Change your power supply

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buybeach

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I was pretty happy with my brand-new Wiim Pro, until I tried playing a high-definition download of a record with a lot of bass content. Sounded like my speakers we destroyed. I redirected the digital output to another DAC I own: content played fine. I was somewhat bothered about this but the next morning a light bulb went off in my head. I rerouted the USB cable from the 2.4 amp (POS) power supply that came with the Wiiim Pro to a 30 amp USB supply. Voila, that track and all other since have been decoded without any weird behaviors. I am sure that this gadget doesn't draw anything like 30 amps of course, but a robust power supply makes a big difference.
 
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Justrucking said:
Yes, it is possible to suck the life out of the music with filtering. Best to start at the panel, drop a home run to the gear and go from there. Many times that is going to make an audible and visual improvement with the gear. Most folks stop right there. I went a step further with linear power supplies and added fiber to my network along with a good inexpensive filtering switch. I am very happy with the results.
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Thanks for the suggestion man. It's refreshing to hear about people just enjoying themselves experimenting with their systems.
At the moment I'm working on common mode interference from the Ethernet network. And I'm upgrading to low noise power supplies, starting with my source, and then finally my active speakers.
 
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Wiimer said:
I'm not an expert, but there's only one thing I know.

View attachment 5768
That is, even in such a situation, Chloë Grace Moretz's face on TV will not be stained. 😁

And the power adapter that comes with the Fire TV stick is also fine for me. 🤗
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Haha, to each their own!! Love your attitude!

At least you don't feel the need to antagonize others with different views for no reason... (y)
 
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Justrucking said:
Yes, it is possible to suck the life out of the music with filtering. Best to start at the panel, drop a home run to the gear and go from there. Many times that is going to make an audible and visual improvement with the gear. Most folks stop right there. I went a step further with linear power supplies and added fiber to my network along with a good inexpensive filtering switch. I am very happy with the results.
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Can I ask which LPS products you are using?
Also what kind of networking switch?
 
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bowsandarrows said:
Can I ask which LPS products you are using?
Also what kind of networking switch?
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I'm using the LHY units, have a few. For the network switch, the Netgear GS108Ev3. I talked with a Netgear sales rep, since moved on to another company, and he still raves about the filtering ability of these switches. Also, the guys at Alpha Audio did a network switch shootout, the winner was the $500+ LHY SW8, which I also own. And I can attest to the $53 Netgear unit vs the LHY Sw8. How do I know these switches do anything? I plugged them into my Roku stream, the Sony PQ went up a few notches, with my own mother asking me when I bought a new TV. I have told others about these switches, the folks that took the $50 dive still have them, and did find they enhanced both video and audio. Flame suit on. ;-)
 
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Justrucking said:
I'm using the LHY units, have a few. For the network switch, the Netgear GS108Ev3. I talked with a Netgear sales rep, since moved on to another company, and he still raves about the filtering ability of these switches. Also, the guys at Alpha Audio did a network switch shootout, the winner was the $500+ LHY SW8, which I also own. And I can attest to the $53 Netgear unit vs the LHY Sw8. How do I know these switches do anything? I plugged them into my Roku stream, the Sony PQ went up a few notches, with my own mother asking me when I bought a new TV. I have told others about these switches, the folks that took the $50 dive still have them, and did find they enhanced both video and audio. Flame suit on. ;-)
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haha, that's insane! can't believe it had an effect on your TV's PQ. 🤯 and thanks for sharing...

so do you place the netgear switch in between your router and the rest of the gear? is this shared by your hi-fi and other AV equipment?

at the moment i'm attempting network isolation by using a WLAN repeater wired to my WiiM pro with a LAN choke cable in between. might be worth inserting one of these switches in between?? 🤔 don't seem to be available anymore in my area...
 
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bowsandarrows said:
haha, that's insane! can't believe it had an effect on your TV's PQ. 🤯 and thanks for sharing...

so do you place the netgear switch in between your router and the rest of the gear? is this shared by your hi-fi and other AV equipment?

at the moment i'm attempting network isolation by using a WLAN repeater wired to my WiiM pro with a LAN choke cable in between. might be worth inserting one of these switches in between?? 🤔 don't seem to be available anymore in my area...
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The setup has a dedicated Comcast router to the AV corner via UGreen CAT8 cable > Fiber Optic Media Convertor > UGreen Cat8 > Netgear GS108Ev3 > UGreen CAT8 > Roku > QED HDMI Cable > Sony TV The Roku is powered by an LHY LPS.

