[PeterCraig]

There's a new-ish digital interface around, called DI-20 from Audio GD. I've barely skimmed the surface but some people on it's thread are saying it sounds even better than the U16 or SU-6. I for one was a bit put off from the SU-6 for the 1-2 month burn in and need to leave on. Anyone around here tried the DI-20?

I haven't tried the DI-20 but I may make the switch one day. I'm a big Audio-gd fan and will be getting their Master 19 in the very near future.

But the SU-6 has proven to be such a winner in my system and 100% problem free in every way. So I'm not in a hurry.

 

[PeterCraig]

The DI-20 also needs the same burn-in time. Audio-gd notes that the clocks needs at least another 1000 hours (after their factory burn-in period) to settle in fully.

I found the SU-6 took a full 6 weeks and I was playing it 24/7 and not just leaving it on.

 

[motberg]

Oh I see! That's good to know! Thanks man.

Another point of view is that some switching power supplies (most the wall-wart types) introduce noise back into the mains power.
IIRC, Uptone Audio changed their switching power supply for their LPS-1 supercapacitor power supply (similar idea to U16) to help this (it is a measurable attribute).
Take a look at the below page - the paragraph that starts with "The solution is extremely simple:......" if you like more info.
https://uptoneaudio.com/products/uptone-branded-7-5v-4-8a-36w-smps-with-internal-ground-shunt
pretty interesting stuff, and I think good concepts to be exposed to... there are links to the fix and resultant measurements.

 

[motberg]

There's a new-ish digital interface around, called DI-20 from Audio GD. I've barely skimmed the surface but some people on it's thread are saying it sounds even better than the U16 or SU-6. I for one was a bit put off from the SU-6 for the 1-2 month burn in and need to leave on. Anyone around here tried the DI-20?

The 2 things that would possibly keep me from the SU-6 are the lack of 10Mhz master clock reference input and the reported condition that only one output can be used at a time. I have a Gustard U16, somewhat buggy but sounds fantastic (comparatively warmish) with a GPS disciplined 10 Mhz clock. But I use the i2s output concurrently (main DAC) with the coax (subs DAC). The DI-20 has the 10Mhz master clock reference input, reportedly works with concurrent outputs, and can be purchased with the HE (regenerated power) option. I use regenerated power on all my source equipment (except the computers unfortunately) and it is a big help especially in environments that have noisy mains power.

 

[b0bb]

Hey guys. Anyone using an LPS with the SU-6? Any benefits? I saw a zerozone 9v 4A lps on ebay.

I use a Sotm-SPS500 with my SU-6.

It is quite an upgrade from the standard Meanwell GST25A07 brick it came with. The musical presence improved dramatically, the SU-6 can sound somewhat flat and wooden on solo instrumentals like the piano or violin on the stock supply, somewhat boring sounding.

I used the included brick until about 2 weeks ago thinking its role was just to keep the caps charged. I switched over the SPS500 which was powering the NUC running HQplayer's NAA and was it a welcome surprise improvement.

SPS500 is a hybrid LPS and switcher.

 

[Baten]

SPS500 is a hybrid LPS and switcher.

?? How would that work.

 

[b0bb]

?? How would that work.

The concept is simple, combine a low-leakage switched mode module with linear regulator handling the final stage voltage and noise removal.

The first part is done using a medical or industrial grade SMPS module, this removes nearly all the ground borne noise injection problems of the common off the shelf SMPS supplies.

The second part is to use a fast low drop out regulator handling the last 500mV of the regulation, this keeps the dissipation low requiring small heatsinks.

I used this supply originally for the Intel NUC with consumes about 8W and I did not want a conventional LPS wasting 15W while delivering 8W of power.

DIYAudio has a thread from a few years back exploring this concept and I built a unit from that design discussion.
The design used a low-leakage Meanwell industrial module combined with a TI TPS7A47 LDO for the last 200mV.
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendor-s-bazaar/263618-tps7a4700-low-noise-ldo-regulator-pcb.html

SOTM's design uses a 2-stage SMPS followed by a custom linear stage, notice the really small aluminum heatsinks of the final stage LPS
SOTM used an industrial grade IRM60-24 primary stage followed by a LTC3703 second stage

Photo from this article: http://hifiknights.com/reviews/transports/sotm-sms-200ultra-sps-500/

 

[Roasty]

I use a Sotm-SPS500 with my SU-6.

