View Full Version : Rasberry Pi with MRCU power supply
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_wCQxK6SM_w/VTaFDfkVnFI/AAAAAAAAAgI/E_Q_eaQS2aw/w560-h372-no/mcru_parcel.png
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZT0x9umcYUI/VTaFDAqHKfI/AAAAAAAAAgE/M_ngpEEy-c8/w556-h369-no/mrcu_power_supply.png
I ordered a MCRU Regulated Linear Power Supply for Raspberry Pi + Pi 2 (http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/power-supplies/1088-regulated-linear-power-supply-for-raspberry-pi-pi-2.html), and it has arrived
I've just connected it up, and first impressions are another wow!
The most obvious improvement is to imagery. Stereo separation seems to have improved and each voice/instrument has a very solid position in the sound stage.
At the moment, I'm just enjoying the music. Once I've wiped the huge grin off my face I'll swap the battery back in and see how it compares. I'll also move over to an Isotek Mains lead, and move to one of my Isotek Vision power outputs, and see what difference that makes.
It looks like I'm in for another enjoyable evening of tinkering!
Nice one, Rob. I'm convinced that any properly designed and implemented linear PSU is capable of increasing the performance of the RPi, so enjoy! :)
I'm due to take delivery soon of one from Paul Hynes, which individually regulates different parts of the circuit of the Pi and IQ-Audio DAC - should be good... Full review (with pics) to follow :cool:
Marco.
Marco,
I'll look forward to seeing that review.
To be honest, I'm surprised how good the first impression are with this power supply. One of my main drivers was to remove the need to have to keep charging the battery. I thought there may be a small improvement, but I surprised just how good this is sounding.
I started listening to my Marantz N7004 / Peachtree DAC-IT combination again earlier (I was listening to wittertainment on Radio 5 via DAC), and afterwards rather than switch over to my Pi, I thought I'd just switch over to music streaming via the N7004. I then realised it would be easy to do a straight comparison. So I started both the N7004 and Pi playing Sting's "The Last Ship" at the same time. I could then switch between the two players by switching pre-amp input (ah! the wonders of having a pre-amp with a remote).
To get the two so they were playing at the same level, I had to put the Pi up to maximum PCM output and switch both playback options to 100%. Once that was done the output level for both were close.
Via the Pi, Sting's voice is richer, with more tonal subtlety. Via the N7004 his accent seems a little false or strained occasionally, but via the Pi it sounds consistently true. In the first couple of tracks, Sting's singing is augmented by an additional voice. On the N7004 you can hear the second voice come in, but it seems attached to Sting's voice - almost a thickening of his voice. On the Pi, it is more obviously two voices, and the tone of the second voice is clearer in its own right.
I started "The Night The Pugilist Learned How To Dance" on the NA7004 and it sounded fine. But around halfway through I switched to the Pi, and the pace seems to change. The music seems to gain a jauntiness that wasn't apparent via the NA7004. The Pi seems to give the music more pace; it makes the music more compelling.
At the beginning of "Ballad of the Great Easter" there is a drum in the background. On the NA7004 it is there, but it's a sort of generic drummy sort of thump. On the Pi the drum has real character - it sounds like a bodhrán (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhr%C3%A1n).
"What Have We Got" Two main male voices with a group of men backing. On the NA7004 that's all there, but it's not always obvious where one main voice and the other are stopping. Also the backing singers sound like they were recorded separately. On the Pi it much more obvious when one lead stops and another starts - or when they sing together. And the backing singers come into the room with the main singers - it all sound much more together.
Overall, the Pi sounds more musical and engaging than the NA7004/DAT-IT combo, with more richness in voices and instruments.
I see the Mains man (Longdog) has offered a single box unit at a slightly more affordable price.
Once my IQ Audio PI-DAC+ had arrived and I had explored what that offered I was pondering the single box version to see if the much enthused linear supply amazes over the standard wall wart. Any other affordable suppliers of linear PS for rPi?
I see the Mains man (Longdog) has offered a single box unit at a slightly more affordable price.
Once my IQ Audio PI-DAC+ had arrived and I had explored what that offered I was pondering the single box version to see if the much enthused linear supply amazes over the standard wall wart. Any other affordable suppliers of linear PS for rPi?
There's another affordable option Alan, the Pi-Dac sounds very nice powered via a battery...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/20000mAh-Multi-Voltage-Portable-External-Technology/dp/B00GSLRKJO/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1430578326&sr=1-8&keywords=anker+battery
...and it's pretty damned useful for holidays, festivals etc...:)
There's another affordable option Alan, the Pi-Dac sounds very nice powered via a battery...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/20000mAh-Multi-Voltage-Portable-External-Technology/dp/B00GSLRKJO/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1430578326&sr=1-8&keywords=anker+battery
...and it's pretty damned useful for holidays, festivals etc...:)
Will
That is an interesting alternative. I'd seen others mention battery but for some reason I got images of lead acid accumulators.
Will
That is an interesting alternative. I'd seen others mention battery but for some reason I got images of lead acid accumulators.
It's pretty sleek, and allegedly can provide up to 4.5 amps, a big improvement over the SMPS it replaced, but I haven't compared it to a decent linear...anyway it fits in very well with my grease proof kitchen setup...:)
Thebiglebowski
03-05-2015, 21:09
Are you using the hifiberry onboard DAC board as I can understand the benefit of a linear PSU with a DAC as it has an analogue output stage/amp and could be susceptible to noise in the power rail but with an external DAC the Pi would only be transporting digital messages in and out so how could a different PSU improve the sound?
NAS (digital) > LAN (digital) > Pi (digital) > USB (digital) > DAC (digital) > Amp via phono (analogue)
Yes, I am using an onboard DAC.
However, I find that good mains is beneficial in most places within my Hi-Fi system.
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