[Don Quichotte]

I am using an Apogee Mini-Dac and I've tried driving it from a 12V SLA battery. The result was somewhat surprising: more warmth and fuller midbass and midrange (which I like), but also restricted dynamics and HF extension, less detail, less impact and a more congested sound compared to the stock external switching power supply. I suppose the battery is not fast enough, I cannot think of any other explanation.

Can you help me build a better power supply? (Apogee says it needs 6-14VDC and at least 1.25A) Perhaps just adding a capacitor would do, but I am a total newbie when it comes to such things, I only soldered some connectors at the end of my cables. What would you recommend? Think of a 50-60$, definitely no more than 100$ budget.

Oh, and I live in Europe, so I have 220V in my walls...

 

[Don Quichotte]

Anyone?

 

[utep10]

I'm not very experienced with this type of thing as well, but I did buy an assembled Power One power supply for my Squeezebox 3.
I'd look for one that has the right voltages for your application and all you need to do is mount it, and wire it for 220v AC and 6-14VDC (>1.5A) with the right connector. Parts were about $50 and my guess is you could probably find it for cheaper.

 

[grawk]

You could also pick up an old apogee PS1000 from ebay fairly cheap. Awesome 12v power supply. You'd have to make a custom cable for it tho.

 

[Don Quichotte]

Thanks for your replies!

What is a Power One power supply?

The Apogee PS1000 is an interesting idea, although e-bay shopping from Romania is not the most convenient. I'll keep it in mind.

Any other ideas? How about improving the battery speed (with a capacitor?

)? What about the kits at tangent.com?