Hi, I’m looking for a better power supply than the Raspberry supplied offering.
Ideally ultra low noise linea, 3.5A+ and of course 5v. I know about the Allo Nirvana but it’s 2.85A SMBS is the minimum requirement of a 4b and therefore peak demand would need more for the 4/8GB versions.
There are many Chinese one’s on the market made by Breeze Audio and relabeled - I have one and it runs the pi3b OK but not a 4b - I suspect it’s 2.5A.
Hope someone can help.
Cheers, John
You don’t need 3.5A when running as streamer (you don’t even need 3A). The 2, 4, and 8GB version of Pi have the same peak draw requirements (3A). The 8GB has some rework of the board to allow the 8GB chip to draw more from the regulator.
My understanding is USB-C, at 5 volt, is limited to 3A so the Pi won’t pull beyond 3A. I often run my Pi streamers at 600mhz to reduce “noise” and never had an issue. This also lets me comfortably run them off batteries / power banks if I want.
Is there something you’re trying to do where you’ve calculated you need that much draw? Very interested to understand your use case.
Thanks for the response. The reason I’m asking is that I have a Breeze Audio linea power supply, which is stated to be 5v 3.5A. It runs a 3b not not a 4b. Of course it may not comply to that spec but there are so many on Amazon etc that I would have thought they are.
Perhaps I’ll just try the official Raspberry supply, which I think is 2.8A and see how it sounds (currently I’m using a generic wall wart)
Many thanks
Are you sure your usb-c adapter is good? Do you have a volt meter… although those are really tiny pins to very a usb-c plug.
Some of those Chinese supplies are quite saggy. The voltage changes, usually to a lower value’ under greater load. A simple adjustment is to tweak the supply so it delivers around 5.3 volts which should counter any sagging. The best deal though is to buy something that doesn’t sag. That means getting away from the Chinese clone builds but obviously this comes at a price.
Thanks Henry, agreed on the Chinese product. Can you name a few alternatives as I can’t find any 
some of my favourite LPS manufacturers, on the order:
Farad Super3
Keces
HDPlex
I use a Farad Super 3 at 19v to run a NUC. Some Farad users have moved on to Paul Hynes designs and claimed them to be an improvement. That isn’t me though. The Farad was second hand and relatively cheap. I’d like a 12v one but can’t bring myself to pay as much for the PSU as the device it will be powering. I have a HDPlex 200 watt box powering components of my headphone setup. I don’t consider it to be super quiet though. Just a well built device with solid performance. And I don’t know about the present models but mine tops out at two amps on the 5 volt outputs. That’s it for me, the total of my experience though I do have a couple of cheap Chinese boxes on order until such a time as suitable Farad units appear used.
The Allo Shanti PS works fine for me on a Pi 4.
I use an iFi iPower with my RPi 4 and it works like a charm.
The RPi rating assumes it’s fully loaded ie it includes the current draw for all the peripherals you could possibly connect. In practise it will get by with a lot less. I can’t remember the specific numbers, but I wouldn’t get hung up - you can look them up. I’ve got an Allo Nirvana coming that I fully expect to use with an RPi 4 (connected to the Boss2 - Allo suggested the Nirvana).
As per Joost I already have an iFi iPower that works with an RPi4. Also a Shanti that does - maybe I should try its 1A feed to see how far that gets :-). Not sure the 500mA linear AudioQuest supplies I have will work tho! (they didn’t make it to market)
I was of the opinion the issue was boot up. That was the point where it would trip up if loaded with a HAT and/or had a significant load on USB.
Got myself one of these from Aliexpress. It was a skeptical purchase but it has been a great improvement for the money. Works perfectly with the 4B.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001858502040.html?spm=a2g0s.12269583.0.0.76c216d4CXjFlz
I’m also running Allo Shanti ($250 Aus) with Digione Sig. reasonable upgrade on the original psu.
Good enough for me to buy another for the kitchen Pi too.
Hi Joost, that’s great to hear. Which adapter do you use to convert from the 3.5mm to USB-C?
Many Thanks
Sven
Hi Sven,
You need a adapter from 5.5x2.1 DC plug to USB-C. But with version 2 of the ifi iPower it is supplied. I don’t remember where I bought mine. Perhaps on Amazon.
EDIT: found a cable on eBay by searching for ‘usb 3.1 type c male to power 5.5x2.1 female cable’
Due to the death of a 110-220 voltage converter, I have recently replaced my stock Raspberry Pi 4 power supply compatible with a US voltage supply. Took a punt on an $80 Amazon deal that had favorable reviews, the Solupeak HiFi 25W DC Linear Power Supply. I figured it was unlikely I would hear a difference in a set-up that is not optimized for critical listening. I was pleasantly surprised.
Using my Raspberry Pi 4 as a Roon endpoint which directly powers a Topping D10s via USB. The Topping provides coax digital to a Wadia di122 DAC which has a faulty USB input.
Very obvious improvement in audio quality. Weight, authority, refinement and spatial cues significantly improved. This is in my office set-up. My speakers are close to the wall and it is not practical to shift them out the specified distance. I blamed shortcomings in the sound on the compromised speaker positioning. Amazed to find installing this power supply gave me improvements in weight and spatial cues that I thought would only come from speaker repositioning. Aside from these dimensional effects, overall refinement is greatly improved. My office set-up is now considerably closer to what I get on the main rig, where a Metrum Ambre is the Roon endpoint.
Amazon-stated delivery time was originally projected to be very slow, as long as 2 months, so I assumed it was coming from China. But once shipped the delivery date changed. Received it in Alaska in 7 days from ordering.
Tremendous value, highly recommended.
ifi ipower X 5V/3A is a special silent power adapter and has a USB-C cable in the set
is it possible for the Roon moderators to remove the throw away racist comments here?
Matt, as someone who has experienced racism in its various forms in my over 60 years on this earth, I am the very last person who would be intentionally racist. As an owner of two low cost Chinese built power supplies that have both been removed from use, I have some idea what I am speaking about. And a contributor here explained the issues of sagging supplies to me. And you’ll probably be able to guess his nationality. Only yesterday I replaced a supply that had developed a bad hum, with another made in China. So I am certainly not prejudiced towards products from there. And my Wife’s main Christmas present this year was ordered from a Chinese trading company. And I liked what I saw enough to order one for myself too. Often actions that are invisible speak louder than words on a forum.