Cambridge 640P Power Supply Upgrade

Just in case anyone is still interested in this little gem and possible upgrades here's my 2 cents worth.

I built may own power supply for both the dacmagic and phono stage.

I used a 2amp toroid transformer for the phono stage and a 5 amp toroid for the DACmagic - lot of headroom:-)

I used Kimber speaker cable for the 12 v power supply cable with xlr connectors and a furutech 14 gauge mains power cable. I also use solid silver interconnects on both

Used with a really good power supply these units perform way above their class - outperforming units many times their modest price

Since they are a 12 v AC supply they only require a good transformer - no rectification is require, making it simple to create a good diy supply

A DIY supply like mine can be made for around $200, but replacing the two units for better sounding sources would cost considerably more

Quality power cords are paramount and one thing that I found improved the sound a lot was replacing the fuses I originally used with small push button breakers - and a nice case :-)

The first attempt was a 12v lighting transformer - it improved the sound a lot over the supplied units.

Once I had proved the improvements we're possible I then proceeded to use quality components across the board

If you are into DIY then it's fairly simple, otherwise go for the Pangea - it's a pretty good unit and will improve the sound over the supplied units from what I have read. They also provide a DC supply for the new dacmagic +.

Wolf - did you find that using the Pangea caused the 640p and the Dacmagic to run cooler?

My 640p is now at room temp (cool to the touch) and the dacmagic runs at about half the temp it used to.

Both units are powered on 24/7

Greg - the final upgrade was to replace all internal wiring with conductors from a piece of Furutech mains cable - I had originally used romex

Here's a link to the PS on my blog - the fuses have since been replaced by push button breakers

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/4fdd5db4b4e9a2eaef292e1de2c48117-26.html

Flexibilty - If I were to hard wire, then trying different power cables down the road becomes more of a chore. When I find a reasonable silver conductor I would like to try it with minimal fuss.

AND - a/b comparisons are much faster :-)

The xlr connectors I use for the 12v side are high quality gold on copper that perform extremely well. After all, If they are good enough for interconnects then they are good enough for power :-)

The IEC chassis mount socket is gold on copper, as are the connectors on 120v power cables.

Re: Kimber cable - the reason for using this is twofold - great quality copper and insulation and the braiding rejects ref interference.

I looked at a real heavy duty Furutech interconnect for the 12v side, but it would have cost a small fortune. The Kimber is great :-)

Wolf, what interconnects are you using?

I recently upgraded to Stagger Silver Solid interconnects. They really allow the 640p to shine and the Dacmagic is pretty damn good with them also

Marc Stagger charges $150 for a 1 meter pair

Here's my blog review
http://www.image99.net/blog/files/0d212a89788f9bda8bc20046e5a82c42-36.html

Wolf - do you use a particular brand of power cable on the rest of your gear?

I have tried DH Labs Encore and Power Plus power cables, but I recently went back to Furutech, which I found gave me much higher resolution. A little pricey, but well worth it - as long as you can DIY - ready made are damn expensive.

PS Audio power cables look very interesting with the different conductor cross sections - have you ever tried them?

Wolf - Have you tried the PS audio cable on the amp or on a source?

I found my sources responded exceptionally well to good power cables, more noticeable than the one I tried on my sub.

How did the humbuster work out?

I tried one - it was no help in my case - I had to ground the case of a noisy source, but a nicely made unit all the same.

Cheers

Daviddsailor - did you upgrade the power cords to and from the transformer?

I used kimber 4TC for the 12 volt side and furutech for the mains side - the difference was very noticeable - although I now have a braided romex power cable for the mains and it's almost as good as the furutech

The dc plugs can be purchased from ebay - very cheap