Any point to upgrade DAC power supply?

[aslan7]

I think someone got lost after a few too many beverages, at least based on the clear struggle to form a single sentence.

Goes with the territory.

 

[knownothing]

Specifically thinking about a Teddy Pardo power supply for an RME ADI-2. Is this just hype or something that will make an audible improvement? Thanks.

Yes. Do you use a power conditioner for your audio gear? If so, then you understand the value of clean power in your system. At the very least, removing the switching power supply will reduce noise reaching your mains. Try it, you might like what you hear.

 

[JeremyFife]

Just no

 

[BDWoody]

Yes. Do you use a power conditioner for your audio gear? If so, then you understand the value of clean power in your system.

If so, you likely have been taken in by people selling stories, rather than anything that would improve your SQ.

There is a lot of nonsense out there designed to separate you from your money.

 

[Killingbeans]

At the very least, removing the switching power supply will reduce noise reaching your mains.

That switching noise is not the worst thing to deal with. High enough in frequency to be filtered out easily, but not high enough to sneak through all of the parasitic capacitances in your gear.

One of the reasons why a SMPS can be super effecient is because it incorporates PFC (Power factor correction). A linear PSU is a reactive load and has no PFC, meaning that it injects huge amounts of broadband distortion back into the mains. Praise the linear PSU for its vanishing output ripple (assuming the PSRR and post regulation of the gear is bad enough to make it critical), but definitely not for what it does to the mains

 

[knownothing]

That switching noise is not the worst thing to deal with. High enough in frequency to be filtered out easily, but not high enough to sneak through all of the parasitic capacitances in your gear.

One of the reasons why a SMPS can be super effecient is because it incorporates PFC (Power factor correction). A linear PSU is a reactive load and has no PFC, meaning that it injects huge amounts of broadband distortion back into the mains. Praise the linear PSU for its vanishing output ripple (assuming the PSRR and post regulation of the gear is bad enough to make it critical), but definitely not for what it does to the mains

Which is why the highest end audio gear designed by experienced engineers always uses switching power supplies? Because of their superior performance in cost-no-object applications?

My understanding is that the lower frequency noise generated by transformer-based power supplies is better addressed by most power conditioning strategies and technologies used in audio applications compared with the higher frequency noise generated by switching supplies. According to you, I may have that backwards. If you could share some references comparing mains noise from linear and switching supplies and whether one or the other is more problematic for audio power conditioners, that would be helpful.

 

[Vacceo]

Yes. Do you use a power conditioner for your audio gear? If so, then you understand the value of clean power in your system. At the very least, removing the switching power supply will reduce noise reaching your mains. Try it, you might like what you hear.

Typically a box of dishwasher soap will clean my power equally fine and for a lot less.

 

[jumos]

I run mine with a Meanwell 12V/5A brick, works nicely, that OEM is considered one of the better ones. I think it was around 30-40$ when I got it but I already had it sitting around. I do feel it helps slightly versus that cell phone charger included but have not actually even bothered with the cell phone wall wart. I'm really not even sure you can improve much on the ADI-2 DAC FS

I do have an astron 12V linear PS somewhere is it really worth trying that?

 

[Killingbeans]

Which is why the highest end audio gear designed by experienced engineers always uses switching power supplies? Because of their superior performance in cost-no-object applications?

Possibly. Not all SMPSs are made the same. Far from it. The really cheap ones have little to no PFC and are electrically/thermally fragile in a number of ways.

Linear PSUs do have some benefits. For instance, a big lossy transformer inherently suppresses spikes on the primary and has a great deal of headroom for moments where lots of dirty power is better than nothing. But a well designed SMPS beats a traditional PSU on most metrics, especially in low power applications where proper filtering and post regulation is implemented.

My understanding is that the lower frequency noise generated by transformer-based power supplies is better addressed by most power conditioning strategies and technologies used in audio applications compared with the higher frequency noise generated by switching supplies. According to you, I may have that backwards.

As a rule of thumb higher frequencies are generally easier to filter than the low ones (until you reach the point where everything becomes a filter).

The closer you get to DC, the more huge component values are needed to do effective filtering.

Can't imagine much home audio gear (if any) needs the "conditioning" of the mains. Their own PSUs should take care of that part just fine.

Doesn't hurt to have extra protection against spikes and surges though.

But honestly, I'm not an expert on conditioning products, so feel free to take my writings with a grain of salt.

If you could share some references comparing mains noise from linear and switching supplies and whether one or the other is more problematic for audio power conditioners, that would be helpful.

I don't have any references, but low power factor loads are known to be one of the many things that mess up the mains.

Passive loads like motors can be corrected with passive components, and SMPSs are increasingly moving to bridgeless designs with active PFC.

Linear PSU are more or less outlawed in new electronics at this point, and I suspect it's not just because of their inefficiency.

I do have an astron 12V linear PS somewhere is it really worth trying that?

No. You'd might hear an improvement, but it will be 100% placebo.

 

[somebodyelse]

Which is why the highest end audio gear designed by experienced engineers always uses switching power supplies? Because of their superior performance in cost-no-object applications?

My understanding is that the lower frequency noise generated by transformer-based power supplies is better addressed by most power conditioning strategies and technologies used in audio applications compared with the higher frequency noise generated by switching supplies. According to you, I may have that backwards. If you could share some references comparing mains noise from linear and switching supplies and whether one or the other is more problematic for audio power conditioners, that would be helpful.

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/ap...audio-myth-switching-power-supplies-are-noisy has a lot of explanation, but doesn't present measurements directly. Early posts in this thread have links to RME's take on the subject.

 

[Rednaxela]

Answering more than 1.5 years after the question was asked.

Answering almost 3 years after the question was asked.

I suggest we put this one to rest once more and check back in around August 2025.

 

[Sokel]

Straight from RME (I bold the relevant):

The leakage current of the ADI's external power supply runs to ground, whereever it finds one. With nothing connected you (your body) is the ground. The phones are in the way and therefore emit audible hum. Touching the chassis short-circuits the path of the leakage current, so it won't flow over the headphones anymore. Solution is the same as always: either connect a grounded device to the ADI, or directly connect it to ground.

Because of cases like yours we changed the power supplies to grounded ones. But as we have a lot of stock currently only the 2/4 Pro comes with it. And even that one will fail in case your power outlets don't have PE/ground (like many in Japan, Thailand...).

The last resort (if someone is unwilling or unable to connect it to a solid ground) is the use of a linear power supply. Their leakage current is basically free of harmonics and therefore typically inaudible.

RME ADI 2 DAC FS (ground?) hum- any ideas?

So- I made the mistake of spring cleaning and re-organising my AV rack yesterday. Today whilst using the RME with some sensitive IEMs I had a noticeable (assume 60hz or thereabouts) hum. So I started doing some testing. Observations: 1. Touching the join between the device and the IEM jack...

www.audiosciencereview.com

On edge cases as it seems.