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PSU noise and jitter

post #1 of 5
12/14/10 at 4:40am
Thread Starter 

I recently posted about some problems I've been having with my setup with what sounded like occasional brief static or distortion.

 

I have frequently heard people going to considerable length to eliminate noise from the PSU and to eliminate jitter, which led me to wonder whether one of those might be the culprit. The problem is that I don't know how to recognize either one. What does it sound like when you have PSU noise or jitter? Is there a way to test for either? And how do you eliminate PSU noise (I assume eliminating jitter is more complicated and involves dealing with "clocks" or whatever that requires advanced modding skills)? Is it sufficient to install a mains conditioner power strip like this one, or do you need to use something beefier, like this?

 

Are cables like this or this worth the money, or are they so much snake oil? Finally, if you are going to start spending money on this stuff, is it better to just get a dedicated PSU for your DAC or amp? What are the logical benefits of using a dedicated PSU over the other options referenced above? (One drawback of a dedicated PSU is that it only benefits the component it is powering, whereas a mains conditioner can potentially benefit several devices.)

 

I have also seen people speak highly of a specific multi-voltage PSU from Maplin. Can someone explain to me why that would be better than the 15V PSU that came with my DAC, for example?

 

Best regards,

Adam

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post #2 of 5
12/15/10 at 2:25am

Hi Adam,

 

I would say that noise can be identified buy turning your amp up without any music playing and see how bad the 'hiss' is. I use two plug in mains conditioners. I got the second one as I had noticed and increase in the noise after I switched to a laptop as my source. Computers are notorious for noise.

 

I would try the Lindy first and see how you get on.

 

I would not bother with cables as testing has found people cannot tell a difference between them.

 

As to what jitter sounds like, it is not clear. But reducing jitter is the latest way in improving sound quality, in a not really shown by any experimentation sort of way.

 

The Maplins PSU is popular due to its price and peoples desire to tweak. There may be something in it as many PSUs are made in the millions, so quality may vary. They have been know to come apart (Cambridge had this with the DACmagic) or overheat as my Musical Fidelity one has.

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post #3 of 5
12/15/10 at 2:42am
Thread Starter 

Thanks. Just to clarify, the cables I linked to above are not interconnects, they are power cables that apparently have built-in noise reduction features (some sort of filter, I believe).

 

Best,

Adam

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post #4 of 5
12/15/10 at 2:52am

The filters are ferrite cores which you will find on lots of power cables, particularly with PCs. They are there to help reduce noise. The screening is standard and to reduce EMI and RFI, but such appears, under testing not to make an audible difference over a bog standard kettle lead.


Edited by Prog Rock Man - 12/15/10 at 2:54am
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post #5 of 5
12/15/10 at 6:24am

A custom power cord for a pc/laptop is a waste of money and on a pc/laptop will make no difference, for something to clean the power try this, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Isolator-Cinema-Protector-Sockets/dp/B0002AGFRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292422645&sr=1-2 , Also try some ferrite clamps on the power cables , if you have other devices that you think might inject noise in to the power put the clamps at the plug end , otherwise put them at the opposite end , clamps are avaible here http://www.sinequanon.co.uk/index.php?cPath=31&osCsid=nqhmq1m4plh9mjon53dmvlrup3  , a custom power supply for your dac might work look at 15v laptop psu's , there generally good quality with silver plugs and built in ferrites.

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