Improving Digital Noise and SQ

I’m new to the digital world of streaming and have to admit I’ve felt buried sometimes under the pile of new terms, new acronyms, and new gadgets with strange names that seem to be necessary for equipping and listening to a digital stream.

Currently I’m struggling to shop wisely for a power supply. I’ve learned that LPSs are mostly superior to SMPS for getting good SQ. (Notice there are three acronyms in that one short sentence and in the beginning I had to look up every one.)

Here are some purposes of a power supply which helped me get started:

A better power supply will reward you with:

  • A lower noise floor
  • Tighter outlines and a more fleshed out sound
  • A much smoother, refined, and gradational sound
  • A more natural soundstage in both size and atmosphere
  • Improved timbre

But they aren’t really helpful when it comes to zeroing in on which one to start with. Would one from Uptone (for example) contribute to better SQ with opera or classical music, while one from Paul Haynes might be better with rock? Or looking at the problem from a different point of view, which one would be a better match with my Sonic Transporter and Audio Alchemy DDP-1 DAC?

How do you go about choosing a new “gadget”?

A better power supply will reward you with:

A lower noise floor
Tighter outlines and a more fleshed out sound
A much smoother, refined, and gradational sound
A more natural soundstage in both size and atmosphere
Improved timbre

Is there some objective evidence citing these things? Graphs and tables sort of thing.

Really? Are you sure? I’m not allowed a link, but if you do an Internet search for “Audio Myth - Switching Power Supplies are Noisy” then it may save you some unnecessary expenditure. I doubt you’ll get any of the so-called rewards in your list by changing the PSU. With one of your suggestions if you decide upon it then I would insist you try before you buy and do not pay in advance.

With your Sonic Transporter I’d use the PSU it came with. I don’t know anything about the Alchemy DAC, but if it has a poor PSU then you could change it (do you have any reason to think this is so?).

One tip is to avoid expensive audiophile Ethernet and other digital cables. I’d go for Blue Jeans Cables or Mark Grant Cables (inexpensive, very well made and do what they are supposed to). If in UK then Cable Monkey will make up some superb networking leads for you for pocket money.

You may well find some measurements in companies’ marketing stuff that appear to show their products (e.g. PSUs) are better than usually a very alternative. However, the question is does it make any difference to what you can hear when you listen to a system. The in room response from changing the PSU on a network switch would be very interesting. Where I have seen this done it has never shown any difference.

If you not directly attaching a DAC to the Sonic Transporter then your may be wasting money. Keep LPS for devices with analogue chain in it, this is where you’ll likely hear the big difference not at the computer end. In the end only you can decide though.

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No, I am really NOT sure. That’s why I wanted some feedback as I am in danger of spending $1000 on an LPS. I just read an article that used measurements to demonstrate that computers are NOT too noisy for good audio, in fact all the gadgets designed to lower noise showed no difference,

And, yes, I’ve read that some SMPS can compete with linear power supplies, but for audio, not necessarily.

What I DO know is that in a side by side comparison, Naim Uniti Core music stream sounds a bit better than the Linux music stream and the path is nearly identical. And I’d like to make them sound at least equal. Is there anything besides a better power supply that would do that?

I use BJ cables throughout, cat 6a for Ethernet, as well as their RCA interconnects.

The Audio Alchemy DAC is a treat to listen to. I’ve no reason to suspect it’s PS-5 power supply is anything but an upgrade. And that’s where I get the impression that power supplies are important. They are apparently necessary as they are present in all audio gear. I am reasonably certain that some are better than others. It follows then that some might be way better than others. The problem is I’m not an Audio engineer, therefore I can’t make educated decisions about which might be better. Or more importantly - may contribute to better audio quality.

I’m not sure what you mean by “not directly connecting”. Or what the significance is.

There are two differences in the audio chain. One is that the Naim is connected via BNC Coax cable to the DAC whereas the Linux has a network connection (no cable) to the Roon endpoint* that precedes the Audio Alchemy DAC in the chain.

*The Roon endpoint is the Audio Alchemy DDP-1.

No. And that’s part of the problem, isn’t it.

Directly attaching means DAC is connected to the Sonic Transporter direclty via USB and using it as an audio endpoint to feed the DAC. Many do this and in this situation having a LPS maybe be beneficial as it reduces the noise carried to the USB bus. If using a different endpoint connected via ethernet over the network then it’s likely of no benefit.

