Quiet power: batteries, power conditioners, and regenerators

virtue · « **on:** 15 Jun 2009, 04:37 am »

The Virtue ONE and TWO are extremely high resolution amplifiers. As such, they do a pretty good job of passing junk that comes in, right back out. That's why we chose low-noise regulated power supplies. However, customers have taken this to the next level by investing in in batteries, power conditioners and power regenerators. What have you tried? How much did you spend? What works best and where? When should a customer consider upgrading? How do these compare to the Virtue 130w power supply?

doorman · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Jun 2009, 04:13 am »

On my former t-amp (trends) the DC offset could be adjusted manually to lower the noise floor.
Does my V-1 have a similar feature?
I've only opened it up to switch the jumpers to by-pass the pot, I didn't poke around inside--
(my speakers are 94+db single driver-when music is playing there's no problem)
Thanks, Don

virtue · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Jun 2009, 04:21 am »

There are murata trim-pots on there and we set them at the factory. You may be able to tweak them but I don't expect much benefit. The amps are slightly more noisy than Trends, I've been told... theirs is a simpler design, less power, no sub, etc.

panomaniac · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Jun 2009, 12:17 am »

I don't think the DC offset will lower noise. It's good to have 0 DC for other reasons, but I don't think it helps noise any. Does it?

doorman · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Jun 2009, 03:57 am »

Quote from: panomaniac on 18 Jun 2009, 12:17 am

I don't think the DC offset will lower noise. It's good to have 0 DC for other reasons, but I don't think it helps noise any. Does it?

Don't know! Thanks for the reply(s) It's not really an issue, when music is playing it's completely irrelevant!
Don

panomaniac · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Jun 2009, 10:53 pm »

Just a quick note to say that clean AC power can make a HUGE difference to your sound quality. It's a must do if your home AC is at all suspect.

Good grounding is very important. If you don't know if the gorund is good where you are, have an electrician install a new one. I have a nice 8' ground rod no more than 6' from my audio AC supply and it is a wonderful upgrade.

I also suggest an isolation transformer. I bought and installed my own, but you can find "plug and play" versions for sale. Yet another big upgrade. I bought 2, one for the amps, one for everything else - but so far have used only one and am very happy. Mine are 570VA each. Far more than enough for my usage. Figure up the amount of wattage you think you use and double it for your VA rating. For most t-amp uses 150-250VA will be plenty.

panomaniac · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Jun 2009, 10:53 pm »

sorry -dup post

Welborne · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Jun 2009, 06:12 am »

I feed all the amps into my PS Audio Power Plant 500 power regenerator to get the cleanest and most stable power I can have.

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/rexk/IMG_2975.jpg[/img

Welborne · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Jun 2009, 06:13 am »

dcolak · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Sep 2009, 03:37 pm »

Quote from: panomaniac on 18 Jun 2009, 12:17 am

I don't think the DC offset will lower noise. It's good to have 0 DC for other reasons, but I don't think it helps noise any. Does it?

I measured left-right channel, one is 0-4mv and the other is 13-15mv...

Would like to make the other one 4mv too

Are these the trim-pots to use to lower the DC offset?

Which one is for the left channel and which one is for the right channel?

Thanks.

panomaniac · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 Sep 2009, 04:35 pm »

Yes, those are the DC offset trim pots.
The one in the bottom of your photo is for the top speaker connectors (Left).

The trim gets very, very touchy around the zero point. But you should be able to lower it some.

Jason T · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Sep 2009, 02:22 pm »

so far I've found that the power here in Edmonton, Alberta Canada is pretty quiet.
I have tried my Felix filters, a PS audio 300 re-generator and an upgraded 24v 250w PS all in different manners and really don't hear a big difference.

funny enough the Felix stops the same amount of noise as the PS Audio but wont regulate the voltage. the upgraded power supply I got was a little quieter than the stock 130w ps, the difference was tiny.

I'm still working on a battery setup

I spent about $40 building 3 Felix filters

and they are worth the money

droht · « **Reply #12 on:** 14 Sep 2009, 06:25 pm »

Would this battery pack have any applicability with Virtue amps?

http://www.woot.com/

Specifications:

Battery Cell: Lithium Polymer
Power Capacity: 18000 mAh @ 5v
Rated Input: DC 19V, Max 3500 mA
Rated Output: DC 5-20V, Max 3500 mA
Charge Time: ~4 Hrs
Duty Cycle: 500
Dimensions (W x L x H): 7" x 4 1/2" x 3/4"
Weight: 1 lb

ZLS · « **Reply #13 on:** 15 Sep 2009, 02:29 am »

Gentlemen,

Slightly off the beaten track, but hopefully relevant none the less.

Are you going to be offering a linear power supply for your Sensation Amplifier?

panomaniac · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Sep 2009, 03:15 pm »

We have thought about a linear supply and will probably build a prototype to test against large switch mode types.

I will be a few months before either are on the market, tho.....

JLM · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Sep 2009, 06:05 pm »

I've never had a problem with power abberations at home, but have heard it at an audiofest where nearby factories shut down at 11 PM (in an older industrial area of town) and the grunge suddenly went away.

When building my audio mancave I had (3) 20 amp circuits, each with a single cryo'd 20A duplex receptacle provided just for audio. The (3) circuits were given their own grounding rod. The home itself is 4 years old, out in the country with our own underground electrical service/transformer, all new appliances, and whole house surge protector. So I don't expect much trouble on this count.

At our previous address the house was in a 50 year old subdivision and the wiring was a rats nest with fuses (not breakers). Even then a friend's PS Audio Power Plant had little effect.

BTW I did try a popular battery powered T-amp while in both houses and didn't notice any improvements. So IMO this issue is very localized.

teraflame · « **Reply #16 on:** 4 Oct 2009, 06:39 pm »

Has anyone tried the GR Research Battery Power Supply Kit?

I'm curious to see if it really does make quite the improvement as he claims.

droht · « **Reply #17 on:** 4 Oct 2009, 07:04 pm »

Quote from: teraflame on 4 Oct 2009, 06:39 pm

Has anyone tried the GR Research Battery Power Supply Kit?

I'm curious to see if it really does make quite the improvement as he claims.

Curious about this as well. Also curious about how things are sounding at RMAF, where I think some of the Virtue gear is being powered by Red Wine Audio's new battery power supply. I'm guessing it will be a few times more expensive than the GR Research option though.

panomaniac · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Oct 2009, 04:34 pm »

I've used both and both are very good.
The Red Wine version is more "elegant" and has some nice features.
AFAIK, they use the same or similar batteries.

There is some info from me about the Red Wine stuff in the RMAF thread here and also on the Red Wine battery thread.

Mariusz · « **Reply #19 on:** 6 Oct 2009, 04:44 pm »

Quote from: droht on 4 Oct 2009, 07:04 pm

Quote from: teraflame on 4 Oct 2009, 06:39 pm
Has anyone tried the GR Research Battery Power Supply Kit?

I'm curious to see if it really does make quite the improvement as he claims.

Curious about this as well. Also curious about how things are sounding at RMAF, where I think some of the Virtue gear is being powered by Red Wine Audio's new battery power supply. I'm guessing it will be a few times more expensive than the GR Research option though.

It might be more expensive, however. If you consider possibility of powering two components from the same "black lightning" unit, cosmetics, smart board, customer support ( Vinnie might be able to change its output/voltage to accommodate future components/upgrades ) and warranty, it starts to look like an easy choice - at least in my eyes.

Mariusz