[buonassi]

the measurements @Taz777 listed are for the outer barrel and inner receptacle, not for length of the barrel.

Does anybody know what the power connector plug spec is? Is it 5.5 * 2.5mm ?

If I still had this, I'd confirm, but I sold mine a while back.

 

[Taz777]

I know the outside diameter is 5.5mm. It’s the inside hole that’s the key. I have a 5.5*2.1mm Plug that won’t fit so I’m guessing the internal hole is 2.5mm as that’s the next size up. I’m looking to get a linear power supply to try out.

 

[buonassi]

yes, sorry Taz - I was addressing @someyoungguy who posted a length measurement picture. I still thank him for trying to be helpful, but wanted to help steer others toward understanding DC barrel connectors and how they're measured a little better.

 

[someyoungguy]

Ah right, I thought it'd be length x width. Kind of hard to measure the inner diameter down to 2.1mm vs 2.5mm accuracy, but since your 2.1mm plug doesn't work I guess it must be 2.5mm.

 

[Adu]

Hi folks!
Today I tried a new device iFi DC iPurifier2 (DC power filter) with positive results. The background is more black and the sound is more 3D.

 

[Taz777]

I'm trying out a new custom-made Chinese linear power supply that I've imported. In terms of specs, I ordered:

• Working voltage: AC230V
• Output voltage: DC12V @ 3.5A
• Output DC cable plug type: 5.5*2.5mm (centre-positive)

The power plug fits fine and so far there are no issues. It's too early to comment on sound quality changes. I did read somewhere that the rHead has a lot of power filtering circuitry and that changing the power supply may not make much of a difference. However, I decided to go for it anyway. The sound won't be worse than before at least!

 

[Taz777]

Here is a surprise for me. I've spent around 12 hours evaluating whether or not an external linear power supply makes any difference to sound quality. I ordered a custom-made Chinese one recently. Against that, I read about from an Arcam engineer that a different power supply is not likely to make any difference. I wanted to find out for myself.

No matter how hard I tried to find a positive difference to sound quality, my Arcam rHead did NOT sound any better with an external LPS. I listened to a wide range of well-recorded songs, over and over again. In fact, there were times when I wasn't happy with the sound - I sensed a little roughness in places although this was barely perceptible.

My audio chain is pretty good;

Source: Cayin N6ii running UAPP with Qobuz HiRes music, transmitted over an I2S interface to:
DAC: Topping D90
Head amp: Arcam rHead (connected to DAC via high quality balanced XLR cables)
Headphones: beyerdynamic T1.2

I honestly couldn't make out any positive difference to the sound quality by using an LPS with the Arcam rHead. I switched back to the stock power supply and things sounded just perfect to me.

I'm down 100GBP for this test, but sound quality is the most important thing to me and adding bits doesn't always improve things. Arcam got things pretty much spot on with the Arcam rHead. It's a true classic and a masterclass in audio engineering.

I'll keep the LPS for another project that requires a 12V DC supply.

 

[project86]

I've formed the same conclusion, using several excellent linear power supplies in the $500 to $1000 range. So rest assured it was not just a matter of the PSU you tried not being nice enough.

 

[Nams Seleman]

This is an interesting thread. I'm looking at a used (obviously) rHead and wasn't certain about whether to go for it. It seems like it's worth a try since the price is right and I've been watching for one to be listed for quite some time.

 

[project86]

Yes if you can find one anywhere it's a great buy.

 

[Taz777]

This is an interesting thread. I'm looking at a used (obviously) rHead and wasn't certain about whether to go for it. It seems like it's worth a try since the price is right and I've been watching for one to be listed for quite some time.

I would go for for it. These are extremely hard to find these days. When they first came out they cost upwards of 500GBP. The rHead is a no-frills headphone amp that focuses on sound quality. You'll get remarkable sound quality for very little outlay. I'm using mine with my 600-Ohm Beyerdynamic T1.2 over-ears and I cannot imagine the sound can be improved upon. It is literally jaw-dropping whenever I listen to it.

Bear in mind a few things:

1. The sound quality doesn't improve with a linear power supply - the onboard cleanup of the power lines is quite remarkable.

2. When you switch off the amp via the rotary volume control, the power LED turns from green to red. Leave it this way as it's a Class A amp so is always powered to some extent. There is a power switch at the back to disconnect the power completely but I only use this if I'm going to be away from home for a while - which isn't going to happen at the moment! The amp will always run warm, but not hot.

3. If you are able to, use the balanced XLR inputs. These provide slightly better sound quality compared to the RCA inputs. However, we're talking about a small difference in sound quality which is already excellent via the RCA inputs anyway.

4. Lossless music and Hi-Res music works really well with this amp.

 

[Uebelkraehe]

This is an interesting thread. I'm looking at a used (obviously) rHead and wasn't certain about whether to go for it. It seems like it's worth a try since the price is right and I've been watching for one to be listed for quite some time.

I would definitely recommend the rHead to anyone looking for a really good sounding and asthetically pleasing class A headphone amp, too. The only real drawbacks may be that the noise floor is a bit high for ultra sensitive IEMs and that it doesn't have quite enough juice to optimally drive power hungry monsters like the Heddphone.

 

[Nams Seleman]

Thank you for the advice. I finalized the purchase this morning one listed in mint condition and it should be on its way from the UK tomorrow (I'm in the US). I paid $200 USD + shipping and tax (about $280 total) which is the cheapest I've seen one anywhere since I started looking a couple of months ago. I suppose the reason I was hunting for one is partially due to a great deal on an irDAC and more recently a Yulong DA8. I have a T1 1st gen with a removable cable mod among many other headphones. I'm hoping it plays nice with planar dynamics as I have several of those (among other standard dynamic headphones). Now I'm looking forward to checking it out even more!

 

[Nams Seleman]

That's three recommendations in a short period of time. I finalized the purchase this morning on one listed in mint condition. It should be on its way from the UK tomorrow (I'm in the US). I paid about $200 USD + shipping and tax (around $280 total) which is the cheapest I've seen one anywhere since I started looking a couple of months ago. Thank you to all of you for the votes of confidence!

 

[Nams Seleman]

Fortunately, I'm not the IEM type (for now) so that won't be a problem (yet). I do have a couple of headphones that need some oomph... but not like the HE-5 (so I've heard) or something along that line.