoot to put it mildly. You can for sure use them if your only goal is LPS over SMPS, but you can find more than a few reports of people measuring some of the more popular ones and their having pretty bad performance. In the past I’ve used an AliExpress >$100 USD LPS but put a LT3045 regulator like the ones from MPAudio or LDOVR in front of them to clean them up some, ends up being cheaper in the end than most other options.

I assume you know this already, but you want to know both what voltage the device you’re powering needs and the current (amperage). A lot of the smaller supplies have lower max amperage, the bigger ones generally more. You want to either meet or exceed the amps the device is rated at with a SMPS.

 

I just started seeing a girl who is curious about audio (she came with me to the last Bay Area meetup), mostly IEMs. I want to get her a pair as a gift but I've been out of the IEM market for a while so I'm not sure what's good. My requirements are:

• Good neutralish tuning suitable for lots of styles from intense metal to lofi beats to EDM. Maybe a little extra sauce in the bass wouldn't hurt.
  
• Over-the-ear loop only, she has gauges and doesn't want anything pressing on her lobes
• Nothing excessively large, she has small ears
  
• $50ish (we just started dating, don't wanna go too overboard)

Thanks, everyone!

 

Need a recommendation for an affordable (as cheap as possible while still being good enough) amp that is a tube/mosfet hybrid, or just tube if they can handle it. 10w into 8 ohms is plenty enough. Diy is fine too, I can build almost anything within reason.

(Doesn't need to be class a, but it's a plus).

 

My only suggestion here is don't press on asking whether or not she can really hear the difference and just let impressions come naturally (if at all). You being passionate about a hobby is great, if she supports you in that and shows interest then that's fantastic, but don't pressure any more than that.

 

Having been a big fan of stuff in that price range I would have to say perhaps the Tangzu Wa'ner. Better than most HBB designs in that price range and not as problematic of a fit as the OG Blon. Yet the new Blon Z300 sounded really good but QC is suspect. I would probably try the new Blon Z300 and if the channel balance is way off return it.

 

I ordered the 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2, which are arriving soon, thank you @shotgunshane ! I'll be passing them off to her tonight.

She's already sold on the idea that things sound different and the idea of the hobby in general, and she was completely blown away by my full sized headphone rig ("it's like you showed me new colors I didn't know existed"), learned a lot at HiFiCon, and all of this before we started officially dating. I expect that she'll notice right away and I won't need to press at all. We've also talked about helping her catch a good price on a used HD650 and simple DAC, then she can use my old Magni 3 until she can put together a Bottlehead Crack (she can solder, too!), since the HD650/Crack combo was one of her favorite things at HiFiCon.

 

Well in that case, godspeed my young friend! Raise the mast and uh, something something

 

Keeper!

 

Asking for a friend of mine, he's an Apple guy with an ancient ipod that is on it's last legs and is looking for a replacement. His wishlist for a new dap:
- compatible with apple
- can play ALAC
- expandable sd or microsd
- has a lineout (I told him this isn't as crucial)
- available in Canada
- under $500 CAD

I haven't looked at daps in forever, but a cursory search turns up the Shanling M1 and not much else. A&K and FiiO are expensive, and Sony can't play ALAC. What else is there?

I told him maybe finding an older iphone might be the easiest way.

 

I can't remember how or why but I came across this company a couple of months ago, which sells refurbished and upgraded iPods. I can't vouch for them but might be worth looking into: https://irefresher.com/collections/iupgradertm-custom-ipods

Edit: That's it! @scblock in the next post identified the company, Elite Obsolete, I was thinking of.

 

For replacing/repairing an iPod there is also Elite Obsolete who I've purchased parts from before. For players I feel like there are two paths and neither is as seamless as an oldschool iTunes/iPod combo. Either can play ALAC just fine.

1. Something like the Sony A5x, which is tiny and sounds pretty good (better with modded firmware) and has great battery life and is reliable. But feels nothing like an apple product. Then again if you have good tags you can just copy your files over and it'll pretty much just work. Rescans/rebuilds the database on every boot but doesn't take a huge amount of time. No line out.
   
