Looking for advice and not sure where to place it. I have an older PC I5 750 with pci slots and an EMU-1212 with Gilmore Lite amp driving Grado Labs SR225. Recently my Wal-Wart died on one of the 15+/- and only one channel works… I’ve ordered another Wal-Wart but seen that they now have a dedicated power supply for the Gilmore Lite but at nearly the same price as the amp. My question is will that dedicated power supply make that much of a difference and if so will it be cheaper to build my own?
You need to supply some more information next time. You specify all of this random stuff - PC I5 750, EMU-1212, Grado SR225, etc., yet your question is about the "Wal-Wart" and that's all you call it. Further, you never reference where this "dedicated power supply" can be found and who is "they?"
I realize it's Headamp and have met/talked to Justin on a couple of occasions, but you've got nothing that directs someone to anything on his present website regarding the Gilmore Lite except that it's no longer made and sold. A bit of further research revealed that he was originally supplying the Elpac power supply and then apparently upgraded to a true, linear-regulated power supply.
That took a heck of a lot of work to find, though.
Back to your question - the Elpac is/was generally considered "
adequate" for quality audio, but no more. Tangent did some tests awhile back (not sure if he has them on his site anymore) and Elpacs were in the single digits for mVrms of ripple, which is horrible. You want something in the microvolt range (uVrums) around 60 uV or less - about
100 times quieter than the Elpac.
Yes, it makes an audible difference - sometimes a huge difference. Whether it's worth it for you is something you have to decide. As for building something, it's pretty much guaranteed that with a dual power supply you'd have to be messing with a transformer and line-voltage wiring (not many dual-supply AC walwarts around). That's not trivial and not recommended if you aren't experienced.