[eparson]

Hugh, when can your new Squeeze Box Power supply be purchased?  And do you know what the cost will be yet?  I can't wait to get my hands on your latest gem.  Thanks

everett

[AKSA]

Hi Everett,

First, let me say how delighted I was to meet you at RMAF - and my thanks for making the effort, I thought it a marvellous festival and met a lot of great people!

The new power supply will be $US690 ($AUD800) and will be available after Xmas.  I'm just working on an internal brace to keep things together during the football game of international transit!     I originally used an epoxy approach but it seems to easily come adrift, so, a brace is needed.

Thank you for your inquiry!

Cheers,

Hugh

[kyrill]

if you take S/PDIF out of the Squeezebox, you only have to mod the PWS? NO other mods required like for instance a more stable clock ?

[bhobba]

if you take S/PDIF out of the Squeezebox, you only have to mod the PWS? NO other mods required like for instance a more stable clock ?

Absolutely.  But evidently some mods to the power delivery to the on-board clock etc yields benefits.  Steve at empirical audio reports good results using his pacecar - but at a higher cost.  I am not 100% convinced the ultralow jitter he can achieve translates to audible benefits commensurate with the cost eg he achieves jitter less than 2ps, an unmodded Squeezebox has jitter less than 50ps which would come down with the mods and Hugh's better power supply.  One thing that has piqued my interest is if an outboard DAC or the internal DAC sounds better.  Listening done by Wayne showed, on the DAC's he tried it with, the outboard DAC sounded worse.  I have a theory that a highly up-sampling DAC such as the one found in the new Cambridge Audio CDP's will sound better that the on-board DAC, and once funds permit hope to put it to the test.

As you probably have guessed listening to music is very enjoyable for me, but tinkering with ideas really has me hooked.

Thanks
Bill

[jhm731]

if you take S/PDIF out of the Squeezebox, you only have to mod the PWS? NO other mods required like for instance a more stable clock ?

See:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=45330.0

[eparson]

Thanks Hugh, it was great to meet you as well and I really enjoyed listening to your products.  I look forward to purchasing your new power supply when it is ready. 

everett

[AliG]

I know someone who did a mod on SB3 that increases the jitter from below 50ps to around 100ps and it results in warmer sound - the kind of sound that many audiophiles would prefer over the stock SB3 

Absolutely.  But evidently some mods to the power delivery to the on-board clock etc yields benefits.  Steve at empirical audio reports good results using his pacecar - but at a higher cost.  I am not 100% convinced the ultralow jitter he can achieve translates to audible benefits commensurate with the cost eg he achieves jitter less than 2ps, an unmodded Squeezebox has jitter less than 50ps which would come down with the mods and Hugh's better power supply. 

[tanchiro58]

I know someone who did a mod on SB3 that increases the jitter from below 50ps to around 100ps and it results in warmer sound - the kind of sound that many audiophiles would prefer over the stock SB3  Surprised Surprised Laughing Laughing

Yes, it did to my modded SB2 with Newava pulse transformer and has a warmer sound than my modded SB3 with SC947-02. 

AliG would you explain this to me since I theoretically could not explain this. Thanks.

[bhobba]

I know someone who did a mod on SB3 that increases the jitter from below 50ps to around 100ps and it results in warmer sound - the kind of sound that many audiophiles would prefer over the stock SB3 

Now that is interesting.  I am not that convinced digital mods, other than the pacecar, is necessarily better.  I do know that replacing the switching power supply gets rid of grunge from the digital out - but whether that grunge is audible I don't really know - but aesthetically I don't like it.  I intend to feed it to an anagram DAC.  Anagram claim that their up-sampling technology is totally jitter proof.  I have read they tried everything under the sun to spoof it and nothing worked.  Jitter id basically determined by the clock in the DAC.

Thanks
Bill

[kyrill]

thx ppl

[jhm731]

I am not that convinced digital mods, other than the pacecar, is necessarily better. 

The mods Pat did to my SB3 as outlined in:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=45330.0

are a very big improvement over a stock SB3 with or without a linear PSU

PS- tanchiro58- in my SB3, the Newava pulse transformer doesn't sound warmer than the  SC979-03.

[bhobba]

Just a quick question for Hugh.  Has he had a chance to do any listneing tests of the Hologram using a separate DAC?  I suspect it will make a difference as I have seen a fair amount of 'grunge' on scopes of DAC out on the SB3 with the stock power.

Thanks
Bill

[AKSA]

Bill,

I have heard the SBIII with a Zhalou DAC, and would have to say it is better, particularly in the bass.

The power supply still made a huge difference, which surprised me.

Cheers,

Hugh

[bhobba]

The power supply still made a huge difference, which surprised me.

I am surprised as well at a technical level, in that I can't off the top of my head understand why - a bit of thought may yield a theory. At another level I am not, since I have heard similar reports of other power supplies - eg Wayne reported a similar effect feeding the digital in of a Panny. Slowly the exact shape of my system is emerging.  Thanks Hugh and everyone who is responding to my posts - it is, and undoubtedly will continue to be, a great help.

Thanks
Bill

[art]

I know someone who did a mod on SB3 that increases the jitter from below 50ps to around 100ps and it results in warmer sound - the kind of sound that many audiophiles would prefer over the stock SB3 

Yeah, if you don't know what you are doing. Which most mods fall into the category of. See the posts jhm731 refers to.

Especially the one where I suggest taking out the ferrite and leaving the rest alone.

Good luck to all.

Pat

[art]

I know someone who did a mod on SB3 that increases the jitter from below 50ps to around 100ps and it results in warmer sound - the kind of sound that many audiophiles would prefer over the stock SB3 

Now that is interesting.  I am not that convinced digital mods, other than the pacecar, is necessarily better.  I do know that replacing the switching power supply gets rid of grunge from the digital out - but whether that grunge is audible I don't really know - but aesthetically I don't like it.  I intend to feed it to an anagram DAC.  Anagram claim that their up-sampling technology is totally jitter proof.  I have read they tried everything under the sun to spoof it and nothing worked.  Jitter id basically determined by the clock in the DAC.

Thanks
Bill

They can be better, but usually are not. As for the "up-sampling" doo-hickey, that is a simplification of what they do. Yes, it determines the jitter, as they generate their own. An explanation of they work is beyond the scope of this thread. (No, I am not a fan of them. There are other solutions. Not necessarily better, just more to my liking.)

Pat

[bhobba]

They can be better, but usually are not. As for the "up-sampling" doo-hickey, that is a simplification of what they do.

Yes it is.

Yes, it determines the jitter, as they generate their own. An explanation of they work is beyond the scope of this thread. (No, I am not a fan of them. There are other solutions. Not necessarily better, just more to my liking.)

Sure.  Tons of ways of 'reducing' jitter, and replacing it with your own hopefully lower jitter solution.  What I like is how they also also 'upsample' the data using algorithms they believe sound better than oversampling.  If it does or not is something I eventually hope to put to the test.

Thanks
Bill

[bhobba]

I have heard the SBIII with a Zhalou DAC, and would have to say it is better, particularly in the bass.
Hugh

Have been looking at that Zhalou DAC.  Interesting DAC.  Did your feed your power supply into the DAC as well?

Thanks
Bill

[AKSA]

Hi Bill,

No, did not in fact......

Which makes an interesting conclusion, doesn't it?

Hugh

[bhobba]

No, did not in fact...... Which makes an interesting conclusion, doesn't it?

Sure does.  I haven't even come up with a theory yet.  A bit more time maybe - but as yet - zilch.  It was a long shot anyway as the DAC has its own transformer.

Thanks
Bill