[diamondears]

[COLOR=222222]Developing the mini Power Supply - to the Nth Degree[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]As the subject of power supplies has come up, it is perhaps a serendipitous coincidence that our technical director has worked very recently on the final version of the external power supply which will used for the “mini” range.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]As the power supply section is just about full-crystallised, we are comfortable with sharing the results the mini power supply will deliver.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]Obviously, the better a power supply you start with, the better you can make the power at the actual digital and audio circuitry inside the given piece of equipment. Insufficient power levels can impact dynamics, excessive noise may not become directly audible as noise, but it may raise jitter levels and distortion.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]So what do we do? Make the best external power supply we can make, with the filtering, shielding and regulation needed and of course in compliance with all international safety standards as well as those for EMC.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]Attached here is a screen shot from our AP2 showing the noise of the new iFi mini power supply delivering 15V at 1.25A (18.75W output power).[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]This graph covers frequencies from 10Hz to 108kHz and voltages from 10 nanoVolt (0.00000001V) to 10 Volt.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]
[/COLOR]



[COLOR=222222]It is worth comparing this graph to the one shown in Walt Jungs seminal article which in 1995  introduced the “super-regulator” concept to the world, with his AD797 based design. Despite its age, this design has so far remained the gold standard against which other power-supplies are/should be measured.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]
[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222] - taken from this article:[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222][COLOR=1155CC]http://waltjung.org/PDFs/Regs_for_High_Perf_Audio_2_A.pdf[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]Please note that graphs are not directly comparable, because the iFi mini powersupply includes line AC components caused by being asked to deliver a lot of power.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]Walt Jung's measurements are only evaluated using the self-noise of the regulator with very light loading. However they do both show the self-noise / noisefloor of the circuits very well.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]If measuring the total noise using the AP2 the reading is around 0.00007V (~70uV) for all noise below 80kHz. Or if we express the noise as a percentage of the 15V output voltage, it is 0.0005% noise compared to the output voltage. Again remember this is when delivering over 18 Watt of power, not at idle![/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]If we push the iFi mini power supply to the maximum by drawing 3.75A (the closest setting on our test load - the powersupply incidentally is rated at 15V/3.5A) and thus delivering 56Watt of power, the noise levels rise a little to around 120uV (mainly cause by increased levels of 100/200Hz components). So for any power level within the design limits we get an output noise of better than 0.0008% of the DC output voltage below 80kHz.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]It should be noted that this Supply does not directly power any audio circuit, it merely provides the “raw” supply which then passes through two more regulation stages and additional LC filtering inside the mini.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]So we are confident that this performance is close to the very best power-supplies regarding noise, disregarding the actual implementation and technologies entirely, but instead simply looking at the performance delivered.[/COLOR]

Is it on schedule? What's the scheduled release btw, mid-January?

 

[iFi audio]

Is it on schedule? What's the scheduled release btw, mid-January?

Hi,
 
This thing is on slow-burn as it has been radically changed as quite a lot has happened since the the micro iDSD was launched.
 
As soon as we can say anything we will - but it will be a crazy animal but will not be ready for another few more months - around March/April.
 
The wait will be worth it - it is going to be smokin.

 

[john57]

Gee, so you are redesigning the whole mini iDSD concept

 

[iFi audio]

  Gee, so you are redesigning the whole mini iDSD concept

Hi,
 
In a word "yes".
 
We do apologise for the later launch date but some things have happened that are bigger and better than what we had anticipated and led to our decision to make it a full re-design. We gotta feed our OCD!
 
Only the Burr-Brown native DSD/PCM chipset and some of the digital section remains.
 
Therefore, one can deduce that the analogue section in particular, is getting an "extreme makeover".
 
Even this flagship series is no longer called the mini...very radical indeed. 

 

[EraserXIV]

Very exciting, makes sense to take what you learned from the micro and take the iDSD (no mini attached anymore I'm assuming?) to the next level, instead of just having a blown up micro with a bit more power and balanced operation. A redesigned analog section should be very interesting, never settle!

 

[tf1216]

I have an idea for it's new name, "DAC SIW" (Something I Want).

 

[Neogeo333]

Maybe the inputs from the this forum did persuade them?  I just hope the price stay the same or lower.  With some much competition in the 
DAC segment its wise to make an unique product than to compete with similar ones.  

 

[jexby]

Very exciting, makes sense to take what you learned from the micro and take the iDSD (no mini attached anymore I'm assuming?) to the next level, instead of just having a blown up micro with a bit more power and balanced operation. A redesigned analog section should be very interesting, never settle!

 
how about the tube from iTube going inside the (desktop) iDSD Amp section??

 

[john57]

   
how about the tube from iTube going inside the (desktop) iDSD Amp section??

Personally I do not require a tube in the DAC since I already have tube amps. I was happy with the micro without a tube. However the AMR DAC product does have tubes and who knows what IFI will bring out.   If I understand correctly the tube used in the iTube is not user replaceable.

 

[Esprit]

  To give you an idea ~ Euro1,500 (with VAT)/US$1,500(Plus tax). Obviously £ is lower. Hope this clarifies.

I'll wait the sales 

 

[Esprit]

This thing is on slow-burn as it has been radically changed as quite a lot has happened since the the micro iDSD was launched.

A better solid aluminum case?
 

(like this Matrix X-Sabre)

 

[john57]

I wish it has a clear top so that you can admire the great internal case work. 

 

[diamondears]

Personally I do not require a tube in the DAC since I already have tube amps. I was happy with the micro without a tube. However the AMR DAC product does have tubes and who knows what IFI will bring out.   If I understand correctly the tube used in the iTube is not user replaceable.

There's a tube in it? I think it's solid state that makes your gear sound like a tube.

 

[john57]

There's a tube in it? I think it's solid state that makes your gear sound like a tube.

Th ifi  itube actually has a tube in it and it appear to be in a socket and may be user replaceable unlike the Schiit Vali which the tube wires are soldered to the circuit board.
 
 

 
Edited:  replaced picture with a better view of the GE tube.

 

[tf1216]

Has anyone tried the iTube with the Micro iDSD in their home rig?