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Which PSU?

The spec seems to suggest that the adjustment range is 11.5-15.5Vdc. Whether your Duet would tolerate 30% more voltage I don't know. (Question: the mfrs blurb describes it as 'rechargeable'. That suggests it will run without the charger plugged in. Does it sound noticeably better when you do this? If not, there's no point in upgrading.)

Beresford seem quite proud of their own psu: well, they would, wouldn't they? But do you know for a fact that theirs can be upgraded easily? If the likes of MCRU make one, have you heard it in action?

And do you know anyone with a Jitterbug you can try out? These things only work if you are suffering from electrical/rf noise in the first place.

I wouldn't necessarily want to put you off a chinese-made psu, but a decent cabinet, IEC mains input, fuse holder, and switch represent a lot of work if the benefit is only marginal.
 
Thanks for the reply. I know I should decide with my own ears. I'm never sure if PSU's are a snake oil situation and I'm convincing myself I can hear a difference or it is a genuine upgrade. I've read many people decrying other upgrades, cables and co, but it seems pretty unanimous that a better PSU does bring about benefits.
 
davidjt said:
The spec seems to suggest that the adjustment range is 11.5-15.5Vdc. Whether your Duet would tolerate 30% more voltage I don't know. (Question: the mfrs blurb describes it as 'rechargeable'. That suggests it will run without the charger plugged in. Does it sound noticeably better when you do this? If not, there's no point in upgrading.)

Beresford seem quite proud of their own psu: well, they would, wouldn't they? But do you know for a fact that theirs can be upgraded easily? If the likes of MCRU make one, have you heard it in action?

And do you know anyone with a Jitterbug you can try out? These things only work if you are suffering from electrical/rf noise in the first place.

I wouldn't necessarily want to put you off a chinese-made psu, but a decent cabinet, IEC mains input, fuse holder, and switch represent a lot of work if the benefit is only marginal.
Click to expand...
I have a Duet, and it's the controller that's rechargable, not the main unit. And I really wouldn't advise using a higher voltage! I have made a simple linear PSU for mine (LT1083), but to make it really worthwhile I believe the internals need modding. http://lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/Squeezebox/squeezebox.html
 
Those mods are only the icing on the cake IMHO. A new PSU will really elevate it. The one I gave you the link for will do just fine. You don't need a crazy PSU just a linear regulated PSU of the correct voltage and power will lower the noise floor considerably.
 
realitybites said:
Thanks for the reply. I know I should decide with my own ears.
Click to expand...

Of course - but buying several different PSUs and comparing them is a) a bore and b) expensive! :D

realitybites said:
I'm never sure if PSU's are a snake oil situation and I'm convincing myself I can hear a difference or it is a genuine upgrade ... but it seems pretty unanimous that a better PSU does bring about benefits.
Click to expand...

Absolutely it does - PSUs are not snake-oil! Over the last year I've done some experiments with a few friends, listening to the difference in sound produced (out of the speakers) when the AC motor speed controller on my TT was fed with different PSUs.

The default PSU for this motor speed controller is a 48v Meanwell (SMPS); the final order of increasing SQ from the different scenarios we tried is as follows - and the sound produced by #6 is significantly better than the sound produced by #1:
#1: Meanwell 48v SMPS
#2: 48v linear PSU (emitter-follower regulated)
#3: 48v linear PSU plus isolating transformer
#4: Meanwell SMPS plus isolating transformer
#5: 48v SLA supply
#6: Meanwell SMPS plus isolating transformer plus Schaffner hash filter.


Regards,

Andy
 
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