Powering WiiM Pro Plus with a power bank

[freaknout]

Thanks. Somewhere to start from!

 

[Flash2112]

Thanks. Somewhere to start from!

hope it works out for you the main thing you need to keep an eye on is the output +5VDC you need as close to as possible and constant

 

[freaknout]

I using one already with good results and your comments about native 5v intrigued me.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

There is definitely one advantage not yet mentioned.

If your system only involves a streamer and an amp, if you power the streamer from a power bank, the amp is the only thing connected to the mains, so voila - no possible issue with ground loops, as you need (at least) two items connected to the same mains power system to create a loop.

 

[BowsAndArrows]

I use the below and by no means am I suggesting you do the same ! I would look at the parameters in detail and select a brand that specialize in this tech not happy shopper stuff research is the key it can also be view like a car they all do the same but some are more efficient etc...

ANSMANN 1700-0154​

Power Bank Charger, 2 Port, 10 Ah, 3 A​

thanks for sharing. did you compare this model to others? if so what differences did you notice? also - what kind of power supplies did you try before? did you ever compare this power bank to an "upgraded" SMPS or regulated Linear PS?

 

[dangermouse]

Almost as if a veil had been lifted

“Like night and day”.

Blown out of the water?

 

[BowsAndArrows]

There is definitely one advantage not yet mentioned.

If your system only involves a streamer and an amp, if you power the streamer from a power bank, the amp is the only thing connected to the mains, so voila - no possible issue with ground loops, as you need (at least) two items connected to the same mains power system to create a loop.

I would refrain from using a power bank or any sort of unmodified battery based supply for a power amp though...

there is much more to PSU performance than just noise figures: low output impedance over a very wide bandwidth, high slew rate, fast rise-time and fast settling time to control the regulator output voltage during fast varying load current transients.

Battery may be low noise/ripple champ under ideal conditions, but it can't compete with a properly designed PSU in the areas of performance I mentioned. For these reasons I would limit the usage of power banks to the source/transports side. And avoid them on the "business end" of the signal chain...

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

I would refrain from using a power bank or any sort of unmodified battery based supply for a power amp though...

there is much more to PSU performance than just noise figures: low output impedance over a very wide bandwidth, high slew rate, fast rise-time and fast settling time to control the regulator output voltage during fast varying load current transients.

Battery may be low noise/ripple champ under ideal conditions, but it can't compete with a properly designed PSU in the areas of performance I mentioned. For these reasons I would limit the usage of power banks to the source/transports side. And avoid them on the "business end" of the signal chain...

Absolutely, I wouldn’t dream of using one for an amp.

 

[Musician]

I would refrain from using a power bank or any sort of unmodified battery based supply for a power amp though...

there is much more to PSU performance than just noise figures: low output impedance over a very wide bandwidth, high slew rate, fast rise-time and fast settling time to control the regulator output voltage during fast varying load current transients.

Battery may be low noise/ripple champ under ideal conditions, but it can't compete with a properly designed PSU in the areas of performance I mentioned. For these reasons I would limit the usage of power banks to the source/transports side. And avoid them on the "business end" of the signal chain...

Are high slew rate and fast settling time really needed in a streamer that have a rather constant current demand ?
That said, I have tried WiiM pro with power bank, different linear supplies and an IPad charger from 2012.
I also had a very good streamer to compare with, a Linn Klimax DS reneew.

For the WiiM pro, using the digital output to my Rega Dac R , the best sounding alternative by a very little margin was the linear power supply with a LT1084 regulator . The IPad charger from 2012 ( SMPS ) sound almost similar but slightly better than the WiiM stock SMPS charger.

Worst sounding (worse dynamics ) was the 10000 mA power bank from Samsung . Using the spdif coaxial out to my dac, It made listening to music slightly boring to me. It was the worst sounding alternative with my WiiM pro.

So there are audible differences, but my experimenting with a power bank didnt turn out the way I believed it would.

Maybe 5 V of a ”pure” battery without switchers could sound better ? I havent tried it. Pure batteries have a higher output impedance than a good SMPS or linear supply becase they use regulators, lowering the output impedance.

Read more here:

Test WIIM pro+ with different power supplies

iPad charger is 12 v the drawback of iPhone charger is ripple . To me ifi power x is a nice upgrade

forum.wiimhome.com

 

[Musician]

A Question:
Are there any proof that the digital part of WiiM pro and WiiM pro + even has a regulator inside at the USB power input ? Or is the 5 V DC (coming from the stock power supply) powering the digital circuits directly , without any 3.3 V regulator inside the WiiMs ?

Im talking only about the digital part of the WiiM, not the analog.

