On the effect of the LPS mod to the Rednet
I had been primarily using my horn speakers and could hear the positive effects to the sound, particularly the soundstage width and layering.
Some intense listening last night on my Stax 009s and Carbon amplifier and it is apparent another aspect is TEXTURE. I think as the last part of digital glaze has been eradicated, probably as the SMPS was so close to the super sensitive digital circuits, it is now very easy to hear texture changes in the music. Before there was a hint of particles or grain to everything. Now that has been removed, parts of the music that have smooth transitions in timbre become very clear, a feature pretty much lost before. Like a super sharp lens looking across a lake, the ripples and graduation are there to see (hear) and they are perfect graduations, not stepped as you often see in dodgy printed leaflets for example.
It might sound left of centre my description, but this small effect has huge implications to the sound. It seems to have taken elements that were glued together and separated them out and gives you the ability to hear then in isolation, even as they all play at the same time. The other fantastic aspect of all this is the treble ranges are cleaner and more liquid but not hard or brittle, just really clean. At first you think, were are the edges, the detail? But it actually contains more detail than before, as those edges before were a false friend. They were infact intermodulation distortion at the edges of the notes, a false detail.
The overall signature in my setting has also gained some body and flesh to the midrange, and a touch of warm overall which is welcome, especially in digital.
In my Audio Note DAC 5 I changed the caps on the line stage in January for Duelund Copper cast which predictably was a big change in signature. I have done that on other DACs and tube amplifiers before, so it was expected. But the LPS mod to the Rednet is as big a change, possibly bigger. It sounds like a new front end TBH. Everything I love about my DAC has been focussed on and improved.
This is a key ingredient IMO to getting a balanced system, and as a free ticket (130USD) to a big gain in sound quality. I would say to get this jump for example, you could easily spend another 10K on top of your exiting DAC. It also tells me anyone running a decent hifi system who doesn't utilise these golden nuggets is missing out.
Many folk IMO are unaware of the importance of power supplies in the entire chain. And that includes starting at the mains supply and working forward to the last component in the chain.
Hifi products are built to a budget, and the oversampling numbers and format wars sell DACs. But it is pitiful how many 'high end' DACs have cheap opp amps and weak power supplies to support their 'high end' digital interfaces. The Rednet is reasonably priced, and is primarily an audio network device for a DAW. I can understand why they fitted a nasty SMPS for cheapness, and WW voltage compliance, and seeing the SPDIF output as a monitoring feature in a studio, not mission critical to networking the audio. If someone produced a Dante box for home audio, it should include a LPS supply as a matter or course.
I have flagged up the Rednet on whatsbestforum.com, but folk over there are more or less closed to the idea, seeing it as an SPDIF convertor and nothing else. Short sighted IMO. The fact many modern DACs sell on the numbers game (sample rate) means they have to use USB, and then we are back to where we started (noise).
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. I will use the IEC as Clemmaster did. Hopfully the Q204-ND will fit my Mutec, it will be my next project.