how does an elpac improve the sound of a Go-Vibe?

[appar111]

I have a V5 Go-Vibe and wondered-- does an Elpac improve the sound quality further on this amp? I like the sound, just didn't know if power supply would improve the sound.

 

[fkclo]

I do not have a Go-Vibe but I think this will depends on the power supply circuit design.

If the Go-Vibe is so design that the battery is the sole power source and the external power only serve to charge the battery, then there will be no difference in sound quality - because it is always the batteries that power the amp. But I think this kind of circuit is not common.

Many amp designed with build in charging circuit will allow the external power supply to "take over" the batter when its is plugged in. In this case, the amp will be powered by the external device and the sound quality will therefore depend on the quality of this external "brick".

I would not call the Elpac an audiophile quality power supply (it is an approved, certified safe and reliable brick though) and therefore I would see it having a tough job in provide d.c. power better the build-in battery itself.

So, unless you go after a really good lab grade PSU I would say the battery will still sound better.

Don't mis-understand what I say, however. Many audio components will sound much better with a dedicated power supply, but most of them are not battery power. What comes to mind are the Headamp GS-Lite, Naim Headphone amp, and the pre 2008 Graham Slee Solo - the power supply can make positive (and sometimes day and night) audible differences to the sound.

The recently released LISA III, when coupled with its dedicated LLP PSU, sound very good, and even better than the build in battery, but I would say this is a very rare case.

My 2 cents.

F. Lo

 

[nikongod]

2^(n-1)

 

[IPodPJ]

I'm still selling my 24V ELPAC. It improves the sound quality of the V5 and V6 by 200%.

 

[Pete7]

talk about a sales pitch!!!!!

 

[Dual]

^ lol! 200% improvement!

 

[fkclo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm still selling my 24V ELPAC. It improves the sound quality of the V5 and V6 by 200%.

I don't know. But this may happen when the amp has both a high current and lower current mode and when plugged in with an external power supply the high current mode kicks in. With more energy pumping the audio experience can be different.

On the other hand, when running on batteries alone, it may imply the amp is running in power optimised (power saving) way that will in fact hold back its potential. If I have a choice, I would not prefer this arrangement.

If the amp is designed for optimum sonics, then i would doubt if the external Elpac can be that magical.

F. Lo

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif talk about a sales pitch!!!!!

It's not a sales pitch, Pete. I could care less one way or the other if I sell a $30 ELPAC adaptor. I'm not that hard up, even though I just spent a lot of money on an amp.

I'm speaking from experience because I used it. With the V5 it was a 200% improvement in sound quality to my ears. His design with the LM6171/6172 opamps were optimized to run at 24V. When I sold the V5 and V6, I kept telling people to buy the ELPAC but no one would. If they heard those amps running with 24V and with 9V, they would easily have heard the difference and grabbed the ELPAC in a heart beat. But remember, we're talking about a 24V ELPAC here, not a 12V one.

The V6 was about a 150% improvement when used with the ELPAC 24V. I guess the AD8620/8610 opamps weren't quite as power hungry as the LM opamps, but they still benefit greatly from 24V.

In fact, the differences were so great, I can't think of one listening session that I did not use the ELPAC 24V for. After hearing them with the 9V battery a few short times, I never used the 9V again. I don't travel, so why not have the best possible sound quality if I'm using them at home?

I can't use it with the V7 since it was made to only work with 12V maximum. The 12V regulated adaptor with the V7 offers a 120% improvement over the 9V battery. The AD8397 opamps can run with higher voltage (up to 18V) I believe, but he made this amp to work with a maximum of 12V to accomoddate the charging circuit. He already had several models this time around, The V7 Eco, V7 Eco Extra, V7 Max, V7 Max Extra.... he just wanted to standardize a volt that would work with all of them, and the 12V regulated adaptor he supplied does.

By the way, if you have your charging circuits active on the V5 or V6, you can not use the 24V adaptor. You must use the 12V regulated adaptor. The 24V ELPAC is for Go-Vibe V5 and V6 amps that have the charging circuit deactivated. The V7, charging circuit on or disable, you still need to use the 12V regulated.

