Best practice right here. Don’t plug crap like LED light transformers or USB chargers or things like that in your audio power strip.
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So the smoke machine and disco ball are a no go?
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Hello
Interesting and lively discussion taking place here.
I find it really good.
Also with good approaches for diy people or for those who strive for more than what the market offers.
For example, I found the Paul Hynes power supply really good sounding when I heard it on the iPad.
It’s a pity that there are no more.
I would have liked to give it a chance.
From a purely technical point of view and with great statements from the people here who have also provided good arguments, I also agree.
The topic has been talked down and kept down for years by the non-vodoo people.
But it has also been ridiculed by real electricians and other professions.
I think there are now good solutions and parts for building a power supply, although the cost of doing so would not necessarily be much more expensive in the implementations of various audio devices if manufacturers focused more on it.
I would pay the 50-100$ more if I could see that and not just present it as an advertisement of the latest device.
Of course, this is also one of those things where manufacturers have advertised it for years and only lied about it.
That’s why I think it’s good that this topic is gaining momentum.
I would also think that using the circuit in this way would make the devices more durable.
Not only on the sound side.
I also think that slowly but surely it will become more and more that we will see this through all the wifi, mobile phone stories where interference can occur.
Also, electronics have become more sensitive and more attention needs to be paid.
I’d like to see more of these network lines for our applications, especially streamers, Raspberrys, Dac, benefit from them.
Disco ball is okay (probably less electrically noisy than a fridge), just buy quality lights with it (Cameo, Ape Labs, etc.)
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That’s cool that you were able to get it all fit under the stock Pi2AES housing. I miss mine, it’s such a great bargain for what it does and it’s supposed to scale very well with improved power.
Your SMPS with the switching hash filter like you shows is a lot more in line with the ethos of what the Pi is supposed to be. I wound up putting a $300 iFi Elite PSU on mine which is stupid as it cost more than the combined Pi2AES!
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The cool thing about that filter is that you can put it in a small plastic enclosure with a DC input terminal and a DC power cord out of it. Then you can put it in-line and take it out with various PSUs and gear and listen to the difference. It’s small enough that you can put it in your pocket and take it to a buddy’s house to try on their gear.
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Not to clog the Berkley thread, I do have some follow up which you may be able to help me better understand or know what I am looking at. I picked up this HDPLEX Linear PSU a few weeks ago, what appealed to me was the four outputs and of those two the adjustable voltage feature;
Looking at its internals, it doesn’t have much going on like the Keces you referenced;
Was I sucker for wanting one device to power four different components?
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Not at all. Just more money in your bank account. 
Individual is probably best but then every device you have requires different voltage/amperage and you’d spend soooo much 
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More money for speakers and tubes!
I’m only powering the Pi2AES, ROCK, and for shits no giggles the 5-port D-link network switch 
. I still have one outlet available for nothing at the moment
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Tweaked the thread title a bit as I wanted to open up the discussion to the entirety of the power supply chain.
Don’t know how many of us have putzed around with fuses and was curious about experiences and incorporating that discussion here. Yes, I’ve delved into it, yes there are differences, clearly so. Some, detrimental for sure. (I bought a range of cheap to expensive fuses) but I’m not entirely gung ho about it as something that you must do, certainly not until late stage audiophilia.
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So… pour out a little snake oil for us, what fuses did you like and dislike? What components did you see the most change in?
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I want to prime the subject a bit before I delve. lol
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You and your damned showmanship! 
give me the fuses! Take my money! 
I’m interested in your impressions, the fact that some manufacturers use expensive fuses in products lends credence to value. I’ve always been reticent to do very much, having had a couple of fuses blow in recent memory.
I know @M0N did some experiments at one point, and I think he preferred a mid priced Synergistic fuse over the more expensive one, but I don’t remember the specifics.
Well, sorry for the delay in my response but we had an earthquake nearby… while I was on a conference call and it was cool as I felt it first then it was felt by others on the call the further they were from the epicenter. Science.
A lot of thoughts and at this point I didn’t want to get too deep because frankly my reservation is that, do we really need another avenue for tweaking and throwing money at the hobby? The answer is yes and no. I limited the effort to my F8 amp and my Microzotl pre as far as components go. I also upgraded the fuses on my Richard Gray power conditioner, that one takes two fuses one for each bank. There I went with an interesting fuse (a Cardas copper Hi-Fi tuning fuse)
The amp and preamp I went with Synnergistic Research Orange fuses. (when I spoke to M0N way back he told me he settled on the Purple fuses as an upgrade to the Orange fuses but he was happy with the Orange.
I’d have to say that in all cases the impact was evident, not so subtle but nothing drastic like changing to a high end AC cable had shown me in the past. My idea as to why they’re not as dramatic is because the gains in the fuse upgrade are just current improvement versus the AC power cables being noise shielding/filtering and current improvements.
The AC conditioner game me more dynamic “power” not something that would be easy to miss. It felt like I had turned the volume up a notch and there was more authority, especially in the bass of the subs, this while making absolutely no changes anywhere else.
The pre was interesting as I did that after I had done the amp and AC conditioner. It was also more complicated as it requires two fuses on the AC input and one fuse internally on the preamp board. But again an across the board improvement in sound. Didn’t change the nature of it’s signature, and there wasn’t more detail or nuance or anything like that, it just had more control and bigger swings it felt quicker, snappier, equivalent to more torque in a car.
It’s not something hat was needed but certainly appreciated when it’s finally implemented.
The negatives, I did buy some $20 chi-fi fuses for the power conditioner and it was schrill, grating and it didn’t change much even after a day’s worth of listening and then I took it out because I couldn’t. The SR fuses and then the Hi-Fi tuning fuses I ultimately went with for the power conditioner were good from the get-go and they got better. SR recommends 300 hours if I recall. They’re also directional which means that you do need to do your homework and trace the AC flow to know which direction it needs to be oriented in. I didn’t try it reversed so no idea as to what impact it would have, just putting it out there that direction is a thing according to the manufacturer.
Another point, me being me and always looking for rock bottom pricing… the reason I dove into this was that I was able with A LOT of patience buy all of the SR Orange fuses I went with used. You just have to keep checking daily and it’s a PITA as not only are you looking for the right size and amperage, you’re also looking for fast/slow blow depending on what’s being called for by the manufacturer. You can however save a good bit of money buying them used through USAM. the SR fuses are easy to search for but finding the right size/amperage will take a lot time. Which is why it’s a good idea to leave it to the end of your audio journey as you’ll have the time. Also wouldn’t recommend doing it unless it’s a “keeper” of a component. The fuse won’t add value to the resale IMO.
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Oh, forgot to mention, and it’s something that @Polygonhell mentioned a bit back. Given the experience, I think the best improvement would be to put in a copper or silver slug in place of the fuse but… muy loco, mucho cojones if you do go that route.
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F.U. @dB_Cooper . I’m gonna need to sell my sullied blood soon to keep up… i was recently introduced to this product…
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Oh No! It’s Sluggo
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