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SQ Touch power supply upgrade?

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Posted on May 31, 2012 at 06:30:29
AudioDwebe
Audiophile

Posts: 1162
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: November 12, 2001
 Hi all,

Does upgrading the power supply bring better sound through the Touch? And, if so, which one would you recommend?

I am really diggin' the Touch through the Tri-Vista DAC. I've been using the coaxial cable, but have got a BH Labs optical enroute, as I've read going through the optical out of the Touch brings better sound quality.

Thanks.




"Man, that mouse is Awesome." - Kaemon (referring to Jerry, of Tom and Jerry fame)

 

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RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on May 31, 2012 at 07:26:27
Dynobot
Audiophile

Posts: 2700
Location: USA
Joined: December 8, 2011
 Generally speaking, improved power does = improved sound. Although the Touch still has an internal switching power supply, so ultimately it sees switched power.

Better sonics via Toslink, Coax, USB are all subjective. You will likely read comments that one is better than the other depending on which 'camp' you happen to come across.

As expected newer = better, so the 'new' EDO USB modd seems to be all the rave in certain camps re:Squeezebox Touch Forums. Also gaining popularity here.

Try all available options and let your ears decide.


Dynobots Audio
Music is the Bridge between Heaven and Earth - 音楽は天国と地球のかけ橋

 

RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:03:17
cfraser
Audiophile

Posts: 2587
Location: Pickering, Ontario
Joined: April 30, 2000
 You should go to the slimdevices user forums and see what others say.

A decent linear PS makes a noticeable diff when the Touch is feeding my analog system i.e. not an AVR. That is with an external DAC. The Channel Islands Audio PS seems to me to be well thought out, and it is popular for the SBT too. I don't have one, read what other SBT owners say.

 

Definitely, posted on May 31, 2012 at 16:33:15
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 17645
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 A Welbourne Labs linear lowered the noise level and improved resolution for a reasonable price. I use an external DAC with mine.

 

RE: Definitely, posted on May 31, 2012 at 18:35:34
cfraser
Audiophile

Posts: 2587
Location: Pickering, Ontario
Joined: April 30, 2000
 That is essentially what I use, except I added another stage of ("local") regulation about 3" before entering the Touch. I didn't know Ron was still selling these...


You know, I tried a 6V transformer wall-wart (no longer "legally" sold new in the U.S.) and even that was sonically superior to the stock switching wart. Surprised me; so if a little "linear" is good, more is gooder and that's where I went.

The Logitech unit is not a bad switcher though, actually one of the better ones I've seen for its very small size. I don't have a lot of problems with it, the linear PS just sounded better to me. (If anyone reads this and decides to use a common "6V" adapter with the *5V* Touch, you better know exactly what you're doing or you'll let the Touch's magic smoke escape.)

 

RE: Definitely, posted on May 31, 2012 at 19:17:41
LewinskiH01
Audiophile

Posts: 205
Joined: December 7, 2008
 I agree with the thoughts posted here. Cannot tell wether that money will provide a higher return put into a power supply, improved DAC, improved cabling, modded digital section in the touch, though.

Have you applied the Soundcheck Toolbox 3? It's free, it's reversible, and it works. Also, are you feeding the SB through wi-fi? I found a nice improvement going through LAN and disabling wi-fi, and it's much cheaper than a power supply, which I haven't tried yet.

I found this thread interesting: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=98511.0

let us know what you end up doing and how it performs.

 

RE: Definitely, posted on May 31, 2012 at 19:53:58
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 17645
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 Have you applied the Soundcheck Toolbox 3? It's free, it's reversible, and it works.

I've applied quite a bit of stripping down processes, turning off gain control, analog output, etc. Haven't monkeyed with the kernel.

I found a nice improvement going through LAN and disabling wi-fi,

Not practical option for the garage system.

 

Same here, posted on June 1, 2012 at 09:15:39
krondo.jd
Audiophile

Posts: 105
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
Joined: February 14, 2011
 I built the Welbourne PS kit and was pleasantly surprised. I use a Rega DAC fed by coax. I also installed the Extended Digital Output firmware and can now play up to 24/192 files.


