[emac]

As Wayne had mentioned in his thread:  http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=68781.0
that he's taken a Parts Express variable power supply that could be used for the Squeezebox Duet and modded it.  I've had this puppy for a little while now, so it's probably a good time to do a review of it.  The reason for the delay is that I couldn't find the stock power supply (PS).  I've been using a Jensen JEN1700 PS, which is about $25 at Best Buy.  I found the Jensen to be a step up in most areas from the stock PS, so the stock one hasn't been used in a while.  But I found the stock PS today, so all is good.

Anyway, I'll start w/ the comparison of the stock PS to Wayne's PE PS.  When I put the stock PS in, it sounded different.  It took me a few switches back and forth to be able to describe these differences.  The sound was sharper through the stock PS.  But not naturally so.  It almost seemed to be artificially distinguishing between the sounds rather than letting them flow naturally.  Also, the stock PS didn't allow for the same depth and breadth of the soundstage that I was used to.  And the sound was less rich and less musical.  So, the presentation was sharper w/ the stock PS, but lacking in a number of different areas.  Overall, I felt more relaxed and was better able to get into the vibe of the sound through Wayne's PS.  Pretty easy to say that Wayne's is the better of the 2 power supplies and consistent across a number of different tracks from a number of different styles (ranging from rock to pop to electronic).

I figured that the comparison between Wayne's PS and my Jensen PS would be more interesting, and it was.  When I did this comparison, the results were closer than when I used the stock PS, but relatively similar to what I'd found before.  While the Jensen PS is better in most ways than the stock PS, the sound character had more in common w/ the stock PS than Wayne's.  The Jensen PS was sharper while Wayne's was more musical, more relaxed, and presented a better soundstage.

So, my overall conclusions are that Wayne's modded Parts Express power supply is clearly better than the stock power supply and also better than the Jensen power supply that I'd been using.  Now that I have done these tests, Wayne's power supply will be staying in my system for the foreseeable future.   

[Wayne1]

Ed,

Thanks for posting your comments about the differences in power supplies in your system.

Are you using the stock DUET with digital output into a DAC or HT receiver or the analog output into a pre-amp/amp?

I will be adding the mods to the Parts Express power supply to the BOLDER Cables website this week. The pricing will be $100.00 for the mods and $50.00 for the DC cable.

[Nuance]

Thanks for the info, emac.  I hope to be sending my PE power supply to Wayne for the mods in the near future.

[emac]

Ed,

Thanks for posting your comments about the differences in power supplies in your system.

Are you using the stock DUET with digital output into a DAC or HT receiver or the analog output into a pre-amp/amp?

I will be adding the mods to the Parts Express power supply to the BOLDER Cables website this week. The pricing will be $100.00 for the mods and $50.00 for the DC cable.

Sorry.  Forgot to add that info.  I am using a glass toslink (which works pretty well IMO) to an Outlaw 970/7125 combo to a pair of AV123's X-Omni's w/ upgraded crossover by the Skiing Ninja.  And there's a UFW-12 as a sub.  Danny Richie's pair of demo O-3's will be here tomorrow, so they'll be taking the place of the X-Omni's.