SB3 Deee Luxe Power Supply

davehg · « **on:** 21 Dec 2005, 05:54 am »

Wayne's deluxe PS came today; I am just about to hook it up. This follows delivery a few days ago of the SB3 digital only mods.

I'll have more to write about once the units have burned in and I have found the time to listen critically. A few thoughts for those on the fence, however.

1. Build quality on both the Deluxe PS and the digital only mods are, well, fantastic. Wayne uses the best parts, and the cables, connectors, and case are top notch.

2. This is the fourth product I have ordered from Wayne (prior included digital cable, DIO mods, DIO powersupply, Bybee purifiers). Wayne patiently answered my questions and always shipped promptly, well packed the items, and sent email confirmations.

Wayne makes it a pleasure to engage in this hobby.

zybar · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Dec 2005, 12:16 pm »

Quote from: davehg

Wayne's deluxe PS came today; I am just about to hook it up. This follows delivery a few days ago of the SB3 digital only mods.

I'll have more to write about once the units have burned in and I have found the time to listen critically. A few thoughts for those on the fence, however.

1. Build quality on both the Deluxe PS and the digital only mods are, well, fantastic. Wayne uses the best parts, and the cables, connectors, and case are top notch.

2. This is the fourth product I have ordered from W ...

I agree that Wayne is a pleasure to deal with and is an excellent craftsman.

I also just received my deluxe PS and SB2 unit (with his stock digital only mods).

Wayne did mention that it takes quite a few hrs to break in the new PS, so it will be 2-4 weeks before I post any "critical" reviews.

George

Val · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 Dec 2005, 02:06 pm »

Another satisfied Bolder customer here.

I got my modded SB2 and its Deluxe PS, which looks huge and overkill besides the tiny SB2, yesterday. This was the last step needed for rebuilding my entire stereo audio system from scratch and taking the PC audio route, but it's sad that I can't start breaking it in until I move in early January.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 Dec 2005, 08:10 pm »

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Another Deluxe PS is on it's way to Australia. It will get there next week.

The last two will be shipped after the Christmas holidays.

The power suppy (both basic and deluxe) take about a full month of 24/7 use to fully break-in. The mods are pretty well done after about 2 weeks.

There will be a new offering of Deluxe power supplies next month. They will be built in a slightly larger case than the first six were. There will be many options available, such as Silver wiring, Bybee purifiers and Jensen four pole caps.

Each one will be custom built and START at about $400.00. There will be a delay of about 4-8 weeks from the time an order is placed to the time it is shipped.

tonyptony · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Dec 2005, 10:07 pm »

Hi Wayne. How would you differentiate the newer $400 base Deluxe PS from the Basic PS + bypass caps?

Wayne1 · « **Reply #5 on:** 31 Dec 2005, 12:19 am »

I haven't built any of the newer Deluxe supplies yet.

The biggest difference will be in the appearance. The Basic is in a plain grey box. The Deluxe is in a very nice, black, anodized aluminum enclosure. That is what eats up most of the cost difference.

The transformer is spaced further away from the active components. There is the ability to upgrade the filter caps to Jensen four poles.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, the Denver Audio Mafia will be trying to get together to listen to SB power supplies and mods. There should be a Basic Rev 1 PS there and the Ultimate PS and maybe one or two inbetween. I do not have any of the Deluxe PS left and I do not have any Basic Rev 1 PS built right now.

I have received some feedback that some folks who traded up from the original Basic do like the Deluxe quite a bit more.

tonyptony · « **Reply #6 on:** 31 Dec 2005, 02:30 am »

Thanks Wayne. I'll stay tuned for your announcements.

BTW, I was very interested in your other posting regarding the evaluation of the various power supplies, one of which could also be switched to a battery source. I wonder if you would elaborate a bit. I have had a long running opportunity to listen to gear which is alternately battery or AC powered - in particular one of Rowland's high end preamps. In this scenario I have always felt that Rowland's battery source always made the preamp sound better in just about every way. Now, I recognize the irony in trying to compare something like that to a relatively inexpensive battery supply for a SB, but in general I guess I'm wondering if the reason the battery supply did not do as well in your listening tests was due more to the design rather than the inherent use of a battery supply. Your thoughts?

zybar · « **Reply #7 on:** 31 Dec 2005, 02:37 am »

Quote from: tonyptony

Hi Wayne. How would you differentiate the newer $400 base Deluxe PS from the Basic PS + bypass caps?

Give me some time and I will post my thoughts as I have both for a bit.

In the short time I have had the Deluxe PS, I can say that there is a definite improvement in the overall sound and that I want to listen more.

George

DSK · « **Reply #8 on:** 31 Dec 2005, 05:15 am »

Quote from: Wayne1

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Another Deluxe PS is on it's way to Australia. It will get there next week....

The full mods (digital & analog) SB2 and Deluxe PS arrived safely Wayne!

For the moment, I have hooked it up directly to my AKSA N+ power amp. Signal strength from the wireless router upstairs (Netgear WPN824) is 80-85%, no dropouts at all. I have issued static IP addresses to SB, SlimServer, Router, and DNS server. Router is setup with WPA security, set for "11g only" devices, and to only allow the MAC addresses of the SB and my wife's laptop to connect to it. I have disabled volume manipulation and the digital volume control and use the SB remote for analog volume control.

Too early for in depth evaluation, but initial impressions are very good indeed ...large and enveloping soundstage, good image density, and lots of boogie.

I had it playing (downstairs) while I was upstairs on the PC. The wife called up to me to turn the music down. She nearly fell over when the volume instantly reduced (using SlimServer on the PC) without me coming downstairs or picking up the remote control

Many thanks Wayne, you are an absolute pleasure to deal with and have a great sounding package!

prpixel · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Feb 2006, 02:05 am »

I just wanted to drop you a line and tell you how much I'm enjoying my SB2 with the cap upgrade (platinum & gen2) and deluxe power supply. I let it burn in for 17 days before sitting down for some serious listening. I have to agree that the analog output sounds incredible. The sound stage is absolutely huge. I have hardly turned on the TV in three weeks and the Tivo and DVR are filled to the gills and I just don't give a damn. I am having soooo much fun rediscovering my music collection.

Thanks again,
Rolf