The efficacy of running upgraded power supplies to a NAS

or. PC for that matter? Don't these chingaderas make so much noise that the power input is irrelevant?

Comments

  • Moose68Bash
    Moose68Bash Posts: 3,842
    I hope somebody who knows his/her stuff replies to your question. I've been thinking about getting a linear power supply for my NAS, which now has a "wall wart" switching power supply. I've heard that the linear power supplies provide much cleaner power, at the cost of lower efficiency, larger size, and higher cost.
    Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.

    Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One.

  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    What, no one? This place has changed lol
  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,760
    edited February 2019
    My advice is try it to see and hear if there is an improvement.

    My NAS is connected to an AC regenerator, as is all the gear in my home theater system. I have done studies comparing my former plasma TV and current Oppo Blu-ray player's picture quality with and without the AC regenerator, but I have not done such a study with my Synology NAS.

    One thing to consider is that Ethernet, by design, is a very low noise transmission method. Ethernet connections are galvanically isolated, meaning they are transformer coupled with no electrical connection between the Ethernet cable and the device the cable plugs into. This provides protection against data being corrupted by noise. Even with galvanic isolation, some noise gets through, but it should not be enough noise to be audible or visible.
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    I should probably stop looking for nickel and dime upgrades huh?
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,922
    Assuming that the component in question is lookin' for DC power input -- I'd opine that good stiff, quiet linear P/S with plenty of current capacity is always gonna be the way to go.

    Try an EICO 1064 :)

    I have my father's.

    11np9d7rv0e5.png

    (this is a borrowed image, though)
  • delkal
    delkal Posts: 764
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Assuming that the component in question is lookin' for DC power input -- I'd opine that good stiff, quiet linear P/S with plenty of current capacity is always gonna be the way to go.

    Try an EICO 1064 :)

    I have my father's.

    11np9d7rv0e5.png

    (this is a borrowed image, though)

    Very nice...............But you can only use that power supply if you don't have kids. Someone will turn that knob when you are away and not listening.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,922
    Well, that could be a problem...
  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,760
    One thing to consider is that Ethernet, by design, is a very low noise transmission method. Ethernet connections are galvanically isolated, meaning they are transformer coupled with no electrical connection between the Ethernet cable and the device the cable plugs into. This provides protection against data being corrupted by noise. Even with galvanic isolation, some noise gets through, but it should not be enough noise to be audible or visible.

    Well, it turned out that the noise that gets past Ethernet's galvanic isolation is audible and visible.

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/186482/teradak-linear-power-supplies-for-synology-nas-units#latest

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/185642/teradak-dc-30-linear-power-supply-review/p1

    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,922
    edited May 2019
    There's noise and there's noise.
    The kind of noise that plagues us in the analog domain is irrelevant to DSP -- thus do we live in a world where amplitude modulated radios (e.g.) are more or less useless in a normal home environment due to the RFI crud from our "technology".

    Do we need AM radios in 2019. Well -- no, not really. Do we need the RFI "hash", perpetually, in our environments. Well... probably not. Is it 'bad' for us? Time will tell.

    Have some fun -- if you still have an AM radio :p turn it on and put it close to the CPU on your computer (or phone).