I now have the original StepDance + XP8000/WI15 setup. I'm running a 5.5 gen iMod into it, and listening with the original (v1) LCD-2.
It is a very powerful setup. I listened using the 12V output from the XP8000 first, then with the WI15 when it arrived.
I am wondering if anyone has a good oscilloscope out there.
The WI15 adapter produces an audible hiss, implying a switch-mode voltage reducer. This means that the voltage it supplies (which is only designed to be good enough for a power supply for a laptop) is not a pure, near constant voltage, which is the point of using a battery (since there is no "noise" under those conditions). Worse, the fact that I can hear the hiss of the adapter implies that the distortion of its supplied voltage has significant components in the audible range. The buffering of the SD should mitigate this to a fair degree, however I was immensely impressed with the 12V source from the XP8000.
I know what the physics and EE predict in these situations.
Zilch0md, do you still have your 15V pure battery rigs? Would you be able to compare the WI15 to them? I'd be curious to hear what you have to say.
The WI15 might benefit from adding a pi-filter stage between the 15V output and the SD, for maximum sonic performance while supplying 15V over the discharge range of the battery.
Make sense?