• Registered: 2022-01-12
  • Posts: 6

Topic: Power supply

Hello everyone,

I just received my Ferrum Hypsos power supply and I was wondering, my RME adi 2 pro fs-r be is listed as wanting to receive anything between 14.3 and 15.8 Volts but the (very flimsy) power supply which came with it, states it delivers 12 Volts..
I'm running the Hypsos now at 15.4 Volts and the RME sounds truely great, so much more definition in stereo imaging and also tonal response. My question is, is the voltage level save or am I killing my RME softly?
Regards,

Hans

2 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2023-02-21 17:07:48)

  • KaiS
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2020-02-05
  • Posts: 3,525

Re: Power supply

Look here:
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 09#p188509

When protection is triggered by over voltage you have to send in ADI-2 for fuse replacement.
So be careful not to accidentally exceed the mentioned voltage - even very shortly it will blow the fuse.

KaiS's Website

  • Registered: 2022-01-12
  • Posts: 6

Re: Power supply

Thnx KaiS,

clear response, I'm not even able to drive beyond 18 Volts, 15.8 is the max, so well below the limit.
Can you you clarify why the standard PSU is 'only'12 Volts?
Greetings,

Hans

  • ramses
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: UTC+1
  • Registered: 2012-10-14
  • Posts: 13,184

Re: Power supply

See manual.
3. System Requirements
General:
- Power supply 12V DC, 1.5 A or up

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
  • Registered: 2018-06-29
  • Posts: 100

Re: Power supply

Higher voltage does not make any sense. There are internal regulators that need a specified voltage to work in the most efficient way. 12 volts in this case. They can take more, but they just absorb that and turn it into heat - up to a point, where they break. Feeding them more just puts strain on the regulators. No other benefit at all. RME would have designed it differently, would that be the case.

6 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2023-02-21 18:27:14)

  • KaiS
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2020-02-05
  • Posts: 3,525

Re: Power supply

geisha212 wrote:

Thnx KaiS,

clear response, I'm not even able to drive beyond 18 Volts, 15.8 is the max, so well below the limit.
Can you you clarify why the standard PSU is 'only'12 Volts?
Greetings,

Hans

This isn’t a “the more the better”–case.
Neither is it a “the bigger the better”–one.
Even less so a “the more expensive ...”


All power entering ADI-2 is running through an internal SMPS that produces the stable internal voltages like 3.3 V and 5 V for the digital part and +/- 20 (?) V for the analog audio section.
The +/- 20 V is further regulated by several LPSs as supplies for the various audio stages.

This SMPS has a regulation range from 9.5 V (manual page 11) to somewhat above 18 V ( nominal 15 V)
The upper limit is protected by a fuse/filtering arrangement that permanently triggers at 18 V.


As you can see, supplying more than 12 V nominal doesn’t change any internal voltage.


I won’t comment on sound changes from different voltages.

In fact the “flimsy”, like you call it, SMPS supplied with ADI-2 is more than enough to run ADI-2 at full specs.

The only thing that could be improved on it was a little mains stray current, typical for 2-prong mains connector’s PSUs, which can cause hum in some configurations where no ground connection exists.
This has now been addressed with ADI-2/4 Pro SE’s new 3-prong mains connector PSU.



Legend:
SMPS = Switched Mode Power Supply
LPS = Linear (regulated) Power Supply

KaiS's Website

7 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2023-02-21 18:09:44)

  • KaiS
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2020-02-05
  • Posts: 3,525

Re: Power supply

joachim.herbert wrote:

... need a specified voltage to work in the most efficient way. 12 volts in this case. They can take more, but they just absorb that and turn it into heat -...

Fortunately with SMPSs higher input voltages don’t produce significantly more heat.

But of course there are voltage limits where they break.

KaiS's Website

  • Registered: 2022-01-12
  • Posts: 6

Re: Power supply

Basically you're saying it's just snake oil..
I did a few a/b comparisons and the difference is clearly there, not just a case of wanting to believe .
From a technical point of view I'm relieved thanks to your answers, I can can run it at 15.4 Volts without doing any harm to the unit.
I found out a long time ago that PA and Hifi can collide when it comes to things like this.
Nevertheless I consider the adi 2 pro fs r be as one of the biggest upgrades to my (hifi) system.
Regards,

Hans

9 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2023-02-21 20:43:23)

  • ramses
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: UTC+1
  • Registered: 2012-10-14
  • Posts: 13,184

Re: Power supply

geisha212 wrote:

I did a few a/b comparisons and the difference is clearly there, not just a case of wanting to believe .

May I ask how your test method was?
Blind or even double-blind test at the same volume level?

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
  • Registered: 2022-01-12
  • Posts: 6

Re: Power supply

Hey Ramses,
same volume for sure, I had my eldest son changing (or not) the different power supplies.
After this I did some swapping while listening with my headphones.
The difference in both settings was very obvious (in favour of the Ferrum)

11 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2023-02-22 00:22:38)

  • KaiS
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2020-02-05
  • Posts: 3,525

Re: Power supply

geisha212 wrote:

Basically you're saying it's just snake oil..

No, I just shine a light on the technical aspects and explicitly don’t comment on possible sound changes.

geisha212 wrote:

I did a few a/b comparisons and the difference is clearly there, not just a case of wanting to believe .

I never tried that.

If I would, I’d built a simple switch to change between both PSUs and find out if I can reliably hear a difference without knowing which is which.

If the difference is very obvious one could clearly identify each PSU when switching, with a close to 100% hit rate.

This could be done by just a 2nd person randomly (use a coin flip) plugging around the PSU‘s.


If not, a larger number of A/Bs is necessary until a statistically significant result is achieved.
This result can be one way or the other, and the percentage of hits vs. misses would even specify the magnitude of the difference.


Seriously, just imagine the “flimsy“ little PSU wins – then you understand why always the more expensive device is “better” if you read through the net.
It’s simply hard to accept it could be the other way round.

geisha212 wrote:

From a technical point of view I'm relieved thanks to your answers, I can can run it at 15.4 Volts without doing any harm to the unit.
I found out a long time ago that PA and Hifi can collide when it comes to things like this.

I‘m not a PA-, I‘m a recording studio and HiFi-guy since I was young.
Identifying audible differences of some kind is bread and butter of my job all day long.
Non of these decisions is based on technical parameters.

geisha212 wrote:

Nevertheless I consider the adi 2 pro fs r be as one of the biggest upgrades to my (hifi) system.

For me it surely is.
The features make the difference, and the sound is the icing on the cake.


geisha212 wrote:

...I had my eldest son changing (or not) the different power supplies.
...
The difference in both settings was very obvious (in favour of the Ferrum)

Intersting.
How many A/Bs did you do, what was the hit rate?

KaiS's Website