2. Something Android based which lets you use Apple Music if you're in that ecosystem, or copy your files and use the native apps. Huge variety of size, price, features, but I've not had pleasant experiences over the long term. The streaming apps get updated and eventually stop working as APIs change or the new apps bloat until they don't run. I've owned a couple, I probably won't buy another.

Neither of these options will sleep for 2 weeks and wake up in 10 seconds and just work, and neither is an easy sync with iTunes.

 

If it’s an older iPod with a spinning disk, you can replace it with SD cards. (https://www.iflash.xyz) I did this conversion on one of mine I use in the car and it’s been solid. If it’s the battery, there are numerous places that sell replacements. Ifixit.com is one I’ve used before (https://www.ifixit.com/Search?query=iPod+battery).

 

I have a space heater that I need to use that injects noise into my electricity for some reason. IIt's on a different outlet than my audio gear, my audio gear is all plugged into a dedicated line to a didactic breaker with dedicated grounds and a puritan ground master, none of which seems to have accomplished anything. The heater is even plugged into an extension cord and run into the hallway and plugged into a 2000W balanced isolation power transformer, which is plugged into an outlet in the hall to get it further from my room.

But when this space heater is on, not only does the balanced isolation power transformer physically buzz super loud, but there is a loud buzz in my headphone amps.

So I'm wondering if there are any products out there designed to stop dirty appliances from injecting noise into your house's power. The balanced isolation power transformer I would have thought would do that, but this space heater must be designed really cheaply or something I don't know what it is about it, but it makes the transformer buzz like crazy, so loud you would not be able to be in the same room with it. I only get away with it because it's' in the hall outside my room. But it doesn't seem to do anything.

I've also tried plugging iFI noise cancelling silencers into the same duplex as the space heater is plugged into and that does nothing.

I've also tried every kind of power regenerator for my audio gear and none of them do anything, so I don't need recommendations for my audio gear. I'm just looking for something I can plug this space heater into that would stop it from injecting noise into my house'e power and into my audio gear. I have a remote for the heater, and I turn it on, buzzzzzz, I turn it off, dead silence. Back and forth.

thanks for any advice!

 

Wow, if a fully balanced isolating transformer won’t isolate it… what type of space heater is it specifically, IR, heated Oil, Nichrome/fan, etc.?

I’ve noticed in playing around over the years that (with my Tice Titan/PowerBlock isolation transformers) some noisy components in my house would make it physically hum more than others (i.e. the transformers in the Tice would physically hum; it wasn’t letting hum/noise through into my electrical signals), but I keep it physically/accoustically isolated outside my listening room so don’t hear it… Maybe this is just a really terrible space heater that is broadcasting noise back onto your mains…

Seems hopeless, though, from your description of things you’ve already tried... Have you tried (or consider?) replacing the space heater, or getting a different type? Seems that’s the next logical thing to try… do you (or a friend/neighbor) have another one you can A/B test with?

 

I can't replace it, it's a one of a kind unit. it's just a heater with a fan that blows warm air, but it's a unique product. Unfortunately. I have no idea what's going on inside the unit but something must be wired up very unsavory in there!

 

the only time my isolation transformers physically hummed/buzzed was from DC offset (which then also caused noise in my audio system). I got one of those emotiva dc offset things (CMX2 something), plugged into that and problem solved.

 

I have no DC offset in my power (tested by an audio electrician expert twice and I have the Emotiva CMX2 and it’s never done anything for me. Or iFI DC blockers. I also don’t think the Emotiva could handle the power requirements of this heater.

 

Did the electrician test when the heater was running? I was wondering if the heater was putting DC into your power system. If so, you'd plug the iso transformer into it to block the dc from getting to the transformer. I agree that it wouldn't handle a space heater... those typically make the electric meter spin off the wall...