I am in the fortunate position of having a well-stocked (high-end) dealer near me. If I am interested in a device, cable or something else, I can borrow it to test at home. If it meets my requirements, I order the device; if not, I keep the old one! I have been doing it this way for a long time! OK, maybe not everyone has this convenience.
Instruction Development ET (excerpt)
Advantages of linear power supplies:
- Low noise output
- Excellent voltage regulation
- Simple design
- Good transient response
- Minimal EMI radiation
Limitations of linear power supplies:
- Inefficient
- Size and weight
- Significant heat generation
- Limited current capacity
- Higher running costs
Advantages of switching power supplies:
- Improved efficiency
- Smaller size and less weight
- Wide range of permissible input voltages
- Increased performance
- Lower running costs over time
Contradictions of switching power supplies:
- Complex design
- Higher noise generation
- Possible EMI problems
- More complex EMI filtering required
- Less suitable for very sensitive analog applications
In summary, the choice between switching power supplies and linear power supplies depends on the specific requirements of the application. Both types have their place, with switching power supplies often being the first choice when it comes to efficiency and compactness, while linear power supplies remain the bastion of stability and noise.
Do they also sell lawnmowers?
Well there you have it. The Nucleus isn’t a sensitive audio device.
But, if it was, this isn’t entirely accurate anyway. A compensated switched mode supply is clean and noise free on the DC output. But this requires optimization, which is costly, so simple and easy linear supplies are often used.
A NUC is a digital application…
It’s actually quite simple:
If you think a switching power supply is the right one for your application, you should use that!
If you think LPS is the right one for your application, you should use this!
That’s not so difficult
Which charger do you want for the lawnmower:
Linear or switching power supply
Yes it is. If you think that you suffer from common mode interference etc. and this will have an impact on your DAC, than you should take action. But this is NOT a question about SMPS versus LPS.
Torben
Wikipedia’s catalog of cognitive biases lists over 100 different types of human bias that can affect our judgment. Just sayin’
I agree ; it’s all snake oil. Stop worrying about the technology and just listen to the music. I have a nucleus one and my music sounds amazing through my KEF R 11’s or my vinyl from my Rega P3. You can’t change the mains coming into your house. It is what it is.
Overall, well-designed SMPS are quieter than LPS for audio applications - see below.
They’re perfectly suited to sensitive analogue applications if well-designed with that intended use in mind.
Let me add to that:
- Harmonics at multiples of the line frequency within the audio band
- Magnetic leakage which induces electrical noise in nearby conductors
- Rectifier diode switching noise
No. That’s a myth, widely perpetuated by audiophools.
Benchmark’s AHB2 is a Class AB design and currently the lowest noise, lowest distortion audio power amplifier on the planet.
Its noise and distortion measurements (within the audio band) are matched by a couple of Class D amplifiers from Hypex, which are also powered by Switched Mode Power Supplies.
OK, that’s my opinion too! The switching power supplies are designed for such applications and not just taken off the shelf!
[moderated]
Anyway, when I added the Farad super 3 LPS to my Silent Angel Rhein Z1 V2 Roon server the sound became cleaner and more open. Just my experience.
I believe you should try some options before deciding if it helps or not.
You can only spend your money once.
People do that.
Which is why one should spend it on useful things
We sell a 100w 19v linear supply for powering music servers. My customers use it for the Roon Nucleus and also our sonicTransporter Roon Core music server.
I find using a linear supply makes more of a difference if you attached your USB DAC directly to the Nucleus since in this case noise from the server is going directly down the USB cable into the DAC.
It makes less of a difference in sound if you are using a streamer attached to your DAC or a DAC with a built in network streamer.
I like using a 100W supply even though the original SMPS was only 60w. Linear supplies can get hot if you run then near their max output. So using a larger one will keep the supply nice and cool.
Typically music servers use either a 12v or 19v supply. I think some of the older version of the Roon Nucleus use 12v. The best way to tell is to look at the supply that came with your Nucleus and see what voltage it is. We sell both 12v and 19v supplies.
If your DAC is affected by “noise” over USB, then frankly, you need another DAC, because the one you have has a broken USB implementation.
Sure, you can buy a LPS in the hope of “fixing” it, but the fundamental problem remains.
What you said is not entirely correct. Measurements of single ended DACs have shown that they are inherently susceptible to USB power supply noise. It’s not a broken or not broken issue just the way single ended DACs work. For common mode noise suppression you can consider DACs with true balanced outputs. All that aside a good power supply is a quick and inexpensive upgrade compared to a new DAC.
Really? Measurements of which DACs?
Here’s a $129.99 single-ended DAC which can produce a FFT jitter and noise spectrum of < -135 dB:
The hilarious thing about all of this noise stuff (as some of you may remember) was the test I ran a while back when I played a -120 dBFS test track from Roon via a PoE powered RPi4B over USB to a Benchmark DAC3HGC → Benchmark HPA4 → Benchmark AHB2. Ethernet and PoE via Cat6 U/UTP and more SMPSs than you can shake a stick at, yet the test track was well and truly audible above the noise floor!
Most people I sent the track to couldn’t hear it because they lacked enough gain to pull it above 0 dB SPL on their speakers/headphones.
All too often, people are willing to sell us solutions to made up problems.
LPS > SMPS is a made-up myth that should have died long ago.
Edit: I forgot to mention the USB cable was some no-name branded effort I pulled out of my box of “just in case I need one” spare cables.
US$930 for a USB cable?