Jerry, that video is typical of the many scare videos on the 'net, it needs some perspective. You cant tar all Lithium batteries with the same brush!
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Jerry, that video is typical of the many scare videos on the 'net, it needs some perspective. You cant tar all Lithium batteries with the same brush!
With so many mobile phones and laptops using them I would be a bit cautious. Maybe it is time to get rid of that laptop and phone...
The final version of the MCRU / LDA power supply has now been finished and is ready for ordering, all existing orders will be sent the latest spec. which has been fine tuned by Nick with Stan's input for optimum sound quality. I will be listening myself as soon as I get time to go to Nick's den as he has the Bushmaster set up in his own system.
Here is a quick picture of the final design. Any existing users of our power supply's will know there are plenty of additional tweaks that can be performed to improve the performance even more, the up-grades are available at time of ordering on my website or there are simple ones you can do yourself such as fitting a better fuse or mains lead.
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/t...U/cc98a97c.jpg
Bernie has kindly offered to loan me his BM, so I'll be able to have a good listen in my own system over the weekend. Be a chance to see if there was a problem or mismatch at Gary's, as what we heard was not what most folk seem to be hearing.
Looking forward to your findings...Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
It could be the quality of Gary' mains supply as an example.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
I have been using a Musical Fidelity LPS phono stage until my own comes back from being reviewed and of course it uses a smps wall wart, my Isotek Sigmas has schuko sockets on the back so I had to plug the SMPS into a spare UK wall socket behind my rack, playing some vinyl all was well, when some schuko to UK adapters arrived that my wife ordered for our holiday I pinched one and plugged it into the back of the Sigmas and stuck the smps into that, beyond belief the improvement in the sound!
If you used a proper PSU for the bushmaster when you listened ignore the above! If you used a smps then it may be relevant.
There is no problem with the BM. The Rega Brio appears to have been set up for the Rega DAC. I have heard from several people with a Brio and a different amp who have checked the BM on both amps. They confirmed that BM and Brio don't like each other.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
Thanks for the order Jerry :)Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
UPS should be delivering today.
Ok Stan, I'll find out this afternoon.Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
Not the mains in this case, as other dacs we tried including a Caiman sounded great.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mains Cables R Us
Yeah..Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
was a level playing field for all the Dacs we tried, the BM, the Caiman and the Rega were all plugged into a Belkin PF30, which would have cleaned up the mains if there was any problem.
Ali's valve dac was plugged straight into the wall but that was the best sounding dac of the day!
Go figure. :)
The Brio amp is very transparent and not conspiciously bright tbh.
The rega dac was quite new though and theres been reports of it sounding bright until it burns in.
In our comparison it sounded smooth, rich yet very detailed.
So cant account for the BMs sound when we compared it, its just how it was on the day fella's.
Sorry!
Rega's kit does seem to have that synergy thing going on.Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
If you check you laptop and phone, it will have a lithium ion battery in it.Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
I think Stan may have had tongue firmly in cheek ;)
My mobile phone just exploded in my pocket :doh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Martinh
And my wristwatch started to smoke :lol:
I did realise that ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
add another to the list of duff battery chargers - after initial charging of the new battery I unplugged the charger from the wall and the live pin was left in the socket!! Oh well back to the SLA's.
So I've had a chance to do some listening to the BM powered by both the Li-ion battery (as "recommended" by Stan) and AC power with the Sbooster. I was comparing using my headphone setup only (Grado GS1000 via Graham Slee Solo SRG II/PSU1) - a setup I reckoned would be able to resolve any minor differences between the 2 different power supply scenarios.
To my ears the battery is inferior. Sound is thinner, bass is less extended, dynamics (PRaT) are suppressed and there is a clouding of detail with voices lacking emotion. Don't get me wrong it's not huge but it's definitely there (or not).
I will continue to use the Mains + SBooster.
Steve
Was it the new Brio Stan, the Brio-R?Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
This:
http://www.rega.co.uk/html/Brio-R.htm
This is the one we used.
I emailed Rega and they say that whilst listening tests were done with both components the amp was not specifically tuned to work with the Dac.
Just wondering. :)
+1 ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by worrasf
Hi Brian It is not a laptop but a slim server. it is running with 1 gig of ram. I have the teralink x2 usb audio converter with power supply.Quote:
Originally Posted by brian2957
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Teralink-X...item3a701b5d63
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Upgraded-P...item4603595b65
It works very well but will only play Sampling Rate up to 96kHz. That is not a problem to me as i don't have any higher rez files.
