Firstly: Any ABX-fetichists can stop reading right now! I'm sure it has been reported before in various threads about power supplies for the SB3, but I'd like to chime in too and report that my latest alteration to get better sound out of the SB3 (digital coax into TacT RCS) has given quite a leap forward in sound quality.
I now use a 6 volt lead acid battery followed by a voltage regulator that takes it down to 5 volts, as a power source for the SB3. Sound quality was much improved compared to my previous linear power supply (admittedly a lab unit, but one that compared favourably to the stock wall wart). To make sure I wasn't dreaming I put the stock wall wart in the system and sound was degraded. Going back to battery restored some of the sound quality, but not quite all of it.. I couldn't first undertand why things weren't quite as good as before, and after a listening to a few CDs I realised that I had left the wall wart connected to the outlet! Removing the switch mode wall wart restored the smooth and grain free sound. So it definately seems that the wall wart somehow degrades sound quality in my system (perhaps via the TacT). If it also directly affects the SB3 negatively remains to be proven, but the battery solution fixes the problem. It certainly provides perfect galvanical isolation to let the S/PDIF inteface work as best it can. And how do I know it was a major improvement, without conducting extensive ABX? Well, it quite simply sounds better than ever before, edging closer to the reference: reality, and by some margin. And I hear lots and lots of things I have never heard before. The soundstage is wider and deeper, and instruments sound more real and beautiful. The music seems to be played a bit slower too -probably because I can now so easily pick out what is going on. -- P Floding ------------------------------------------------------------------------ P Floding's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2932 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29633 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