I have the LHY SW8 for the audio side, to the WiiM Pro Streamer which is powered by an LHY LPS. UGreen CAT8 cable to the WiiM from the LHY.

The Netgear switch is not available in Ireland? I bet someone has it, I would contact Netgear.

The UGreen CAT8 cable is inexpensive, but solid in performance, I think it made a difference, but that could all be in my head. The Netgear switch, that is the real deal, as are the LHY LPS's. The Fiber Optic, who knows, but it is there. It too is on an LHY LPS. I have a few of the buggers. ;-)
 
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Thanks so much for the details @Justrucking. Good to hear that your multiple LPS made a difference. But I'm still shocked by the netgear switch thing. There's so much we can't really explain! :)
Yeh for some reason all the shops including Amazon UK are sold out of those models (the 5-port one too). Will keep a lookout

I'm doing something similar with network isolation. And step one (switching to isolated Ethernet and turning off Wi-Fi in the WiiM Pro) has made some real positive changes...

Was listening to one of @cc_rider 's excellent recommendations (Thanks a million btw) from the what you're listening to thread. and I noticed a much improved off-axis performance from my system. That was already a real strength of my speakers but it's ridiculous now! I was like way off to the side but the tonal character wasn't changing much. 🤯
 
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Justrucking said:
I'm using the LHY units, have a few. For the network switch, the Netgear GS108Ev3. I talked with a Netgear sales rep, since moved on to another company, and he still raves about the filtering ability of these switches. Also, the guys at Alpha Audio did a network switch shootout, the winner was the $500+ LHY SW8, which I also own. And I can attest to the $53 Netgear unit vs the LHY Sw8. How do I know these switches do anything? I plugged them into my Roku stream, the Sony PQ went up a few notches, with my own mother asking me when I bought a new TV. I have told others about these switches, the folks that took the $50 dive still have them, and did find they enhanced both video and audio. Flame suit on. ;-)
Click to expand...
Hi,
What happens when I use LHY on my Fire stick?

For example, do Scarlett Johansson's two large balloons look even bigger? 🎈🎈
Then there is room for consideration. 😁
 
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bowsandarrows said:
Thanks so much for the details @Justrucking. Good to hear that your multiple LPS made a difference. But I'm still shocked by the netgear switch thing. There's so much we can't really explain! :)
Yeh for some reason all the shops including Amazon UK are sold out of those models (the 5-port one too). Will keep a lookout

I'm doing something similar with network isolation. And step one (switching to isolated Ethernet and turning off Wi-Fi in the WiiM Pro) has made some real positive changes...

Was listening to one of @cc_rider 's excellent recommendations (Thanks a million btw) from the what you're listening to thread. and I noticed a much improved off-axis performance from my system. That was already a real strength of my speakers but it's ridiculous now! I was like way off to the side but the tonal character wasn't changing much. 🤯
Click to expand...
The network switch deal is easy, a simple google search in regards to electrical noise over networks, it is a very real thing. The more resolving your gear, the more improvements you could potentially experience. That is why Netgear developed this particular switch, for troublesome networks with electrical interference, and that is right from a Netgear employee. All I can say is that my experience with a couple of them has been well worth the $100 investment. None of this stuff is expensive, you do not need to spend $500+ for one of these switches, or a power supply. Even a quality Apple power supply will improve some devices. Like I said, you do not need to spend a lot of money to get great results.
 
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Justrucking said:
The network switch deal is easy, a simple google search in regards to electrical noise over networks, it is a very real thing. The more resolving your gear, the more improvements you could potentially experience. That is why Netgear developed this particular switch, for troublesome networks with electrical interference, and that is right from a Netgear employee. All I can say is that my experience with a couple of them has been well worth the $100 investment. None of this stuff is expensive, you do not need to spend $500+ for one of these switches, or a power supply. Even a quality Apple power supply will improve some devices. Like I said, you do not need to spend a lot of money to get great results.
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yeh no i get that bit...

what i was alluding to is why/how these low levels of noise (especially common mode) affect things like spatial imaging and depth, etc. (alot of which is supposedly at frequencies that are too high to matter etc)
 
