Doesn’t the device you’re powering ‘decide’ how much amperage it requires from the power supply you’re powering it with?
That’s correct, just like speakers decide how much wattage to pull in. Recall wattage = current x voltage – all observations I’ve seen suggest that having excess available wattage (“headroom”) is necessary to aptly handle strong musical transients.
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I have run the LPS 1.2 at 7 and 9 volts, preferring 9.
I have run Sbooster +ultra at 7 and 9 volts, again preferring 9.
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The Matrix SPDIF 2 has these requirements:
External power supply: DC 6~9V，≥800mA
Even the low amperage UpTone LP 1.2 has 1.1 amps which is 37.5% more power than the Matrix SPDIF 2 requires.
People need to understand that with the power regulation that is occurring, when using 7v or 9v powers supplies, only 5v (+/- 1%) is being passed on to the circuitry that manages the digital signals and data.
The power regulation circuit works harder and has to dissipate more heat when converting 9v to 5v than when converting 7v to 5v. Again, only 5v (+/- 1%) is being passed along. It’s not 5.8v when using a 9v power supply and 5.2v when using a 7v power supply.
The LDO(s) used in the power regulation circuit of Matrix SPDIF 2 are said to be “ultra low noise” type. It seems, based on the specs I have seen, that quality LDOs do not generate more noise when regulating higher voltages. They certainly don’t generate less.
So, the only byproduct of the power regulation process that would be different between 7v and 9v is more heat. More heat is not better. The voltage coming out of the power regulation circuit is not changing between 7v and 9v.
That may be true, but I’m pretty sure all my equipment needs a certain heat level, particularly the tubes, to operate at peak performance.
So, is the question, then, how much heat is ideal?
edit: The reason I put out the survey was to identify any patterns in observations. If higher voltage/current tends towards improved sound, it stands to reason that the culprit – heat – may be a factor in sound quality, specs be damned.
Uptone LPS 1.2
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No, the difference is expectation bias…
IC’s are not tubes…jeez.
Fair enough, my tubes do heat up alongside all its solid-state counterparts, so all I see is the emergent behavior of the system… which is to say my system consistently sounds better when it’s warmed up.
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I use Uptone LPS 1.2.
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So with the exception of aangen who also mentions sbooster everyone who says they prefer 9 over 7 (me included) is using LPS 1.2. This is not particularly conclusive that it’s the matrix that likes 9V. It could still be the LPS1.2
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I recall a few people who did not prefer 9 over 7 or 5 even with the LPS 1.2.
But everyone can have an off day I suppose.
Just tried for a long time 9V setting with LPS 1.2 and I still feel like 7V setting sounds better,more natural to me. I power LPS 1.2 by Hdplex200 12V variable output and use Zenwave upocc silver dc to LPS 1.2 and Ghent Gotham dc cable to Matrix…at the moment.
When I get couraged enough,will remove LPS 1.2 and try just Hdplex200 powering Matrix with 7.5 and 9 volt settings…but last time I did it,I preferred Uptone 1.2 in the chain.
Sure, even my solid sate amps sound better after they warm up. But, there is a difference between the circuits being up to nominal operating temperature (warmed up) and the extra heat generated by the LDOs. In other words, if you use a heat gun to apply heat an already “warmed up” Matrix SPDIF 2, it is not going to magically sound better.
Why do you think main frame computers and servers in data centers are kept in temperature controlled environments? If integrated circuits liked heat, that would not be required.
Well, why not? What data is there to suggest the Matrix isn’t operating at an optimal heat load when operating at the upper end of it’s specified voltage range?
I happen to run data center cages in a past life, so I have immediate experience with what you claim. Suffice to say, servers and a Matrix are leagues apart in construction and function. It’s a bad analogy.
Not really, they are both solely in the digital domain. Warmed up amps are squarely in the analogue domain
I used to own over 500 servers in a data center and ran them so I also know of what I speak. The Matrix SPDIF is effectively a fanless custom computer. Computers prefer a cool environment as the chips generate their own heat. General purpose computers have fans because of the amount and density of chips. Convection is not usually enough to dissipate the heat.
A digital device with clocks like the Matrix SPDIF 2 needs the clock chips to come up to nominal temperature. That requires no outside heat source to accomplish. Just some warmup time. None of the chips used in the Matrix SPDIF 2 need extra sources of heat to reach nominal operating temperature. In fact, since it does not have a fan, it was important to design the Matrix SPDIF 2 so that it did not get too hot. I am sure that is why it has the case design that it has. That aluminum brick is great at dissipating heat.
Again, the voltage fed into the Matrix SPDIF 2, whether it 7v or 9v, is regulated down to 5v BEFORE it gets to any of the DDC circuits. The difference between 7v and 9v is just some heat at the LDOs. That heat difference at 9v is a not a positive for the device. All it will do is shorten the life of chips on the main board.
What are LDOs?
Google is your friend…
Low-DropOut regulator…
A low-dropout regulator can take input voltage much closer to the target voltage than a non-LDO.
Thanks for the info but I could have done without the sarcastic “Google is your friend.”
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Thanks for explaining why the data center example is a bad analogy.
I look forward to seeing how others fare with their voltage journeys.