It is quite an upgrade from the standard Meanwell GST25A07 brick it came with. The musical presence improved dramatically, the SU-6 can sound somewhat flat and wooden on solo instrumentals like the piano or violin on the stock supply, somewhat boring sounding.

I used the included brick until about 2 weeks ago thinking its role was just to keep the caps charged. I switched over the SPS500 which was powering the NUC running HQplayer's NAA and was it a welcome surprise improvement.

SPS500 is a hybrid LPS and switcher.

I had a look at the SPS500 and it seems quite versatile. Reviews say it sounds meat with nice low end, which is what I wouldn't mind adding to my system. However, they also say it has a less black background? Do you feel that is true?

Would an ultracaps lps 1.2 be suitable for the su6? I have an extra unused unit. i think it only outputs 1.1A (shenzhenaudio suggests 3A for faster charging of the caps..? ).

My other option was another keces p8, or even go "budget" and get the zerozone one off ebay..

 

[Roasty]

Actually still a bit undecided for lps to su6 as I'm reading earlier posts and as Baten has pointed out, lps with su6 is redundant.

 

[motberg]

I had a look at the SPS500 and it seems quite versatile. Reviews say it sounds meat with nice low end, which is what I wouldn't mind adding to my system. However, they also say it has a less black background? Do you feel that is true?

Would an ultracaps lps 1.2 be suitable for the su6? I have an extra unused unit. i think it only outputs 1.1A (shenzhenaudio suggests 3A for faster charging of the caps..? ).

My other option was another keces p8, or even go "budget" and get the zerozone one off ebay..

I use LPS's to power my Uptone LPS1and 1.2's (just so I do not have standard switchers on my stereo room mains line) and those seem to be really rough on the feeding power supplies. I have worn out a couple beefy 3A standard LPS units, so if you decide to try a LPS feeder, my guess is it needs something fairly powerful to prevent damage to the feeding supply.

 

[PeterCraig]

If you want to check your SU-6 on whether it will benefit from a better or different power supply just unplug the power input from the rear of the unit to see if it sounds different.

The SU-6 will keep operating for close to a minute.

Or remove the wall wart from the power receptacle plugging it back in after about 30 seconds.

Or if you want to take it to the limit, remove the input from your unit and unplug the wall wart.

If the sound doesn't change then you can assume a different power supply isn't going to make any difference.

 

[b0bb]

I had a look at the SPS500 and it seems quite versatile. Reviews say it sounds meat with nice low end, which is what I wouldn't mind adding to my system. However, they also say it has a less black background? Do you feel that is true?

The SPS500 was what I had on hand, the real aim of my exercise was to examine the SU6's sensitivity to different powersupplies.
Given that it advertises a supercap powersupply, different PSUs of similar power delivery capability are not expected to have a noticible effect.

I think Singxer's implementation has room for improvement.

Would an ultracaps lps 1.2 be suitable for the su6? I have an extra unused unit. i think it only outputs 1.1A (shenzhenaudio suggests 3A for faster charging of the caps..? ).

Singxer says 2A minimum in their handbook

When I shop for PSUs I look for hard numbers and give preference to vendors that have them.
Meanwell publishes their data

My stock GST25A unit:
Noise over a 20MHz measurement bandwidth: 80mV peak (57mV rms)
AC leakage: 0.75mA@240Vac
https://www.meanwell-web.com/content/files/pdfs/productPdfs/MW/GST25A/GST25A-spec.pdf

IRM60 unit in SPS500:
Noise over a 20MHz measurement bandwidth: 150mV peak (100mV rms)
AC leakage: 0.25mA@277Vac
https://www.meanwell-web.com/content/files/pdfs/productPdfs/MW/IRM-60/IRM-60-spec.pdf

As this is the first stage, I expect the noise to be much lower (10-100x) after the following 2 regulator stages.

 

[Roasty]

I emailed shenzhenaudio, asked a basic question and I got a basic reply!

 

[Baten]

You could also ask leter from Singxer rather than the salesmen at Shenzhen

 

[Roasty]

You could also ask leter from Singxer rather than the salesmen at Shenzhen

OK I emailed Singxer and Leter said yes too.