High End battery solution for the TC-7533 Bushmaster MKII

It will take a lot more money than that to beat the SQ of a fully charged battery. But those Chinese linear power supplies are not that bad. I have been using one.
But if you do not mind the complicated looks, then a laboratory power supply is worth considering. Such as http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-DC-Di...4AAOSwvzRXx~jt
I use one of those most of the time, set at 15V. They tend to have noise figures of 3mV or less, which surpasses any of the regular Chinese PSU discussed in this thread and others, but are about the same price!! Only the LDO (lurcher) and Mark Grant linear power supplies beat that 3mV noise level. For the cautious user who knows how to set the voltage level on the front panel, it is an option thinking about. I use my modified Capella at exactly 16V with my laboratory PSU.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StanleyB

It will take a lot more money than that to beat the SQ of a fully charged battery. But those Chinese linear power supplies are not that bad. I have been using one.
But if you do not mind the complicated looks, then a laboratory power supply is worth considering. Such as http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-DC-Di...4AAOSwvzRXx~jt
I use one of those most of the time, set at 15V. They tend to have noise figures of 3mV or less, which surpasses any of the regular Chinese PSU discussed in this thread and others, but are about the same price!! Only the LDO (lurcher) and Mark Grant linear power supplies beat that 3mV noise level. For the cautious user who knows how to set the voltage level on the front panel, it is an option thinking about. I use my modified Capella at exactly 16V with my laboratory PSU.

---

Thanks for the info and yes that's a challenging look!

If I can get a pointer towards a decent battery that's available and will do the job I think I'd be sorted, the idea of that appeals to me as just being right.

:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Duffy

Thanks for the info and yes that's a challenging look!

If I can get a pointer towards a decent battery that's available and will do the job I think I'd be sorted, the idea of that appeals to me as just being right.

:)

---

Yes I would second this

Just bought the Lab top PSU Stan linked to, Ill report my findings

I bought one of the 15V Chinese Linear PSU's Stan recommended. It arrived after several weeks and works very well with my SEG and sounds as good as when using an Anker battery.

About the same time, one of the Lithium Polymer batteries I was using to power my Temple Audio monoblocks swelled and died. After some research I bought a 16AH 12V Tracer Lithium Ferrophosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack (which actually puts out 12.8V). As an experiment I connected the SEG to this as well. I have to say the combination is exceptional - more dynamic sound, much wider and deeper sound stage. At over £200 the battery is not cheap but if you need one to power other components anyway its worth a try (Tracer sell smaller batteries down to 3.5 AH for £120, this is about the same AH capacity at 12V as a 10000 mAH Li Polymer battery).

Really interesting findings Alastair.
I also bought the LAB style linear PSU and the results compared to the standard PSU with the unit were much better than expected. I did cause some damage to my DAC though as I didn't set it up correctly.
Are you saying that the new battery that you bought is better than the Linear PSU?
Thanks mate, enjoy the experimenting.

Yes powering the SEG with the LiFePO4 battery is better than the linear PSU, which is certainly no slouch. I was also considering a Lab Style PSU to drive my monoblocks but for the current I would need, the PSU's kick out a lot of heat and had fans etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alp

I bought one of the 15V Chinese Linear PSU's Stan recommended. It arrived after several weeks and works very well with my SEG and sounds as good as when using an Anker battery.

About the same time, one of the Lithium Polymer batteries I was using to power my Temple Audio monoblocks swelled and died. After some research I bought a 16AH 12V Tracer Lithium Ferrophosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack (which actually puts out 12.8V). As an experiment I connected the SEG to this as well. I have to say the combination is exceptional - more dynamic sound, much wider and deeper sound stage. At over £200 the battery is not cheap but if you need one to power other components anyway its worth a try (Tracer sell smaller batteries down to 3.5 AH for £120, this is about the same AH capacity at 12V as a 10000 mAH Li Polymer battery).

---

Excuse my post if it is already discussed, but 58 pages is quite a lot to trawl through.

I wanted to second Alp's experience, but I do not have Beresford or Temple gear [yet] to give first hand comment.

I have tried both LiPo and LiFePO4 battery power on my music PC (12V), USB to SPDIF converter and a DIY chip amp. There is no question that LiFePO4 wins. Apart from inferior technology to LiPo, I think the Anker type LiPo packs are worse because of their built-in Battery Management System inside the pack. BMS is running all the time and adding 'noise'.

Unlike Alp, I am too mean to pay £200 or £120 on a ready-built LiFePO4 pack, which I am sure is very good. I made my own pack with the best LiFePO4 out there from A123 their 26650 cells. Nominal voltage is 3.3V, so four make a 12V(ish) pack.

If you look at the LiFePO4 specs - http://www.a123systems.com/Collatera...ta%20Sheet.pdf, they have really low internal ESR which enables them to put out prodigious power very quickly adjusting to demands from the attached gear. Also their Nano technology is inherently 'cleaner' low-noise. For digital equipment especially this is really beneficial.

Now for the [more] interesting bit. I 'float charge' them from a linear PSU (Maplin XM21X). Setting the voltage of the PSU to whatever you want (within the limits of the battery range of course), they are kept at optimum level and charge permanently. They will last more or less indefinitely if kept float charged too.

I was sceptical about float charging myself before trying it. After all, you are adding a charger in parallel to the batteries. So surely the mains noise is going to be getting through to the equipment attached? Well No - as far as I could hear. And it is easy to test by just switching off the charger whilst playing music. I have yet to detect any difference in SQ.

It's not all good news. You do have to build the pack. The cells are not easily soldered together and so cradles have to sourced and not many fit. Vaping companies actually are a good source. The A123 26650 cells are also difficult to source in UK. I was lucky and got some on Ebay. You're on your own with Chinese copies, whose specs are often not what they claim.

Just my tuppenceworth.

Jonathan, great to hear you have had good results with the LiFePO4. I am very impressed you have done a DIY job. My battery typically lasts about a week of use before recharging. The instructions with the Tracer warn against trickle charging (which I guess would be serial) but perhaps float charging being in parallel is OK. The Tracer battery is a sealed unit so I doubt I have that option. I recently splashed-out and bout a second battery, mainly give me two weeks between charges but it also gives noticeably more punch to the sound.