Linear Power supplies for DACs...?


Is there real SQ benefits or is it placebo snake oil?
i have a Chord Qutest and it has a wall wart. Lots of people say there’s real benefit to adding an external LPS. 
Plenty of choices ranging from $50 - $500.
Sure, a home audition is ideal.

but, what do you guys think?

Not just for the Qutest, but in general for DACs.
ianrmack

Showing 1 response by steakster



djones51
Power supply or transformer hum is harder to get rid of short of replacing the offending item or getting rid of the component.

No, not really.

Hum in a system could have several causes:
- DC offset
- ground differential
- bad capacitor 
- a fluorescent ballast on the same or another circuit
- a dimmer lighting switch on the same or different circuit
- poor grounding
- a poorly sealed transformer
- loose nut(s) on a transformer
. . . and more

In the three residences, I’ve lived in the past 20 years, hum has been completely eliminated each time depending on the cause. None of the cures included replacing any equipment at all. I’ve never had a LPS that caused a hum whatsoever. Each LPS significantly improved the SQ. They generated clean power.