Then he needs to show proof of his inuendo...
The thing I find most entertaining about these debates is that whenever the subjectivist --"my ears are better than your test equipment"-- screed starts breaking down, their first recourse is to tell me how stupid I am. Seriously... how messed up is that?
C'mon, you don't think that DAC is running directly on the raw 12 volts do you?
Most of those chips are 5 or 3.3 volt. There will be internal regulators and filters in the DAC to make that right.
At that point, if there are problems with power filtering and regulation, they are almost certainly inside the DAC itself. A properly designed internal regulator won't know or care where the DC is coming from. It's going to do it's job properly, regardless.
To attach some sonic quality to the source of bulk DC power in a DIGITAL device is sheer folly.
Agreed!
I am currently re-doing my digital side. New transport and DAC, I’m building the supplies now in anticipation of the arrival of my new DAC. It will consist of an RPi 4, Allo digione signature, and a Topping D50s DAC. Roon is what I use for this as well.
If this thread is still alive I’ll post my thoughts. This is what makes this stuff fun for me. BTW, my AmpCamp / B1/ ODAC uses SMPS and sounds great; no prejudice here!
I totally agree with you that Ti Kan at AMB deserves our support and respect. Do you by any chance have a complete BOM (Mouser or DigiKey) for the σ22?
The "It doesn't exist if I can't measure it" trope has been hotly debated since at least the mid-60's and nothing has happened to change minds in either camp.
I straddle that fence, got off the audiophile hamster wheel about 30 years ago but I absolutely believe our ears are miraculously sensitive and hear nuances that can't be measured.
I haven't seen anything yet to convince me that "high tech" power supplies for consumer gear are superior to competently designed linear supplies.
That may be true... but your view misses one important fact. It's not sound until it comes off a speaker cone. Before that it is simply an electronic signal that can be measured, visualized, studied and quantified... but it can't be heard. Hence the rather expensive test equipment.
The gear you use is the result of careful engineering. You do it's creators a disservice by decrying their value in providing it to you.
They aren't. Moreover they aren't intended to be. SMPS job is to do exactly what a linear supply does... provide a source of clean direct current to the equipment it powers.
There are a couple of advantages, size, weight, price, etc. and of course they do not hum. But aside from that, it's just another power supply. It's not something to be dumped on or praised, it's just another way to do the job.
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Things have improved a lot but we're not there yet. If you truly could quantify everything with measurements then China would be mass-producing Stradivarius violins. At the end of the day the human ear is far more refined then any currently available measurement technology (audio frequencies obviously). I don't see that changing in my lifetime.
As for SMPS--they have their purpose but why would I choose one if light weight, efficiency, and final price are NOT my criteria?
Doesn't seem to be a problem the past 30 years.
And radiated & reflected RF trash generation isn't an issue.
Isn't it easier to filter out AF noise than RF?
You're dense, rude, and full of tiresome straw-man arguments. Try to stay on topic.
And now the insults start flying....
You just claimed your ears are better than my test equipment. I'm gonna need proof of that.
But, trust me, I won't be holding my breath while waiting...
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Just chiming in to say that a Sigma11 is possibly overkill. Sigma22 is definitely overkill, since it is a dual rail and the application is only calling for +12V 0.5A. As others have said, there is probably already regulation on the board for 5V and 3.3V.
For 12V and under 1A he could go with a Sigma78 on a Sigma25 board instead. Its a much easier build, and more inexpensive components. Sigma78 involves some surface mount soldering, but only about 5 components which are relatively large. Nothing too difficult after you have the single IC in place.
I used Sigma78/79 for regulation in a Millett Butte headphone amp.
For 12V and under 1A he could go with a Sigma78 on a Sigma25 board instead. Its a much easier build, and more inexpensive components. Sigma78 involves some surface mount soldering, but only about 5 components which are relatively large. Nothing too difficult after you have the single IC in place.
I used Sigma78/79 for regulation in a Millett Butte headphone amp.
If you haven't bought something yet, here's another datapoint:
LDO-25 Full discrete linear power supply 25W External regulated power DC 5V--24V | eBay
It's from China but it's reputable and very nice build quality.
My digital streamer has gone thru 4 SMPS in the years I've used it so I bought one of these "Zerozone" linears and I'm delighted with it.
Search on the name or seller to see the variety offered, if you wish.
Modern SMPS don't radiate and reflect RF trash. Things have changed in the past 30 years. You would need to figure out how to use test equipment to find this out though.
Yes they do!
Many SMPS units are still coming out of China that are not properly filtered. The price is often the best indicator of sub-standard designs. If you want to ensure that you have quality goods ensure that they come from properly certified manufacturing plants. Also ensure that all SMPS units are properly shielded and grounded.
And it is the cost of quality units in South Africa that keeps me away from them. Linear is simpler, and can be built to have very low ripple.
Many SMPS units are still coming out of China that are not properly filtered. The price is often the best indicator of sub-standard designs. If you want to ensure that you have quality goods ensure that they come from properly certified manufacturing plants. Also ensure that all SMPS units are properly shielded and grounded.
And it is the cost of quality units in South Africa that keeps me away from them. Linear is simpler, and can be built to have very low ripple.
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To check and assemble the shielding and filtering in a proper way, I suggest to read the free technical paper from Schaffner called "Basics in EMC/EMI and Power Quality". This is the download link: https://www.schaffner.com/fileadmin..._Brochure_Basics_in_EMC_and_power_quality.pdf
RF/EMI
Many thanks sir, very interesting reading indeed. Specifically Chapter 1: section 4 - Noise Suppression. This is extremely very important indeed (excuse the tautology) in audio circuits where RF/EMI "radiators" are used nearby or are connected within the equipment "string."
Medical equipment is typically very strictly designed, manufactured, configured, installed and operated due to the sensitivity of the equipment and the radiation potential of a lot of the equipment.
Of interest is also Chapter 1: section 5 - Power Quality where it is pointed out that the one area, that is nor regulated as far as radiated emmision is concerned, is from 2.5/3 kHz to 150 kHz. Hmm, makes one wonder just how much noise do we get, into our domestic supplies.
Many thanks sir, very interesting reading indeed. Specifically Chapter 1: section 4 - Noise Suppression. This is extremely very important indeed (excuse the tautology) in audio circuits where RF/EMI "radiators" are used nearby or are connected within the equipment "string."
Medical equipment is typically very strictly designed, manufactured, configured, installed and operated due to the sensitivity of the equipment and the radiation potential of a lot of the equipment.
Of interest is also Chapter 1: section 5 - Power Quality where it is pointed out that the one area, that is nor regulated as far as radiated emmision is concerned, is from 2.5/3 kHz to 150 kHz. Hmm, makes one wonder just how much noise do we get, into our domestic supplies.
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