Better PSU for Duet??

[Rocker]

Apologies if this has been covered before.

I gather that the official SB statement is that the PSU does not affect the sound quality,though Scott Faller on EnjoyTheMusic.com said that it did when he tried a third party built unit.

What do you guys think?

[Hofstede]

My personal advice would be: Don't waste your money on this. It will not make any difference. But if you go to the "Audiophiles" section on this forum they sure will try to tell you otherwise.

[Soulkeeper]

If you've got money to spend on upgrading your system, instead of a PSU that will matter little, consider using the money on:

1) A Squeezebox Touch instead of your Receiver.
2) An good quality external DAC.

When you've made these two upgrades, and if you've still got money to spend, you can start considering upgrading PSUs. After you've considered whether your speakers are good enough, that is. And your amp. And the speaker cables. And the speaker stands. And the placement of the speakers in the room. And strategically placed acoustic dampeners in the room ...

[HeadBanger]

I totally agree with Hofstede - don't waste your money but the audiophile section will tell you otherwise. Get A decent external DAC if you want to improve the sound.

[Tattooed]

Hard to say in my case, but I'm not keen on switch mode power supplies as they can introduce unwanted noise and are sometimes noisy themselves (stick your ear close by to see what yours is like) so I swapped to a similar voltage linear power supply, in my case a transformer from a Sinclair QL computer. I certainly wasn't paying out for one of those power supplies at £200+ that is basically the same as in the QL supply, just in a pretty box, they are a rip-off.
IMHO

[WAD62]

Maplins VN10L (linear PSU) @ £18 is an excellent value for money improvement, and instead of throwing £200 at a touch, buy a decent external DAC, perhaps a Beresford (oh and get a VN10L for that too).

The SMPS they both come with are shockingly bad.

There are a lot of 'reassuringly expensive' PSUs out there, but I can't bring myself to spend more than the price of the original item on a replacement PSU, @ £18 the maplins one is excellent value for money... apologies to those who don't have a maplins handy.

A receiver with a Beresford will better the analogue out of a touch...

[DejanM]

Did anybody actually tried external PSU like for example the one from Teddy Pardo ?

Advices like buy first this and that are nice but that was not the question. The question is also not whether something is expencieve or not - the question is whether there is an improvement if linear PSU is used instead of provided junk ?

[Rocker]

Thanks for the replies guys. I checked out the Maplin VN10L and noted that it can output many voltages. What voltage is needed for the Squeezebox Duet device? It is a pity that it cannot work with a 12 lead acid battery as I have two that are spares for my golf trolley.....

[Soulkeeper]

What voltage is needed for the Squeezebox Duet device?

You can find the specs in the wiki.

[Rocker]

You can find the specs in the wiki.

Brilliant Soulkeeper, many thanks.