What does a STEPS do SQ-wise?
Jul 2, 2007 at 1:24 PM Post #2 of 31
For the M3 when compared to the Elpac power supply

1-Tighter bass

2-Slightly more quiet

3-Enables you to bias in Class A
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 3:55 PM Post #3 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by tbonner1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
For the M3 when compared to the Elpac power supply

1-Tighter bass

2-Slightly more quiet

3-Enables you to bias in Class A


What does more quiet mean? Isn't the PPA already Class A?
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 4:46 PM Post #4 of 31
Quote:

What does more quiet mean? Isn't the PPA already Class A?


Blacker blackground and less noise.
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 5:15 PM Post #6 of 31
Quote:

Isn't the PPA already Class A?


Yes and so is the M3.
You don't need a steps for that.
wink.gif
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 8:06 PM Post #7 of 31
I didn't find the steps did anything positive SQ-wise. They just made my headphones make a crackling sparky sound before smoke started coming out of them. DOn't make the same mistake I did and plug your headphones into the STEPS directly! That'll just fry them!

Okay, I'm joking of course.
smily_headphones1.gif
A STEPS makes a pretty substantial improvement in sound quality, but if you're going to consider a STEPS, you might want to consider building a Sigma11 instead. It wouldn't cost much more than a steps, and should be a step up from it.
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 9:17 PM Post #8 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I didn't find the steps did anything positive SQ-wise. They just made my headphones make a crackling sparky sound before smoke started coming out of them. DOn't make the same mistake I did and plug your headphones into the STEPS directly! That'll just fry them!

Okay, I'm joking of course.
smily_headphones1.gif
A STEPS makes a pretty substantial improvement in sound quality, but if you're going to consider a STEPS, you might want to consider building a Sigma11 instead. It wouldn't cost much more than a steps, and should be a step up from it.


The Sigma11 will have even blacker background noise and even tighter bass?

I guess I still don't really understand what a blacker background entails...because I've never heard an amp with a dedicated PSU before to compare. Is there any way you guys could explain it to me? I don't really hear anything in the background...Thanks for the help guys.
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 9:33 PM Post #9 of 31
It should have a blacker background, because I believe it is a less noisy power supply. The Sigma11 is derived from the Sigma22 power supply, which was designed to work with the Beta22 amplifier- an amp that is very sensitive to power supply noise. Conversly the STEPS was designed to work with the PPA, an amp that probably has better power supply noise rejection, at least at DC.

So, yes - it should.
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 9:40 PM Post #10 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It should have a blacker background, because I believe it is a less noisy power supply. The Sigma11 is derived from the Sigma22 power supply, which was designed to work with the Beta22 amplifier- an amp that is very sensitive to power supply noise. Conversly the STEPS was designed to work with the PPA, an amp that probably has better power supply noise rejection, at least at DC.

So, yes - it should.


Sorry, but the "blacker background" still confounds me. Is there any way I can pinpoint what will be improved upon when I add the STEPS or Sigma11? Could you explain to me what background noise I should be hearing?
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 9:48 PM Post #11 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Sorry, but the "blacker background" still confounds me. Is there any way I can pinpoint what will be improved upon when I add the STEPS or Sigma11? Could you explain to me what background noise I should be hearing?


A blacker background means notes aren't sitting in a gray hazy sludge. They pop out at you more. It is akin to the difference between tasting ice cream through a napkin (gray) and tasting it unadulterated (black). Oh boy, my very first ice cream analogy!
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 9:57 PM Post #12 of 31
The best way to measure blackness is to turn the volume all the way up while no music is playing. Do you hear anything? Hissing? Humming? With an onboard or entry level power supply, you will hear noise. With a high quality power supply, you should hear nothing. That silence is analogous to complete darkness -> black.
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 10:58 PM Post #13 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Sorry, but the "blacker background" still confounds me. Is there any way I can pinpoint what will be improved upon when I add the STEPS or Sigma11? Could you explain to me what background noise I should be hearing?


Yeah, I'm not sure I agree with a lot of this "blackness" stuff. The fact is that many of our amps already have fairly decent power supplies if they have any linear regulation at all, or if they run with batteries which many popular commercial amps do. After all, many of us had total "blackness" with our first CMoy.
wink.gif


However, the thing that a STEPS or Sigma11 can do is deliver power - lots of it, without any ripple (noise). That means more voltage, more current, more of the time. A good 50 cent LM317 will easily remove ripple to below audible if the voltage regulation difference is on the order of 4-5 volts or so. The problem is that without all of the associated capacitors and additional filtering in a STEPS, a power supply can't support that kind of regulation at the desired voltages. Neither can it support the kind of current and transient current that the STEPS can provide.

A good analogy is with a typical DIY amp. A basic TREAD can make one silent, but the bass could falter, or it might seem that you can't pump in as much equalization or volume before you hear it break up or get soft, etc. A STEPS is as good as it gets, so to speak - any faltering bass from lack of current or sharpness/transparency from lack of transient response will show up as a weakness in your amp, not your power supply.
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 11:05 PM Post #14 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mazuki /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The best way to measure blackness is to turn the volume all the way up while no music is playing. Do you hear anything? Hissing? Humming? With an onboard or entry level power supply, you will hear noise. With a high quality power supply, you should hear nothing. That silence is analogous to complete darkness -> black.


I always thought that hiss was associated with gain settings...with a high gain setting, low impedance phones will hear a hiss, but with my 580's i do not hear any hiss. Personally, I believe this is incorrect. However, I may be wrong. Thanks for all your input. I might just stick with my Elpac for now since I don't use any EQ or anything as I am very satisfied with the PPA.
 
Jul 2, 2007 at 11:19 PM Post #15 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I always thought that hiss was associated with gain settings...with a high gain setting, low impedance phones will hear a hiss, but with my 580's i do not hear any hiss. Personally, I believe this is incorrect. However, I may be wrong. Thanks for all your input. I might just stick with my Elpac for now since I don't use any EQ or anything as I am very satisfied with the PPA.


It's entirely possible the Elpac is fine with your PPA. The PPA is not particularly demanding from a current standpoint.

Still, just for the record - the reason hiss is associated with high gain settings is because the high gain is amplifying the noise that's present to an audible level. Just because you don't hear it in a Sennheiser doesn't mean it's not there, and subtly corrupting the potential performance.
 
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