Page 1 of 2

Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 1:02 am
by Sloop John B
Okay, VERY limited knowledge, but seem to come across exhortations to try linear power supplies at every turn.

My setup is an Intel NUC running Roon (win 10) on a SDD and storing music on a SD. (Via Ethernet to a ultraRendu into Singxer into Holospring DAC).

So is there a good reason to try a linear power supply on the NUC?

If so what (off the shelf) supplies would you recommend?

Thanks


.sjb

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:42 am
by nige2000
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2906
https://www.hdplex.com/hdplex-fanless-2 ... evice.html

ebay is swamped with them too
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=l ... v&_sacat=0

results will be limited id guess,
by the on board regulators of the nuc
however improvements should be easily noticeable
id give it a go

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:05 am
by Sloop John B
There is an option for DC-ATX converter, what is this? Do I need it? Might I need it?

Thanks

.sjb

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:20 am
by nige2000
Nope that's for atx compliant motherboards
Of no use as all the dc to dc conversions is done in the nuc

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:10 am
by rickmcinnis
Something to consider:

If you are not space or energy conscious try a brute force LCLCLC supply. Tune it with the bleeder resistor so it is throwing away some power - thin of it as a crude shunt reg not for something to just discharge the caps.

If your line voltage is fairly stable to will get a very stable voltage that will only vary in proportion.

There are plenty of regulators that will follow and cascaded regulators are rarely a good idea. Ever a good idea? Not talking about specs, but how they sound.

I know every time I replace a regulator with a super stiff brute force supply the music sounds better. I contend regulators throw something into the mix just like digital does - it's in there and of course there are the frequency balance changes that regulators can/do (take your choice) cause.

Could very well be absurd. But you could always re-use the components in some other part of your system.

Regulators, like toroid transformers, are good for packaging and cost savings.

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:28 am
by nige2000
rickmcinnis wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:10 am Something to consider:

If you are not space or energy conscious try a brute force LCLCLC supply. Tune it with the bleeder resistor so it is throwing away some power - thin of it as a crude shunt reg not for something to just discharge the caps.

If your line voltage is fairly stable to will get a very stable voltage that will only vary in proportion.

There are plenty of regulators that will follow and cascaded regulators are rarely a good idea. Ever a good idea? Not talking about specs, but how they sound.

I know every time I replace a regulator with a super stiff brute force supply the music sounds better. I contend regulators throw something into the mix just like digital does - it's in there and of course there are the frequency balance changes that regulators can/do (take your choice) cause.

Could very well be absurd. But you could always re-use the components in some other part of your system.

Regulators, like toroid transformers, are good for packaging and cost savings.
think its the esr

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:44 am
by rickmcinnis
I wish all that mattered was ESR.

Sure would make things easy.

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:30 am
by nige2000
wasnt suggesting esr was everything
just
if you use super low noise regulation or shunts
which would be super on devices with a relatively stable current demands
but on dynamic loads like a-b amplifiers, digital circuits, computers (like this nuc) etc demands they wont have the speed or power to respond
so hugely oversized traffo LCLCLC supply for this id say is a good option
nuc will probably work fine with a range 15-20vdc

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:06 pm
by randytsuch
I'm planning to try rcrcrc circuits where I need higher voltages (over 15V) when its costly and complex to put a bunch of batteries in series.
Simple and cheap to try and see what happens.

Re: Linear power supply - now go easy on me!

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:37 pm
by nige2000
randytsuch wrote: Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:06 pm I'm planning to try rcrcrc circuits where I need higher voltages (over 15V) when its costly and complex to put a bunch of batteries in series.
Simple and cheap to try and see what happens.
I wouldn't waste too much of your money on that
if your expecting to get close to the results of a lifepo4 battery pack
There will still be no comparison