I hope that clears up some of the speculation. I spoke in great lengths with Norm about this. The V6m model, the one without the charging circuit, I personally named that amp the "V6m". He and I spoke about his amps on many occassions. And if someone can put me in touch with Jaben, I have a lot of high quality logos I designed for the Go-Vibe line that he can use, and that have gotten a positive response here at Head-Fi.

 

[episiarch]

I have used the V5 with and without an Elpac. It's better with the Elpac: bass in particular is more palpable and real - not deeper or significantly stronger, just better-rendered, with more texture.

However, for most of my listening, that difference isn't really compelling to me. Even though I had the GV5 and the Elpac, I tended to use the GV5 cordlessly and save a little bit of cable tangle, even at the expense of that last bit of quality. Your mileage may vary of course, especially if you have different tastes in music from mine.

 

[Pete7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not a sales pitch, Pete. I could care less one way or the other if I sell a $30 ELPAC adaptor. I'm not that hard up, even though I just spent a lot of money on an amp. I'm speaking from experience because I used it. With the V5 it was a 200% improvement in sound quality to my ears. His design with the LM6171/6172 opamps were optimized to run at 24V. When I sold the V5 and V6, I kept telling people to buy the ELPAC but no one would. If they heard those amps running with 24V and with 9V, they would easily have heard the difference and grabbed the ELPAC in a heart beat. But remember, we're talking about a 24V ELPAC here, not a 12V one. The V6 was about a 150% improvement when used with the ELPAC 24V. I guess the AD8620/8610 opamps weren't quite as power hungry as the LM opamps, but they still benefit greatly from 24V. In fact, the differences were so great, I can't think of one listening session that I did not use the ELPAC 24V for. After hearing them with the 9V battery a few short times, I never used the 9V again. I don't travel, so why not have the best possible sound quality if I'm using them at home? I can't use it with the V7 since it was made to only work with 12V maximum. The 12V regulated adaptor with the V7 offers a 120% improvement over the 9V battery. The AD8397 opamps can run with higher voltage (up to 18V) I believe, but he made this amp to work with a maximum of 12V to accomoddate the charging circuit. He already had several models this time around, The V7 Eco, V7 Eco Extra, V7 Max, V7 Max Extra.... he just wanted to standardize a volt that would work with all of them, and the 12V regulated adaptor he supplied does. By the way, if you have your charging circuits active on the V5 or V6, you can not use the 24V adaptor. You must use the 12V regulated adaptor. The 24V ELPAC is for Go-Vibe V5 and V6 amps that have the charging circuit deactivated. The V7, charging circuit on or disable, you still need to use the 12V regulated. I hope that clears up some of the speculation. I spoke in great lengths with Norm about this. The V6m model, the one without the charging circuit, I personally named that amp the "V6m". He and I spoke about his amps on many occassions. And if someone can put me in touch with Jaben, I have a lot of high quality logos I designed for the Go-Vibe line that he can use, and that have gotten a positive response here at Head-Fi.

The Elpac doesn't change the circuitry inside the amp itself. It simply provides better current. I'm sure there is a subtle improvement. But 200% better? At 200% better it would kick the crap out of any home amp on the market. Even a source change to a Meridian CD player probably wouldn't yield a 200% improvement in sq. What kind of improvement would a STEPs Power Supply make? 1000%? It's over-estimating.

 

[dkjohnso]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's over-estimating.

Indeed. IMHO in the improvement at 24V was subtle at best.

 

[appar111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2^(n-1)

Huh?

 

[appar111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif By the way, if you have your charging circuits active on the V5 or V6, you can not use the 24V adaptor. You must use the 12V regulated adaptor. The 24V ELPAC is for Go-Vibe V5 and V6 amps that have the charging circuit deactivated. The V7, charging circuit on or disable, you still need to use the 12V regulated.

How can I tell if the V5 that I have has the charging circuit "activated"? And how can one "deactivate" it?

 

[CLum]

Do you want mine for free? I have no use for it anymore.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by appar111 /img/forum/go_quote.gif How can I tell if the V5 that I have has the charging circuit "activated"? And how can one "deactivate" it?

If it charges your batteries, it's on. I have no clue how you would turn it off.