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bowsandarrows said:
yeh no i get that bit...

what i was alluding to is why/how these low levels of noise (especially common mode) affect things like spatial imaging and depth, etc. (alot of which is supposedly at frequencies that are too high to matter etc)
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That I have not a clue. That is why I tend to not take measurements that seriously when it comes to audio gear. I have had a few pieces of gear that have been trashed by the measurement crowd, and they sound fine or better to my ear then pieces that the same folks say are the greatest, best measuring device since the invention of air. Then the rest of the gear in the chain, everything plays into the overall sound. I simply try to focus on things that I believe will improve the sound, or give me the least interfered with sound possible. Number one, clean up the electricity. Number two, quality power supplies. Number three, quality cables. That is my list, and none of it has to be expensive, the rest will follow and fall into place. This is a hobby, I think many folks forget that, which is quite evident here in these forums. I like to listen to the music, not the gear.
 
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Justrucking said:
That I have not a clue. That is why I tend to not take measurements that seriously when it comes to audio gear. I have had a few pieces of gear that have been trashed by the measurement crowd, and they sound fine or better to my ear then pieces that the same folks say are the greatest, best measuring device since the invention of air. Then the rest of the gear in the chain, everything plays into the overall sound. I simply try to focus on things that I believe will improve the sound, or give me the least interfered with sound possible. Number one, clean up the electricity. Number two, quality power supplies. Number three, quality cables. That is my list, and none of it has to be expensive, the rest will follow and fall into place. This is a hobby, I think many folks forget that, which is quite evident here in these forums. I like to listen to the music, not the gear.
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Another aspect which is expensive, and far more important than the gear, is the room.
The design of the room will affect sound quality far more than a 1% improvement in dynamics by buying a $20,000 more expensive bit of gear.
Room treatment is probably the only expensive part of audio that makes a real difference.
 
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cooky560 said:
Another aspect which is expensive, and far more important than the gear, is the room.
The design of the room will affect sound quality far more than a 1% improvement in dynamics by buying a $20,000 more expensive bit of gear.
Room treatment is probably the only expensive part of audio that makes a real difference.
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And probably the area most of us can't do an awful lot about in a real life, family home, apart from speaker positioning (which can also be difficult), soft furnishings, carpets etc - we don't all have the money or wish to go with wall/ ceiling panels that, for example, the John Darko's of the world can do.
 
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Brantome said:
And probably the area most of us can't do an awful lot about in a real life, family home, apart from speaker positioning (which can also be difficult), soft furnishings, carpets etc - we don't all have the money or wish to go with wall/ ceiling panels that, for example, the John Darko's of the world can do.
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Well, like a lot of things in audio, one can often make, by far, the greatest positive difference with the first 25% of the cost of upgrades, after which it's a matter of steadily diminishing returns on the asymptotic curve. There seem to be a number of new relatively inexpensive sources for wall and corner treatments that don't break the bank, at least for purposes of removing a lot of parallel reflections. A couple of hundred $/£/€ will have many times any positive impact from spending the same or more for a new DAC/amp/preamp/streamer/PS. If you know what you're doing, of course.
 
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Balthazar B said:
Well, like a lot of things in audio, one can often make, by far, the greatest positive difference with the first 25% of the cost of upgrades, after which it's a matter of steadily diminishing returns on the asymptotic curve. There seem to be a number of new relatively inexpensive sources for wall and corner treatments that don't break the bank, at least for purposes of removing a lot of parallel reflections. A couple of hundred $/£/€ will have many times any positive impact from spending the same or more for a new DAC/amp/preamp/streamer/PS. If you know what you're doing, of course.
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Only if you have the luxury of a listening/ music room I’d say, not a more usual shared family space where such wall and corner treatments may not be feasible and can frankly look ugly and out of place. Most families want their home to look like, well, a home and not a recording studio or concert hall. But I guess for those that do have the luxury of being able to do that, good luck to them.
 
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Maybe the takeaway is that if room treatment isn't feasible for the reasons you mentioned, spending any amount of money attempting to make any effective auditory difference at all by upgrading electronics is a fool's errand. It would be akin to upgrading the audio system in an open John Deere tractor.

Upgrading speakers, sure. But electronics not so much.
 
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