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ifi spdif purifier and analogue power supply

A

audiojoy

pfm Member
I thought in my quest for nearing analogue sound via digital(See my diy thread) I would play with the ifi purifier which had been doing a great job improving the signal going into my AUdio Note DAC 5 special!! It came out of a cec tl51 highly modified power supply and pure spdif output.

I found that changing the ifi power supply from its standard switch mode to a linear one from mcru made a very large improvement in the sound quality. Far more musical, better PRAT, smoother, more refined top end and overall better separation and clarity. I knew how this power supply transformed the squeezebox duet and it does exactly the same with the ifi. Some of the cheaper Chinese linear power supplies (approx 30-40 quid on ebay, unbranded)I have tried are no match for the mcru. Mind you, your mileage may vary according to set up, mains supply etc.

Another discovery in my system was that my CD system became more resolving and natural sounding after adding a western electric line matching transformer. These can be found ready built in a Chassis from the far East, helps cd sound more analogue like, even improved my Audio Note DAC 5 special and they already have output transformers!!!
 
yes it is dear 220 quid but in my opinion it was worth more than that when you consider the change it made to my expensive dac. So again perhaps this tweak will be measurable by the quality of the DAC ??? Perhaps other DACS may not respond as well as my set up has and the switch mode may well be more than adequate. I can only vouch for my set up, but it is the same effect as when I added it to my Duet. I guess the outcome of all of this is that ifi purifier has far more potential than some may believe it has considering its amazingly low price.

Note my 200 quid line matching western electric transformers also improved the sound of the DAC significantly, subjectively speaking of course.
 
audiojoy said:
yes it is dear 220 quid but in my opinion it was worth more than that when you consider the change it made to my expensive dac. So again perhaps this tweak will be measurable by the quality of the DAC ??? Perhaps other DACS may not respond as well as my set up has and the switch mode may well be more than adequate. I can only vouch for my set up, but it is the same effect as when I added it to my Duet. I guess the outcome of all of this is that ifi purifier has far more potential than some may believe it has considering its amazingly low price.

Note my 200 quid line matching western electric transformers also improved the sound of the DAC significantly, subjectively speaking of course.
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Yes, in my case a Qualiaphysic PSU also improved a Mytek Brooklyn's sound quality.

Thanks! I'll definitely consider it.
 
Hi Luke, could you possibly do me a favor and try the ifi+PSU with your JVC 1010 amp. I'd really like to know if it can make a difference to the JVC K2 interface (I suspect not).
 
Sure Dan

will give it a go this weekend, should be interesting as the mileage i am sure will vary from DAC to DAC. I need to reaquaint myself with the amp as its been a while since i last listened to it, and i know how highly you rate it.
 
radamel said:
Yes, in my case a Qualiaphysic PSU also improved a Mytek Brooklyn's sound quality.

Thanks! I'll definitely consider it.
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Interesting I have just ordered the Brooklyn MYtek myself due to its formidable studio and audiophile performances I have read about. Will be an interesting match against the DAc5. One personal review stated that the model prior to the Brooklyn -192- was superior with certain transports than the DAC 4.1!
 
audiojoy said:
I found that changing the ifi power supply from its standard switch mode to a linear one from mcru made a very large improvement in the sound quality.
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Aren't the ifi wall warts supposed to be much quieter than linear PSU's?
 
audiojoy said:
One personal review stated that the model prior to the Brooklyn -192- was superior with certain transports than the DAC 4.1!
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Is the Mytek a r2r or delta sigma DAC? To my ears nothing comes close to the analogue sound a well deployed r2r can achieve.
 
DNM said:
Aren't the ifi wall warts supposed to be much quieter than linear PSU's?
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They are indeed (supposed to be), but after about 7 days they benefit from the application of ShineyNewBox (TM) technology
 
thebiglebowski said:
Is the Mytek a r2r or delta sigma DAC? To my ears nothing comes close to the analogue sound a well deployed r2r can achieve.
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i have read some mediocre reviews on the ladder version so it depends on who employs them. Audio note think 50k is what it takes to use this technology correctly. Which manufacturer has employed this technology to work very successfully above all other DACS currently on the market???
 
adamdea said:
They are indeed (supposed to be), but after about 7 days they benefit from the application of ShineyNewBox (TM) technology
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Yes I see they have a new one(™) that's supposed to be 10 times quieter than the last one that was supposed to be 50% quieter than a linear PSU, if you get my drift.

I was just curious why the OP would buy an expensive linear PSU thats noisier than the wall wart.
 
audiojoy said:
i have read some mediocre reviews on the ladder version so it depends on who employs them. Audio note think 50k is what it takes to use this technology correctly. Which manufacturer has employed this technology to work very successfully above all other DACS currently on the market???
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Yep it's not easy to get it right as you have to get the resistor tolerances extremely close and this doesn't suit mass production.

I know Lampizator also rates the r2r above all else and I think the Schiit Yggdrasil is also an r2r design.

Having tried a few DACs I don't think anything comes close to my AN DAC although I was very impressed with the Chord Hugo & QBD76
 
The ifi ipower super quiet supplies may have an awesome spec. However, both of mine have died, the first after a month, the second one after about 9 months. Each replaced a Netgear wall wart power supply for one of their ethernet switches. The switches are now back on their original Netgear wall warts and still going strong after a 5 ish year life so far.

Lesson to self: don't bother with any more ifi ipower supplies, no matter how complimentary others may be about them...
 
Foot Tapper said:
The ifi ipower super quiet supplies may have an awesome spec. However, both of mine have died, the first after a month, the second one after about 9 months. Each replaced a Netgear wall wart power supply for one of their ethernet switches. The switches are now back on their original Netgear wall warts and still going strong after a 5 ish year life so far.
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Oh dear, you need good linear PSU's for your Ethernet switches :)
 
clivem2 said:
They should be on their output but not to the equipment sharing the same main feed.
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So they're better for the equipment they're powering but not for other equipment susceptible to mains noise? I thought the military grade jet fighter noise cancellation technology(SM) would have isolated the mains too. All sounds a bit iffy to me.
 
Just received the Mytek -cute or what. Straight out of the box it sounds like an average DAC but listen carefully and you can already hear its superiority in some important areas over the DAC 5 audio note when it comes to music making, more expression to female voices more understanding of musicians interactions etc etc however shrill, weak bass output poor imaging and not very transparent. Lets see what happens when it burns in, will give it 3 days, looks promising enough. Even if the technical sides are not up to a high standard if its music making continues to improve then I have a winner on my hands. If I get both then this would be a special DAC. Sounds like a low end NAim CD player but with that additional clarity in the understanding of the musical message.
 
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