Home Computer Audio Asylum

Music servers and other computer based digital audio technologies.

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Computer Audio Asylum ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

LT3080-based regulators & Linear P4 on Dirty AC circuit experiments...

Did two worthwhile experiments this weekend.

First was replacing the LT1083 regulators in my 'dirty' supplies (5v HDD, 5v USB, 12v Zalman screen) with LT3080 reg chips, mentioned as an upgrade to the standard 317-type regulators in K&K Audio's most recent upgrade to the power supply for their RAKK DAC (see here: http://www.kandkaudio.com/digitalaudio.html ). Initial indications are a slightly more detailed treble... I expected the impact to be small here and it was, but I didn't hear anything bad, so I'll move onto trying them in my linear ATX-20 & P4 supplies (4 chips paralleled for the higher-current 5v supply).

One thing to note with the LT3080 chips... the datasheet indicates a minimum load current of 1ma is needed to maintain regulation. None of the supplies I built with the LT3080 regulated without a load. If you are using them on a circuit where you may sometimes have no load, I suggest a ballast resistance (10K - 100K) on the output to keep them happy and regulating.

Second was use the P4 supply portion of my old Linear-Hybrid supply and connect it to my 'dirty' AC circuit, as recently recommended by cics. Initial indications are that this was more noticable, with blacker backgrounds and increased dynamic contrasts and impact, but my listening was cut short by a thunderstorm. Will check more on this in the near future... if it holds up to long-term scrutiny, I'll add a separate AC cord to my linear supply just for the P4 supply.

More to come...

Greg in Mississippi
Everything matters!

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  VH Audio  

Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
FAQ

Post a Message!

 Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]