A little update on removing the power supply:

When I first installed my Timestep PSU I noticed an apparent increase in clarity, separation and smoothness of tone. A less congested sound if you like. It wasn't an enormous change, but it was a worthwhile one.

Subsequently I have heard people doubting that this improvement occurs. I have also heard it suggested that any improvement simply arises from removing the power supply.

Tonight I did an A/B comparison switching between stock Techie and DACMagic. Then I removed the power supply and put it in a separate box, and carried out the same A/B with the DACMagic.

The result, to my ears, was that while the stock Techie had sounded a bit congested with poor separation and stereo imaging, and a bit shrill compared to the DACMagic, after the power supply removal the Techie did better, in the same sort of way I had noticed with my original installation of the Timestep PSU.

In brief, now that I've done something resembling a real A/B comparison, I'm leaning towards the view that removing the power supply really does improve the deck, and I think it's not impossible that the lion's share, or even all of the improvement that people hear with custom power supplies is down to this step, rather than the power supply itself.

I'm not saying fancy expensive power supplies offer no improvement; I don't know the answer to that, and I need to do some more real A/B comparisons before I form a view. I'm just saying that I'm now pretty sure that you can have a significant part of that upgrade more or less for free, by just removing the transformer.