Stuck a Linear Power Supply on My Switch - Blimey! šŸ˜±

For those who have issues with the PSUs, I would go back to the root cause, I would check the state of electricity in the house, all the usual suspects, sockets, plugs, wiring, joins, circuit isolations, etc. Ensure that everything is solid, tightly-fit, no loose ends, clean.

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@Geko

@anon9602469

I had a word with Chord and they suggested fitting to the source.

Havenā€™t tried that yet, but have tried it in the first switch and then the EE8.

I have found no significant improvement so far, slightly better sounding in the EE8 switch, but is that an improvement or just a different sound

Got a busy weekend planned, so Iā€™ll get back to some serious testing come Monday.

DGā€¦

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Sorry for the confusion - my fault. Itā€™s a BT Smart Hub 2.

Yes the SH2 plug size is 5.5/3mm as you say. That company do have an adapter of that size but unfortunately it has a centre pin in the plug. With the BT SH2 the DC socket has the centre pin - the plug does not. So therefore a plug with centre pin wonā€™t work because it just wonā€™t push in.

I strongly suspect that this is a proprietary plug commisioned by BT. Iā€™ve looked everywhere I can think of - no joy. Thatā€™s why Iā€™m surprised that @NigelB says he is using an iFI Power X on his BT Smart Hub 2. I bought one once to try and none of the supplied tips anywhere near fitted and I couldnā€™t find one anywhere else.

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Interesting DG. Did you notice much improvemnt with the EE8 and EE1? I did with mine.

Also I notice from your profile you have Epic and Clearway streaming cables. Iā€™ve stuck with C Stream, mainly because my Melco is connected via USB to my Qutest DAC so no music is actually streamed across the network (only to two Muso QB IIā€™s). I wonder if this could possibly be a factor, ie. that my C Stream is less well shielded and more prone to picking up noise?

There does seem to be a curious variation between systems. Itā€™s odd because the improvements weā€™ve noticed are apparent (although to a lesser degree) even on the Muso QB IIā€™s.

My guess is if youā€™ve not noticed any real improvement so far then you never will. I had already made up my mind before I tried them that if I didnā€™t get a clear and obvious improvement then they would be going back. I canā€™t afford to drop over Ā£1K on two Ground Arays that make hardly any difference! To be perfectly honest I was half hoping that this is what would happen and I could save the money! But from the second I started playing it was just clearly and obviously better - no question at all. If I had the cash I wouldnā€™t hesitate to buy more and to stick them in every orafice!

Itā€™s curious that you have a Linn streamer. I think someome else here was saying that they didnā€™t notice much improvement with an EE8 with their Linn streamer. Makes me wonder whether Linn have paid particular attention to reducing network noise with on-board circuitry already.

Anyway please report back when youā€™ve experimented further.

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The combination of the EE8 and EE1 was a noticeable improvement over using them separately.

One of the reasons for using the Clearway streaming cable was that it has a narrower RJ45 plug than the C-Stream or the Shawline, so you can get more plugs plugged in to a switch. Plus I needed a 15m length of Ethernet to begin with which they did in the Clearway.

I went for the Epic as the final connection as I did read that for the final cable, you should put the higher quality one there plus, that too, has a narrower plug.

To be honest, changing to the Selekt DSM from the Klimax DS/3 Katalyst was a huge improvement in itself. The amount of detail that I now get is excellent. The genre of music that I listen to is Jazz and I particularly like double bass and drum based combos. I am hearing sounds that I havenā€™t heard previously on music that Iā€™m familiar with, so itā€™s like hearing new records again.

Linn with their streamers have certainly got it right with extracting information and detail from the tracks. The combination of Organik and Utopik, when I was demoing upgrading my Klimax was, as they say, ā€œNight and Day".

Initially, I went to demo the Organik upgrade to my Klimax and take advantage of the free Utopik deal that Linn were offering. Booked in to Cymbiosis to do the demo and you certainly noticed the improvement with the Klimax with Organik compared to the Katalyst. Was using an active Naim system at the demo into Titan 606s, (which I have at home). Phil suggested trying the Selekt DSM; Edition Hub as a source as a curve ball and this sounded so much better.

We had a chat and arranged another demo of the Selekt as active straight into the Titan 606s as he said it would sound different than a Linn and Naim multi box system. We went up and wow, it was different. The detail, presentation, sound stage and depth was so much better that we loved it. Trouble was that Linn Selekt version was over Ā£18k, I had planned for the Ā£6k Organik upgrade and that was it.

Phil worked the costs and part exchange on the kit I had and essentially, they did a straight swap. The Selekt for my existing Klimax, nine Naim boxes, SimRack and cables.

I was already using some Chord SignatureX interconnects and the EE8 with the Clearway streaming cables, so thatā€™s why all my cables, apart from the KS-1 speaker cables are Chord, which suits the sound that we like.

Iā€™m going to play with the GroudARAY on Monday a bit further and do some serious testing. Iā€™ll trying putting in the following and see which is the best;

  • First Switch
  • EE8 Switch
  • Linn Selekt (Exact socket)

If thereā€™s no significant improvement, Iā€™ll just return it, so no harm done and a bit of fun along the way trying it.

Iā€™ll keep you posted.

DGā€¦

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@anon9602469 ā€¦. I see a 5.5-3mm adapter on that www with a config just like my own BT SmartHub2 DC plug.


Mike, this is the only one I could see:

As yoiu can see it has a centre pin and the BT plug does not. The centre pin is in the BT Hub DC socket.

Mike please let me know if Iā€™m looking at the wrong one but it appears to be the same as you have posted. Hereā€™s the side view:

@anon9602469 ā€¦ā€¦ looks like Iā€™ve misled you with that www site ā€¦ā€¦ I did not take the time to look inside the barrel.
BIG sorry and apology.

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No worries Mike - I appreciate you trying to help.

Hi @anon9602469,

Hereā€™s a photo of the adapter I got in a set that I use to plug my iFI iPower into my BT Smart Hub 2. The white cable and plug you see plugged into the adapter is the iFIā€™s. As you can see the adapter has a green band on the end - not sure if this signifies anything. You are right, the BT SH 2 socket has a centre pin and the adapter has a hole that locates onto the socket pin.

Pretty sure I got this adapter in a set on Amazon. The ā€˜standardā€™ adapter sets do not appear to have this ā€˜specialā€™ size in them. I would search until you find a set with one that has a green band that looks about the right size. The barrel sizes may of course be quoted.

Good luck.

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Thanks for that Nigel. Iā€™ll keep trying then - it obviously exists! Could I just ask - is it a ā€˜normalā€™ fit, ie. not excessively tight? I did read that you can use a slightly larger size but itā€™s a very tight fit. Thanks.

I found it on the site : Power adapters UK. Couldnā€™t find on Amazon.

It seems to fit perfectly, so I assume it is the correct (3mm?) barrel.

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That one is no good FR because it has a central pin so wonā€™t connect to the BT SH 2.

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Wake up that man! Now pay attention! :grinning:

Thatā€™s the one weā€™ve just been talking about a few posts back. Itā€™s the right size, but has a centre pin meaning it wonā€™t fit the BT Smart Hub 2 which has a centre pin in its DC socket.

Thanks for trying though.

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Didnā€™t paid attention to that central pin. However this site seems to be specialised in dc plug adapters.

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It is - but that one unfortunately is the only one thatā€™s the right size. :cry:

Have you searched on the site ?

Isnā€™t it much easier to say that the BT hub has a male connection, of the specified diameter, so you need the female part for the power supply. So you need a female-female adapter, of the correct inner-outer diameters, for both sides.

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