TOPIC:

Has anyone used a Linear power supply with your MiniiDSP SHD.

If so which one did you use and was there  difference in what you hear.

I am particularly looking to enhance my sound stage and have read that sometimes a linear power supply helps

System:

Audirvana Studio via ethernet to MiniDSP
XLR out to Schitt Freya S, RCA out to Decware Torii Jr V2
out to La Scalas

Thanks'


 

Hey regarding a linear supply for the mini DSP shd it is possible to use it but not an external one. This device is designed with the smps internally . I haven't looked inside of my unit but I suspect it probably uses an off-the-shelf switching Supply made by a company called meanwell 
 these are pretty good power supplies in and of themselves most of them average anywhere from 50 to 100 millivolts of Ripple Peak to Peak.  Now I'm more than certain given the specifications of the SHD with SINAD north of 115dB, that they're not just using it in stock format.  They're using additional capacitors for filtration as well as several layers of LDO'S.  Point being is by the time these guys are done filtering and cleaning up this thing , it is probably giving them a very clean power source of less than 1mv pk/pk Ripple + Noise for both the digital Supply and analog supply. Now that being said keep in mind that if you were to use a linear Supply you'd have to bypass this internal one and then as far as benefits go,  you're not going to see any perceived benefits on the digital side at all. You might get a little bit of benefit very negligible if any at all if you were to add a really well made linear Supply on the analog side but ...there's nothing really commercially available!  For that I would recommend, if you were to go that route, is to  remove the existing Meanwell power supply and purchase a different one one that's smaller that only outputs a single bipolar voltage necessary to power only the digital side;  then you can  build yourself a linear Supply to power the analog side. But going through all of that hassle,  you're not going to see a lot of improvement so it's  probably not even worth it.  It's been my experience that upgrading power supplies usually doesn't offer much in terms of sound quality if you already have a SMPS that is properly filtered, on a component that is already giving really good measurements..like the SHD!   The only time I have seen a phenomenal Improvement when swapping an SMPS for a linear supply, is  with a very high performance, high current power amp and a MM and even more so, a Moving Coil  phono stage.  It can also be noticed slightly on a pre-amplifier particularly if the preamplifier is producing a good amount of gain 12 DB or better most preamps nowadays don't most of them are passive since everything from CD players to Dax that are being fed streaming high res audio all output anywhere from two volts to four volts so a preamp with gain is sort of not needed anymore especially if it's being used with some of these newer class D amps which in and of themselves have a considerable amount of output. So that's the story I can go on the Lord knows I left a ramble about this stuff but I've taken up too much of your time as it is !!!

Thank You for a great response. you saved me a lot of time and money

The quest for the next upgrade catches me every once in a while and I go off exploring new things.

Once again Thanks

@amirsag,
wow that was one in depth response!!

But now how about if the power cable was swapped for a better one?!! 😁

sarcasm alert: 
Yeah, those - along with cryo treated gold plated mains fuses, and magic pebbles-  are absolutely guaranteed to take any audio component to the next level.

FOMO and two footitis are definitely a hazard in any hobby, and have bankrolled many an audiophile specialty manufacturer’s Porsche or Ferrari collection.