TOPIC:

what are the differences on the power supply for SHD vs SHD Studio, other than one is internal and one external?

minidsp replied to my email w same question. They wrote:

"The SHD Studio and SHD actually don’t share the same power supply section at all.
- The SHD Studio is an all digital unit, it’s therefore not requiring the same split rail supply that any analog unit would need (+/-15V). The power supply is an external brick
- The SHD is an analog + Digital unit and has an internal Switched mode regulated supply.
Knowing the SHD Studio is all digital, you’d want to pay attention to the power supply of your 3rd party DACs for your concerns I believe."

Yes, the power supply can be important to SQ not only for the streamer (SHD and SHD Studio), but also for the DAC.

I guess it is a switched power supply with digital regulation (hence digital power supply?) But regardless, after this post, I have since become satisfied that the SHD Studio power supply is very very good.

so what about the SHD PSU? I got that one today and up to now I never changed the PSUs, still I'm thinking about doing that if there might be a substantial benefit in SQ.

Mantobo wrote:

so what about the SHD PSU? I got that one today and up to now I never changed the PSUs, still I'm thinking about doing that if there might be a substantial benefit in SQ.

@ Mantobo,

Sure, it's possible to modify the internal power supply but you're obviously taking this at your own risk and will void warranty if any damage done.. You can see the model number and re-engineer the specs from the box.. Best that we don't get involved, aka at your own risk..

DevTeam

One thing that separates ultra high end products is precision power regulation. So upgrading the power supply normally would be a great place to start...normally. But honestly , with the already excellent, IMD, SNR, Frequency response etc. I really don't think that you would gain too much in terms of audible improvements. Any improvements that you would gain by improving the power supply would definitely be measurable but I really don't think they would be audible to the human ear.

This is a well-designed piece of gear and it's been my experience that the best place to upgrade power supplies is with power amplifiers ...that's where I've noticed the most Improvement for my efforts.

As an example...I used to own a Lynx HILO for ADC/DAC and the SHD replaced it because it measures and sounds noticeably better.

The lynx unit costs more than twice as much as the shd and it has extremely accurate , super quiet , state-of-the-art power supplies ... they're made specifically as quiet as they can be because the HILO is designed/used for studio mastering..

With all the extra effort placed into the power supply, and the top grade internal components used , it still does not sound better than the shd. That's not only my opinion...btw... I've had dozens of friends over (2 of which are recording engineers) and they all agree the shd Beats it hands down. .

See attached measurement images and get more detailed measurements/context for the measurements and how they measure up to similar DSP processors and or DAC by going here........
www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.p...p-and-streamer.4286/

Would the SHD Studio benefit from a high quality linear power supply like an SBooster? Or something cheaper like an iFi iPower ?

petersv wrote:

Would the SHD Studio benefit from a high quality linear power supply like an SBooster? Or something cheaper like an iFi iPower ?

Read Amirs quote above and save yourself some money.

yeah tbh, i'm stubborn : )

So against common and popular belief, I seriously do believe that the miniDSP SHD Studio's audio quality is definitely impacted by the quality of the power supply.

Now, the SMPS included with the SHD is a USD$2.78 power supply by a generic Chinese company called E-Tek.

I decided to order a cheap iFi iPower 12V supply and it immediately made a significant, noticeable impact to audio quality of my SHD Studio.

Immediately improved sense of ease, larger sound stage, better focus. I will admit though that the SHD Studio is less prone to poor quality SMPS than any other digital source device i've used before... so yes, I believe this can make a large impact on quality.

I believe though that having Ethernet exclusively and no WiFi option is the single largest element that holds back the Studio's sound quality.

I've tried FMCs (connected via Linear PSUs), Ethernet noise filtering, Wireworld Starlight CAT8 audiophile network cables, high end coax cables (Wireworld Starlight Platinum coax) etc... in the end I found the largest improvement came with the cheapest devices - a $49 switch - TRENDNet TEG-S50g connected via a $50 iFi iPower 5V low noise psu.. wmmv

At Hans Beekhuyzen youtube channel, he reviewed the SHD Studio and commented on power supply tests in the comments.


In the comments, BB (me) asked about the power supply. Hans wrote "...Using it (SHD Studio) with the Syntaxx did not bring improvement." It blew my mind because in numerous other reviews by Hans, the Syntaxx and Sbooster and iFI all made improvements to these types of line level devices.

In other reviews, Hans says the Syntaxx is better than SBooster, and both are better than iFi SMPS. But you found the iFi SMPS made a clear improvement. Very interesting.

ya, that was the video I watched before deciding to buy a Studio ... I’ve also got a few comments with Hans in those comments

the network input/switch for me was where most of my jitter / noise issues were arising from with the SHD, after that was improved the improvements by switching out the ETek were even more noticeable.

Everyone’s system and ears are different ... and sometimes some bottle necks are not noticed or identified until other larger performance inhabiting constraints are addressed first .

xrqp wrote:

In the comments, BB (me) asked about the power supply. Hans wrote "...Using it (SHD Studio) with the Syntaxx did not bring improvement." It blew my mind because in numerous other reviews by Hans, the Syntaxx and Sbooster and iFI all made improvements to these types of line level devices.

Maybe Beaky has finally realised that its speakers and room interaction that makes by far the biggest difference in audio and not the ubiquitous linear PSU powering digital only devices that don't produce analogue audio signals!

I am sure Beaky has realized for over 30 years that speakers and room interactions are most important.

I am glad Beeky uses listening tests to see if different PSUs make a difference.

Any changes to noise and/or jitter as a result of changing the power supply of a digital only device like SHD studio or the DAC itself, will be measurable in the connected DAC's output.

Given he has an audio analyser on his desk, perhaps it would be more useful if he used it for once and publish some measurements as proof rather than carry out subjective sighted listening tests, which he of all people should realise are fundamentally flawed.

DNM wrote:

Given he has an audio analyser on his desk, perhaps it would be more useful if he used it for once and publish some measurements as proof rather than carry out subjective sighted listening tests, which he of all people should realise are fundamentally flawed.

+1!

Dave.

DNM wrote:

Given he has an audio analyser on his desk, perhaps it would be more useful if he used it for once and publish some measurements as proof rather than carry out subjective sighted listening tests, which he of all people should realise are fundamentally flawed.

Proving what measurement of certain units is (like noise, distortion, jitter) is good to do, but does not prove good sound. Beeky has done both measurements and listening and has experience in the strengths and weaknesses of both. Listening tests are subjective, and have weaknesses, but are important, and good to do. Time is limited, so we do what we think is best, and can not do everything.