[mmerrill99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif a very good low noise power supply can indeed approach and sometimes better batteries IMO. batteries are easier to do it with for sure. how do you address charging John? BTW I am in the middle of sending you a PM about this over at DIYA

At the moment, as you can see, those on this side of the pond, are trying to sort out a reasonably priced source for a plug & forget charger. Plug & forget really means this - the charger is left permanently plugged in & charges the batteries when the box is switched off & stops charging when the batteries are full so no risk of overcharging. It means you can enjoy the benefits of batteries without concern about charging.

I have tried to order a batch of chargers from both these companies but they insist on either using UPS or Fedex (& the associated rates > $100) or USPS without any insurance protection & I'm not willing to risk hundreds of dollars. Jeez, talk about not wanting to do business

.

I have used discarded mobile phone chargers (< 3.6V output) but they don't run off automatically & so you run the risk of overcharging the batteries which will shorten their lifetime. I forgot & left one on overnight - no fire, no explosion but the battery read 5.?V in the morning - I discharged it down to 3.6V but suspect it's robustness. I also would not have liked the consequences of connecting this to the Hiface with chips expecting 3.3V (up to 4.0V max) - it would possibly have killed it.

So this is a cautionary way of doing it until a suitable solution is found or I develop something.

 

[hawkhead]

Graupner Li-Charger 4 Plus

 

[mmerrill99]

Getting closer but:
- needs 2.1mm adaptor
- needs a 12V DC supply
- we don't need the balance charge options for 4 cells

 

[glt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkeny /img/forum/go_quote.gif At the moment, as you can see, those on this side of the pond, are trying to sort out a reasonably priced source for a plug & forget charger. Plug & forget really means this - the charger is left permanently plugged in & charges the batteries when the box is switched off & stops charging when the batteries are full so no risk of overcharging. It means you can enjoy the benefits of batteries without concern about charging. ...

Hi Jkeny, have you tried Arduino shops? For example: LiPoly Charger - Single Cell 3.7-7V Input

 

[punk_guy182]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Jkeny, have you tried Arduino shops? For example: LiPoly Charger - Single Cell 3.7-7V Input

This thing looks pretty cool and the price tag is very cool too.
I think we got ourselves a solution for the problem regarding the battery charger and consequently the appropriate DC connector.

If I understand correctly, the batteries could be constantly recharged with this device by using the power coming from the USB cable.

Could this battery charger also recharge a battery providing the 5v necessary for the USB mod that can provide 5% increase in SQ?
Could this LiPoly charger fit in the black case containing the batteries and the modded Hiface? I would like to know what are Mr. jkeny's comments and impressions on the issue.

 

[hawkhead]

'Fly Electric' - A123 Lithium cells

Lipo's charge to 4.2V it says

 

[punk_guy182]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawkhead /img/forum/go_quote.gif 'Fly Electric' - A123 Lithium cells Lipo's charge to 4.2V it says

Oh ok!

Well could it be used at least to recharge a battery providing the 5v necessary for the USB mod?

Nevertheless, it would be nice to have some sort of charger powered by the USB cable that could recharge 2 x 3.2v batteries and 1 x 5v battery. If such a charger doesn't exist, we could have one designed specifically for this mod and that could fit in this little black box.

 

[qusp]

hmm yeah I do now see the frantic charge solution search (I posted from earlier in the thread before). think i'll just wimp out and use a JSR for the moment. also lipo4 means I cant take thus dac to meets in sydney etc, as in OZ anything with lipo4 (or any ;lithium based cell for that matter) must be in the cabin with you, it cannot fly down in the luggage compartment and NIMH would die in no time with such charging arrangements. it might work for my friend tho. there are other pricier charger solutions like temporary laptop PSUs like those from energizer et al, some of which will actually supply multiple voltages of your choosing and charge via USB/wallwart.

 

[K3cT]

The shape is really unfriendly to laptop users.

 

[mmerrill99]

I tried to post this 3 times yesterday but I kept getting the message that my token had expired so I gave up.
Thanks glt, I had looked into that before but it's based on the MAX155 chip which is factory set to output 4.2V.
This is only an issue for us European based users looking for LiFePO4 chargers at a reasonable cost - all the N.A. users have a $23 with reasonable shipping I think.

I spoke to the company & the only thing I can do is to get a batch of these in a one shipping which cuts down the unit shipping cost - I think it's about $100 shipping costs on a batch of 10 so would people be willing to pay $23 + $10 for a charger? I'll gather the figures & email people with existing orders.

We don't want any power going down the USB cable - it more than likely has an influence on the USB signal carrying wires running parallel in the USB cable.

Quote:

The shape is really unfriendly to laptop users.

The shape of what?

 

[K3cT]

I'm referring to this image.

EDIT: Apparently Google doesn't allow hot-linking but I'm referring to the picture of the boxed modified Hiface in your site.

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

The shape is really unfriendly to laptop users ............... I'm referring to the picture of the boxed modified Hiface in your site.

Laptops are probably not friendly to best sound

. if you are seriously interested in PC audio then a dedicated audio PC is to be recommended, no surfing, no other processing, low noise, linear supply (if possible).

If you are just looking for plug & play sound device, that's portable for casual listening then original HiFace is your best bet!

 

[dukja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkeny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Laptops are probably not friendly to best sound . if you are seriously interested in PC audio then a dedicated audio PC is to be recommended, no surfing, no other processing, low noise, linear supply (if possible). If you are just looking for plug & play sound device, that's portable for casual listening then original HiFace is your best bet!

First of all, thanks a lot to jkeny's hiface mod and slim.a's great review, which has been long waited for and the result seem to be so positive.

I also want to voice the desire to use this mod with laptop. Not trying to derail this thread (maybe off topic

), I though capable laptop may be even more suitable as a PC source because of low fan noise, portability of hundreds GB music (between work and home), and dedication of CPU/USB bus for music. My laptop is dedicated for FLAC playing while I am working on desktop computers.

Actually by the photo of current mod, it may be even difficult to plug it in directly into the crowded USB ports at the back of a desktop PC where multiple USB devices have been already plugged in. The original Hiface may be plugged in with no problem, but not the mod with current physical size.

So maybe we need to either sacrifice other USB device or invest a good USB extension cord?

Just a though...

And I really look forward to the possibility of buying modded hiface directly from jkeny.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dukja /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually by the photo of current mod, it may be even difficult to plug it in directly......

Probably needs an extension cord. It doesn't look like you can plug it in directly.

Edit to say you can link images from Google.

 

[punk_guy182]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dukja /img/forum/go_quote.gif So maybe we need to either sacrifice other USB device or invest a good USB extension cord? Just a though...

Have you heard of jkeny's very special USB cable?