Thanks Mark. Package arrived yesterday. :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Grant
Mark kindly sent me a 12V and a 15V vesrion of his linear PSU + S-Booster package to try out, and return the one I don't want. :eek:
Only an hour or so one each as yet ....
The Bushmaster plus stock SMPS is excellent.
The cheapo Chinese battery pack (with now-failed recharger!) I found a bit better - yes, a slightly 'thinner' sound, but a bit more articulate and lucid.
Mark Grant's linear PSU + S-Booster is simply a major step up in sound quality. Playing one of my standard "test discs" (solo lute sonatas) I just laughed out loud, I have never heard anything approaching this level of insight into the playing before on any kit I have ever heard. Just astonishingly high resolution, but not 'hifi', just very very naturally musically rewarding.
I played some Big Music as well, of course. The opening movement of Mahler's 3rd symphony, Tennstedt's recording om EMI. Music doesn't come any bigger or better recorded than this imho. With the MG linear PSU the music has lost a layer of treble hash and forwardness that is now evident by its absence. The best just got better! Superb deep bass resolution and slam as well.
Differences between 12V and 15V? ... :scratch: ... hmm, I could possibly convince myself that the 15V had a slightly cleaner top end, with slightly more presence and more solid imaging. But I can equally believe that I am just listening a bit too hard for differences! Without a doubt, both are truly excellent with the BM DAC.
Much more listening to do, of course. :) ... and a big thanks to Mark for his superb service. :thumbsup:
That's probably the most fitting description of the Bushmaster.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
That's exactly the reaction I had with the Linear psu I tried ...Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Like a little excited kid I was! :)
Thanks Dave .You have PM.Quote:
Originally Posted by bostod
Brian.
Bollux, just went upstairs for a minute, came back down and a postcard from the post office ... Saying couldn't deliver my parcel and sorting office will have it on Monday. Nobody in sight down the road.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamish
It's my LDA linear PSU from Mains Cable (David)made by Nick
Arrrghh... grrrrrrr
Absolutely gutted!
Mine is back with nick at the mo for its upgrade to BM spec!
So your not the only one doin without ..
Not that doing without is a bad thing really ... I'm listening to leftfield at the moment 'el cid' to be precise ... It sounds awesome psu or no psu
These speakers of mine might not have the low end kick of bigger drivered version but they dont half make the place vibrate with the bm and this sort of music ... Especially when Connie turns up the volume. (she seems to be attracted to the silver shinney volume control... she is currently jiggling on the floor to 'Afrika shox' )
Well... I'm getting more pissed off by the second. Was just enjoying a bit of Goldfrapps Seventh Tree. The BM really makes musical sense of this album, the bass lines just drive some tracks along. So why pissed off? Cos I've been asked to turn the volume down because my 23 and 20 year old 'kids' didn't get to bed until 4 this morning.
Mumble mumble... Grumpy old man mode.. Making life too bloody comfortable for 'em.
Kick 'em out!
I've been warned the "terrible teens" actually last for ten to fifteen years....
Tell em bolocks! It's not your fault they are enjoying thier youth ;)
It seems to make musical sense of most things ...
I've had goldfrapp (funnily enough) 'head first'
Days of the new 'days of the new'
Daft punk 'discovery'
Leftfield 'leftism'
And now smashing pumpkins 'siamese dream'
Ive not thought anything other than happy thoughts about any of it so far
'today' by the smashing pumpkins is currently blasting out the speaks with aparent ease ... It's actualy a good test of good hifi IMO - how much of the emotion you can hear Billy Corgan's voice on this album... My set up is now doing an admirable job of it I think!
Of cours nothing has yet beaten the Naim CD555 nac52 and nap500's with all the relevent psus actively powering Naim dbl's ... But then I don't have c'£150,000 to spend on hifi or c,£500,000 for a house to put it in ... So I'll just have to be happy with the remarkable job this little £200 dac is doing of getting me closer to that stupidly out of reach (wouldn't even happen even if I did have the money) dream :)
Just busy listening to the prototype Nick kindly sent me try out for him, will post my honest thoughts and review when I have finalised my opinion on the unit...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mains Cables R Us
As my wife put it... It's nature's way of helping you to let go. Insert friggin smiley face.Quote:
Originally Posted by DSJR
If anybody has the 15v improved Caimen PSU it's worth getting a new 2.1mm plug fitted to it and then using it with the BM. I don't know if its the increased voltage or a better quality PSU but it makes a very worthwhile improvement to SQ across the board...
