Who is using amps/preamps with SMPS power supplies?

[Camverton]

p.s. I hope my previous post doesn’t mean that Flash chap calling me a Chord Fan Boy .

I’m far too old for that!

 

[Steveh]

Currently trying an Ultima 6 Chord amp. It goes very well with their digital front end in that it is incredibly detailed and without any added colour. The neutrality does take a little bit of getting used to, but on switching back to my other amps I discovered that I didn’t want to go back to them! Rather like using Chord DACs, at first they sound almost too “perfect” but there is no going back to more traditional designs.

Whether the detail and neutrality is down to the power supply I don’t know. Of course, everything depends on how they match the speakers they drive and the taste of the listener. Could the Chord amp do with a touch of 2nd harmonic distortion? Maybe, but hearing music so cleanly reproduced is certainly addictive.

The neutrality of my Chord amp(nothing added or removed) gets me closer to the sound of the original recording, which is my personal goal. Of course the speakers have to play their part too.

I agree about the digital front end too.

 

[Huite]

I changed to LPSU all over my setup (modem/router, switches, ROON Nucleus and my Chord HMS and DAVE, but went deliberate for SMPS in my amplification. I like and believe in John Franks ideas about building high speed SMPS. And my Ultima 2 amps sound great!