 

[bherren]

A Question:
Are there any proof that the digital part of WiiM pro and WiiM pro + even has a regulator inside at the USB power input ? Or is the 5 V DC (coming from the stock power supply) powering the digital circuits directly , without any 3.3 V regulator inside the WiiMs ?

Im talking only about the digital part of the WiiM, not the analog.

Nobody's made 5v powered cpus in a long while (of that category). It's most certainly regulated down to 3.3v and maybe even lower for the main SoC

 

[Musician]

Nobody's made 5v powered cpus in a long while (of that category). It's most certainly regulated down to 3.3v and maybe even lower for the main SoC

Thats probably true but are there any pictures available showing a regulator before the cpu:s ? And what kind of switch regulator are used ?

 

[BowsAndArrows]

Are high slew rate and fast settling time really needed in a streamer that have a rather constant current demand ?
That said, I have tried WiiM pro with power bank, different linear supplies and an IPad charger from 2012.
I also had a very good streamer to compare with, a Linn Klimax DS reneew.

For the WiiM pro, using the digital output to my Rega Dac R , the best sounding alternative by a very little margin was the linear power supply with a LT1084 regulator . The IPad charger from 2012 ( SMPS ) sound almost similar but slightly better than the WiiM stock SMPS charger.

Worst sounding (worse dynamics ) was the 10000 mA power bank from Samsung . Using the spdif coaxial out to my dac, It made listening to music slightly boring to me. It was the worst sounding alternative with my WiiM pro.

So there are audible differences, but my experimenting with a power bank didnt turn out the way I believed it would.

Maybe 5 V of a ”pure” battery without switchers could sound better ? I havent tried it. Pure batteries have a higher output impedance than a good SMPS or linear supply becase they use regulators, lowering the output impedance.

Read more here:

Test WIIM pro+ with different power supplies

iPad charger is 12 v the drawback of iPhone charger is ripple . To me ifi power x is a nice upgrade

forum.wiimhome.com

Thqnks for sharing.
Yeh no I agree that the PSU demands of a streamer are much less dynamic than that of an amp, so it's probably more important that noise from the PSU doesn't enter the streaming circuitry.

In my experiments and setup I tested the WiiM Pro + the topping p50 LPS vs the ifi ipower SMPS (v1) (vs stock/generic/GaN SMPS) and it sounded best with the WiiM on the ifi SMPS with other components (wlan repeater in bridge mode + ifi S/PDIF ipurifier) powered by the topping LPS.

I agree with @bherren too..

 

[BowsAndArrows]

Thats probably true but are there any pictures available showing a regulator before the cpu:s ? And what kind of switch regulator are used ?

There are some blurry pics on ASR somebody did a teardown.
I have a pic here from somewhere else

 

[LBe]

This is my current setup. I use linear PSU's both for wiim's and DAC's and sound is very good

 

[cc_rider]

I use switching power supplies for my WiiM and DAC. Sounds superb, as well it should.

 

[bp_reid]

I’m running my new-ish Pro+ from the USB on a Pro-Ject Accu Box S2 I already owned for a Phono Box S2 Ultra. The latter still fed from the 18v output.

Honestly don’t hear any signficant SQ benefit from the Wiim, maybe a touch cleaner but marginal at best. It does at least save a slot on the power strip…

 

[Flash2112]

I’m running my new-ish Pro+ from the USB on a Pro-Ject Accu Box S2 I already owned for a Phono Box S2 Ultra. The latter still fed from the 18v output.

Honestly don’t hear any signficant SQ benefit from the Wiim, maybe a touch cleaner but marginal at best. It does at least save a slot on the power strip…

I’m running my new-ish Pro+ from the USB on a Pro-Ject Accu Box S2 I already owned for a Phono Box S2 Ultra. The latter still fed from the 18v output.

Honestly don’t hear any significant SQ benefit from the Wiim, maybe a touch cleaner but marginal at best. It does at least save a slot on the power strip…

"maybe a touch cleaner" then thats it and its all relative its like super expensive speaker cable vs happy shopper branded its marginal but all adds up power supplies can be noisy and really impact sound quality and introduce other unknown artifacts yes you can go overboard so I would suggest go with what matters to you

 

[manumapi]

The portable charger ran out of battery. I plugged the WiiM Pro Plus back into the power outlet. I'm going to pretend I didn't think it sounded better with the portable charger. It turns out that it is a very uncomfortable way to load the WPP.

There is a power conditioner between the power outlet and the wpp and you will hear a real difference.

 

[dangermouse]

There is a power conditioner between the power outlet and the wpp and you will hear a real difference.

I doubt it, but whatever floats your boat.