My old man used to mow the lawn on a Saturday morning outside my window after a Friday night out! If they don't like it they can always go live somewhere else! :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveW
I did a comparison between the BM with standard PSU (good), added Mark's SBooster (better), which definitely makes a difference to me. The higher frequencies especially seem to be a lot smoother sounding to my ears. I then tried my home built 15v Caiman PSU (with a Paul Hynes regulator board fitted) and this sounded better again. Music seemed to just have a bit more impact, if that makes sense. Sorry, hifi speak is only my 2nd language. :lol:
I also have the battery pack but I haven't given that a lot of comparison. It does sound pretty good though on it's own but I haven't done any direct comparisons.
One think is for sure with the BM. Power supply definitely makes a difference to the sound produced. :)
Anybody tried SBooster with Battery if that makes sense?
It doesn't make any sense, a battery will be lower noise and impedance if chosen correctly. use one or the other, but using battery to power a psu is just throwing away stored energy in un-required stages of further regulation. Been there, done that, measured it, moved back to a good regulated supply.
I was wondering if the SBooster would make an improvement to the Hynes regulated PSU. I haven't tried that one yet. I'll have to check with Mark Grant to make sure it can take 16v first.
Just a question about the Sbooster, can use the Bushmaster sBooster switch with my Caiman DAC?
Thanks
It can.Quote:
Originally Posted by Canetoad
Different sized connector.Quote:
Originally Posted by audionewbi
What colour is the band of the connector that fits the Bushmaster?
http://shop.rabtron.co.za/catalog/im...ug%203.5mm.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Fi-Wi
The postmen don't even knock on the door these days, they arrive with the red card ready!Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveW
Grrrhhhhh I paid extra so you would get it for Saturday, never mind!
They stroke the door ...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mains Cables R Us
I cant understand how often this sort of thing happens ... they make more work for them selves??? It makes no sense!
We have a massive brass knocker on our door ... the amount of time they dont use it is madness ... this is why i get everything delivered to work... that and so the missis doesnt see parcels before i do!
Thanks anyway Dave !!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mains Cables R Us
I'll pick it up in the morning.. What really grates though, is that I am away all week... Although the up side is that on weds at Glyndbourne pretending that entertaining clients counts as 'work'.
Look forward to hearing what Hamish is on about.
You can get a 2.1mm to 1.3mm DC power adapter of Ebay for a few £Quote:
Originally Posted by audionewbi
I was looking for the opposite but could only find the above...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-Power-S...ht_1508wt_1145
I take this back. I must learn not to try and evaluate kit when the family is in the house, too distracting.Quote:
Originally Posted by NRG
In fact the stock supply is slightly better! :doh: There is slightly more detail and insight than the Caimen supply...it's subtle but it's there...waiting for the sbooster to turn up....
For testing the evaluation PSU Nick had kindly sent me to evaluate I had the Stan provided PSU, a 13v 1amp hefty PSU I had "discovered" at work and Nick's evaluation unit.
The qualities Nick's PSU has above the others is ultimately it is cleaner sounding, its not as brash as the Stan unit, the hefty one isn't far off Nick's so I am guessing it is a Linear supply, hence the clean audio.
As a consequence of this cleansing of the audio signal you can interpret low level detail slightly better, perhaps its more coherent and better organised if you know what I mean...
Its also less fatiguing as well, I was sat listening to one of my reference CD's (The Art of Noise's Seduction of Claude Debussy) and I was not finding it hard work.
I think the stock Stan unit you get is louder, I would say by about 1dB or so (my Leema amp has 0.2dB volume steps), and I mentioned previously to Nick the low level detail is there with the stock unit, it just gets uncongested with the higher spec PSU.
Ultimately I guess the question would be “would you buy one”? I am unsure on this, don't get me wrong it does make a difference but I wouldn't say it made a £200 difference like the Squeezebox Touch power supply made, its better but its not jaw dropping difference better than the Touch one.
I guess this is a testament as well to Stan's DAC design more than anything, as it must have a good noise rejection front end that cleans up as much as it can before it gets to the audio parts.
Russ
Hope this is relevant but I found with my Caimanised 7520 that feeding it 16.3v DC (from a linear PSU followed by a JLH Ripple Eater) actually improved the SQ to my ears. Stan recommended that as the maximum it would take and I have been feeding it 16.3v for well over a year now with no apparent ill effects :) .Quote:
Originally Posted by NRG
Dave.