i’ll chip in too as I’ve just added a Topping P50 to my EE8. The topping is only £123 but seems well though out and the effect was immediate and gave a more open sound, the music came out into my room a bit more from my LS50’s. ill leave it in until the weekend and swap the chord smps back in but at the moment its a keeper. it could be as much to do with having no smps in the hifi now.
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The concept of “slower” is an interesting one. When I went from a NDX2 to the ND555, one of my initial impressions was that it was slower. But, what it really was is that the presentation of the music was so much more open and refined, that it had the illusion of a slower presentation. What it really was is a more realistic and organic presentation of the music. When I added the Farad 3 to the EE8 with the NDX2 it was a similar effect.
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As mentioned on the ‘router’ thread that’s currently running, I maybe one of the very few to find the standard SMPS supplied with the Chord EE8 switch preferable to the several linear power supplies I’ve tried so far.
All LPS’s were given a fair burn in period or had already been used by my dealer, so I’m pretty confident they were all at close to optimal performance. There were three specific areas where I felt the LPS’s sounded slightly worse on my system.
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Bass seemed to get over emphasised and became a tiny bit ‘one note’. It almost pushed the balance of the system over the edge. I’m using DBL’s, so bass lines can be very revealing.
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The ultra high frequency performance became a bit lighter, almost fizzy and had less body/weight. Like a loss of ‘edge’ detail is the only way I can describe it.
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I want to say timing suffered but I’m not sure that quite captures it. It’s like the speed of the system slowed when using an LPS. Everything became very calm and comfortable but to my ears it’s like the music lost some tension or excitement!
These are all minuscule changes and I’m sure, on some systems, they could be heard as an improvement but on my system they were enough to make me prefer the switch mode supply. The SMPS just gave me that almost ‘live’ at the venue type of feeling. When listening to the linear supplies it was like I’d just taken a dozen steps towards the back of the room and become slightly disconnected from the experience.
I did mention that I’d quite like to try a heavy duty 5v battery on a switch to see what that might do. I’m thinking that this would potentially eliminate all associated power supply noise and let you hear how the switch should truly sound. Before I attempt this those more technically minded can tell me if this should or shouldn’t work as I’m tying not to ‘smoke’ an expensive switch!
Mike_S,
I do understand what you mean and I have heard this myself going from a Node to an ND. Even more so on a friends full Statement system. It’s like the space between the notes grows allowing you to hear more inner detail and nuances. Definitely more natural and realistic. What I’m finding is the LPS’s dial back the engagement a bit. It’s strange as Naim power supplies seem to do the exact opposite, so I’m not really sure what’s going on. Stranger still, is that the more expensive the power supply got the more the effect seemed noticeable to me, I even got the wife to have a listen and every time she chose the SMPS over the LPS saying it simply sounded more realistic to her.
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Yes, I’m not sure I understand the whole thing either. Were you comparing the LPS against the standard SMPS that comes with the EE8. I wonder how much the upstream configurations of the network and mains power impacts on this, as that might explain people’s differing experiences? I guess at the end of the day, you have to find a set up that you enjoy, and then get on with enjoying it.
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Have you tried the Farad 3 with EE8 Geko? I definitely prefer it to the Chord supplied SMPS after extensive listening. So did my two hifi friends after short listening sessions. The one that uses EE8 into NDX2 ordered one the next day after his last visit. He has no regrets a month or so later.
I actually find that my Phoenix Net used as second switch does more or less what you described the LPS over SMPS did in your system. Smoother, more open but not as entertaining as it were.
So I don’t go with the consensus of preference as I now use the Phoenix Net as first switch and the Farad/ EE8 second and that’s after switching back and forth a few times allowing enough time for reclocking etc. I have tried both PN and EE8 solo but preferred pairing the two. It’s a funny old hobby isn’t it?
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Now where did I leave the damn things? 
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There is no SMPS in any Naim device apart from the tiny one that keeps the device discoverable when its in standby. This is automatically turned off when the unit is in use, so it’s irrelevant to this argument.
(The only exception to this as far as I’m aware was the Unitiserve, which actually runs on a SMPS.)
Thats what I was trying to say 
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I have gradually gone around and replaced all of my smps and each and every time there have been worthwhile improvements. My Aqvox switch came with an smps…saying it should not be replaced with lps…as it was optomised. I replaced it with a very good lps…and had big improvements… So a clean very low noise low impedance power is key… I even changed the smps on my incoming router with good results…
Gains are typically less grain, more detail…bass is more tactile and tunefull with more power
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Hi 
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I have the same experience when I switched from SMPS to LPS on the incoming fiber box and router.
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A lot of what you describe (less defenition/edge in high frequency, slower, more bass) is what you would expect when digital noise is removed from a system.
Some like that effect, others don’t. For me any digital harshness sets my teeth on edge and everything I have done to reduce noise has made everything more relaxed but not less revealing.
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This has been my experience also. The sound can initially seem to be ‘rounder’ and calmer, with less going on. Then you start to realise that backgrounds are blacker, the pitch of notes is more explicit etc. It just sounds more real.
My wife on the other hand prefers a bit of digital edginess and glare! So, like most things in hi-fi, I guess it’s all open to interpretation and personal preference.
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When I replaced my supplies…speed and power were greatly increased yet the system was more relaxed and open with more detail…very much like adding a 555ps to say a 272…
It may be that these different preferences are simply that: some people prefer one presentation, some prefer the other. Which is “right” would be which ever gets closest to the original sound as in the recording - but most of us with most music it is impossible to know which that is (unless we were to get the mastering engineer to pay us a visit!) That being the case, my own measure is always whatever sounds most natural and clear. (“Exciting” is not something that features in my assessment, as not all music is exciting other than by virtue of being music.)
So, if there is an audible difference to you then simply gofir the one that sounds better for you, assuming the improvement meets your measure of value for money, and don’t worry about others choosing the opposite.
I think that is what I was trying to describe! I find terms like fast and slow a bit challenging. Relaxed is a better description.
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Seen this described elsewhere as more analogue…
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My only reference is real music. Of course in a general sense as who knows what the actual recorded performances would have sounded like and in some cases they are not actual performances at all in the live sense but composites.
Memory distorts things, but whenever I hear someone playing a sax or acoustic guitar in the street it always strikes me how unexciting it sounds compared to replay on any hi-fi that I’ve ever heard. Rather (and perhaps unsurprisingly) it just sounds ‘natural’ and relaxed. No added glare, edginess or false ‘hyping up’.
Yes that’s how I would describe it.
I need a 19V +2A LPS for my ASUS router. Any suggestions?
I’ve also thought about getting a router without WI-FI just to route Ethernet over to my switch and then a separate router with Wi-Fi away from that. Suggestions?
Incoming path is today :
Optical to Ethernet media converter
ASUS Wi-Fi router
EE8 switch
NDS