I tried an LPS once when I had an Allo USBridge as everyone said it makes a difference. I heard no change so sold it.

Seems you have it well sorted. I wouldn’t spend $1,000 on linear power supply - some of them may buzz and give you worse sound especially if they have big transformers. However, it may be an upgrade similar to adding a Naim PSU to its DAC. I would suggest try before you buy.

X[quote=“CrystalGipsy, post:8, topic:413, full:true”]
Directly attaching means DAC is connected to the Sonic Transporter direclty via USB and using it as an audio endpoint to feed the DAC. Many do this and in this situation having a LPS maybe be beneficial as it reduces the noise carried to the USB bus. If using a different endpoint connected via ethernet over the network then it’s likely of no benefit.
[/quote]

Could you clarify your answer a bit for me, please? Are you saying that because the Sonic Transporter is connected via network WiFi and not via USB, a power supply will have no meangingful effect on SQ? And I could even attach a $10,000 Power Supply to power the Sonic Transporter and I would hear no difference at all? Conversely, the cheapest power supply will make no difference either? Presumably because the transfer of digital bits via WiFi does not include SQ?

(The Sonic Transporter has a wireless network connection to the Audio Alchemy DMP-1 (Digital Musical Player) and then to the DAC via I2S.)

Not saying it won’t or will as people all hear different things. Only you can make that decision as it’s your system but personally I would look at other areas first as its considered be of most benefit nif using usb as your transport mechanism. Obviously if you kit is very susceptible to PSU noise from other things and it’s right next to it you might get some improvement. There is no guarantee either way. In my experience I have never heard any difference, yours might vary. I would just not stress about it being the route of any issues or improvement. To me the PSU is more important in the analolgue stage where it can directly effect the sound.

:small_blue_diamond: TiberioMagadino,…There is a difference for the better in sound-quality,…to have a Linear Power Supply instead of a SMPS in a Cisco 2960-switch.

Here a picture of a LPS in a Cisco 2960-switch, instead of the SMPS that sits there original.

The picture has some poor quality,…but you can still see.
This LPS is just finished,and has not had time to be mounted in a box.
:black_small_square:

The soundquality became much better with this Linear Power Supply,…instead of the SMPS that sits original in Cisco 2960-switch.

/Peder :slightly_smiling_face:

A network connection is the only connection offered on the Sonic Transporter. I very much wish the Sonic Transporter had a cable connection but it does not. Assuming I understand the issue better now, I can think of no possible avenue to improve the sound. How do you improve a signal that travels as WiFi?

I can’t tell for sure from your photo, but I assume the units are connected by a cable. Then of course one could expect different power supplies to have an impact. In my case, I am finally recognizing the impossibility of influencing sound quality when a WiFi connection is the only option.

Not exactly you can use USB to connect the device directly to the USB input on a DAC. It does not have SPDIF digital outs though if that’s what your referring to. I never said it cant be improved just that replacing the PSU is not necessarily always the answer and in my experience I heard very little if any gain from replacing a standard psu with an expension linear one. Your experience might be different, The question really is why do you think you have a digital noise problem in the first place and if you do is this really the cause of it? The only way you’ll find out is by trying one. As for Wifi I found it to sound the same as wired on my system, its just not as stable an experience overall.

Hi I use Roon - and use a NUCi7 to feed my ND555 … it all works great. However, I changed the PSU to a HQ linear supply to the NUC … and I was staggered by the sound quality improvement. (Stereo, realism and detail all improved considerably) My question is … would I see similar benefits by replacing the psu to the WDmyCloud NAS drive and the two subsequent gigabit switches in the chain…basically cleaning up the remaining chain…seems like a no brainer…but is it as simple as that???

When you hear something that makes such a difference it makes you think there are other things you can do. Perhaps the answer is the obvious - you won’t know until you try.

What is an HQ Power Supply?

Can you diagram the music chain you are talking about?

Not all cheap wall warts are bad, and even if they are, the electrical noise may or may not actually be reaching your HiFi gear. Where possible, you can try turning off any potential offenders to see if it changes the sound. There’s also the portable radio test, as discussed in the ‘Mains extension block’ thread. This gives you a pretty good indication of how noisy devices actually are, although serious OCD sufferers might want to stay away!

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I changed the psu to my nuc … to a high quality linear … and it made a massive difference. I then changed the psu to my switch - and that made no difference…