Yes, we are actually fixin' to introduce a product, that we lack the imagination to come up with a good name. So, fellow AC'ers..........you name it, and you win one. Just like the one pictured. (In fact, it may be the one pictured, as it is the only one built. Yet.)
(Great photos, eh? It was 2 AM, and I am tired. Maybe next time they will look better.)
"So, bub, what is it, and what does it do? Why do we need and/or want one. Tell us more."OK, it does 2 things:
One, it provides galvanic isolation, between your computer, and the rest of your system. Comes in handy, if you have ground loop problems.
But, the thing it does best...........
Provides clean power, for your USB device.
Yep, everyone knows computers are not the nicest things around, with it comes to clean power. If you have a USB device, and it may not sound as good as you think it can, there may be a chance the power is lousy.
Ok, we can all agree the power is nasty. How nasty, and how much it mucks up the sound.........who knows. Still, if your computer's power looks like this, at 1/2 A, through the 20 kHz:
Yeah.........not hard to imagine it may not be helping your sound. (Note: the s/w has a way of dropping letters, on the annotation. The top of the Y scale is 1 mV/rt-Hz. The bottom is 10 nV/rt-Hz. The 1 kHz marker is around 10 uV/rt-Hz.) Ok, 350 nV/rt-Hz, for a noise floor is noisy.
Think that is bad? What happens when we look out to 100 kHz (limits of our measurin' gizmo):
Lovely! Most of it is over 1uV/rt-Hz. And all the pretty spurs. Great..........just what everyone wants.
Well, not really. What you really want is this:
"Hmmmmmm..........your thingie is that quiet, and at 1/2 A?"Yep. 30 nV/rt-Hz, throughout the audio band. Out to 100 kHz:
Oh, dear...........a small noise peak, around 30 kHz. Better tweak the cap, on the regulator, before the PTB find out what a lousy job I did, on the proto. (Don't tell them, and since they never read this place, I can probably get away with it.)
There you have it: at least 40 dB quieter, at any frequency. Close to 60 dB, at some. Such a deal. Everyone needs one.
"Hey, how much is this thing going to sell for?"Uh...............dunno...............ma
ybe $150.
"How is it powered?"Glad you asked. Almost forgot.
A wall wart.
"A wall wart?"What do you expect for $150? A wall wart it is all we can afford, and keep the price low enough to entice folks who aren't sure they want one to rush out and buy 3.
For US customers, you get a traditional wall wart. Transformer, filter cap, cheap IC regulator. Export customers will get a SMPS. Just like you would get with something like a Squeezebox. (Hey, if they can get away with that, why not us?)
"But aren't they noisy?"Well, yeah. But, that is why we clean it up. I measured the output, and there is not enough increase in noise, to be concerned. (OK, a but more noise at 30 kHz. It is still quieter than any computer. And that is the goal.)
Yes, measurements made with the USA version.
So, there you have it. About sums it up. You name it, you win it.
I guess we ought to set up some basic ground rules:
You have to post it here, in this thread. No e-mail or PMs. Has to be out in the open, where everyone knows who, what and where. I suppose we will say the end of the month is the end. Hopefully, it won't take that long.
OK..............over to you guys............