Tubes and vinyl are preferred.
Cheers, Jeff

 

RE: Definitely, posted on June 1, 2012 at 09:26:44
Cut-Throat
Audiophile

Posts: 10213
Location: Minneapolis - St.Paul Area
Joined: September 2, 2000
 I found just as much improvement with Soundcheck mods as I did when adding an external DAC. I also added a Welborne Power Supply and the results were minimal at best.

Cut-Throat




 

RE: Definitely, posted on June 1, 2012 at 10:45:04
AudioDwebe
Audiophile

Posts: 1162
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: November 12, 2001
 Have not applied the Soundcheck Toolbox 3. I'll have to look into this. The wi-fi will have to remain.

Thanks.




"Man, that mouse is Awesome." - Kaemon (referring to Jerry, of Tom and Jerry fame)

 

Any knowledge/comments about this power supply?, posted on June 1, 2012 at 10:48:07
AudioDwebe
Audiophile

Posts: 1162
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: November 12, 2001
 http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/power-supplies/346-mains-cables-r-us-dc-power-supply.html

Thanks.




"Man, that mouse is Awesome." - Kaemon (referring to Jerry, of Tom and Jerry fame)

 

RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on June 1, 2012 at 13:50:12
Duster
Audiophile

Posts: 9537
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: August 25, 2002
 See link:

 

RE: Definitely, posted on June 2, 2012 at 16:20:56
LewinskiH01
Audiophile

Posts: 205
Joined: December 7, 2008
 I wrote: I found a nice improvement going through LAN and disabling wi-fi,

You wrote: Not practical option for the garage system.

Well, maybe correct, but wi-fi was a need for me too so I purchased a wi-fi bridge and connected the Touch to the bridge through LAN and disabled wi-fi on the Touch. So still avoided the non-practical wiring and also dissabled wi-fi on the Touch for better sound.

BTW, a nice little tweak I also liked was using ferrites around the bridge cable (between the wall and the bridge switching supply, to avoid that noise to get to my electrical system). Marginal, but nice improvement, and cheap!

 

RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on June 4, 2012 at 08:13:58
AudioDwebe
Audiophile

Posts: 1162
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: November 12, 2001
 Thanks for the tip, Duster.

Have you any experience with this particular power supply, or heard anything about it?

Cheers.

Mamoru




"Man, that mouse is Awesome." - Kaemon (referring to Jerry, of Tom and Jerry fame)

 

RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on June 4, 2012 at 10:33:50
Duster
Audiophile

Posts: 9537
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: August 25, 2002
 I have no experience of it, as I happened to come across the product while researching power supplies for another application. I found nothing but good things said about its design, performance, and moderate price point.

 

RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on June 4, 2012 at 11:54:09
AudioDwebe
Audiophile

Posts: 1162
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: November 12, 2001
 Thank you.

The other one I was looking at was quite pricey in comparison.




"Man, that mouse is Awesome." - Kaemon (referring to Jerry, of Tom and Jerry fame)

 

RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on July 18, 2012 at 16:44:25
sunnysal
Audiophile

Posts: 833
Location: Central America
Joined: May 27, 2000
Contributor
  Since: August 6, 2000
 just my two cents BUT once the power enters the SB touch it is then further converted to different voltages for different parts of the circuit board. so the voltage rectifiers inside would influence the sound and not the external source IMHO. regards, tony
Jean-Francois Lessard 2A3 PP amp
Marantz 7T Preamp
Klipschorns w/ALK xovers
Squeezebox Touch
Asus netbook running itunes and LMS feeding
MSB link DACIII w24/96k
MSB digital director
Technics M85 Cassette

 

RE: SQ Touch power supply upgrade?, posted on July 18, 2012 at 17:05:24
Dynobot
Audiophile

Posts: 2700
Location: USA
Joined: December 8, 2011
 The Touch has internal "switching" power supply so its a mystery why a linear power supply down-stream makes a difference.



Dynobots Audio
Music is the Bridge between Heaven and Earth - 音楽は天国と地球のかけ橋

 

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