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PSU1 Enigma Micro-Signal Power Supply

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RichW View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RichW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jun 2018 at 8:36am
Great work as ever Graham.
Will the Enigma be available to buy with the Accession MC as an extra cost alternative to the PSU1?

Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2018 at 10:42pm
Originally posted by Richardl60 Richardl60 wrote:


If as I read this correctly the capacitors are electrolytic and as I understand it degrade over time?  If correct where does this sit with either leaving powered up 24/7 or the potential inability to replace them in years to come?


The projected life according to http://www.illinoiscapacitor.com/tech-center/life-calculators.aspx for the rated use is 131,400 hours or 15 years approx.

Hopefully by the time I'm 78 I will have worked out what to do... Wink

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2018 at 10:16pm
I was also a beta tester on this project and recommend the Accession MC with the Enigma Micro-Signal PSU1. Please try it and hear your music properly through an MC cartridge.

In the testing I listened extensively to the AccMC, EXP and AccM with various PSU1 combinations quickly swapped over. I also tried various low voltage cables including the standard PSU1 cable, the new shielded cable and some of my own with chokes on them. In my opinion the new cable helps the PSU1 with the AccMC and the EXP stages but it is a fraction of the benefit from the Enigma PSU1 itself. I think there is a synergy between the Enigma and the new cable, with the cable being the finished touch adding a little extra or rather not adding anything which I'll come back to. Crudely put the EXP with Enigma and new cable gets a bit closer to the AccMC, the AccMC and Enigma/cable is something else entirely.

Unsurprisingly I did play a lot of music on vinyl that fortnight and found it all sounded much better. Frankly I enjoyed listening to everything I played and it wasn't just my favourites. On rock tracks the tracks in the mix were easily separated but sounded right together, with the dynamic sound of drums bieng most remarkable. Cymbals and other percussion sound much more lifelike, rich not white noise or the sound of metal sheets being hit - hits on the bells sounded right, they chimed and I could hear the stick hitting. On good orchestral recordings it is like being in the hall and some opera I picked up whilst away was presented in front of me with the singers moving around on the stage. The AccMC delivers the promise of MC, fine detail from low moving mass bringing out more of the music. With the Enigma PSU1 it is just the music - pure without the pollution of environmental noise.



Edited by Fatmangolf - 28 Jun 2018 at 10:19pm
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BAK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2018 at 10:08pm
morris_minor wrote "sound electronic design". I translate that to "a truer audio reproduction design".

There are "bad" electrolytic (and other) capacitors being used in electronics of all kinds. All electronic components can leave their signature on a signal. By selecting "good" components that compliment each other, this can cancel most of (or all of) that signature. Each part of the circuit is selected to contribute to the synergy of the desired result.

 There are ways to select parts to compliment each other AND extend the life expectancy of all circuits.
This design process involves much more R & D and testing. A price of £385 for Graham achieving this design is cheap.


 The power source is very much part of the signal produced in all electronic circuits.
After all, each active amplifying component is really just modulating the power supplied to it.

 I feel Graham has worked his "art" again to produce the Enigma!


Edited by BAK - 28 Jun 2018 at 10:14pm
Bruce
AT-14SA, Pickering XV-15, Hana EL, Technics SL-1600MK2, Lautus, Majestic DAC, Technics SH-8055 spectrum analyzer, Eminence Beta8A custom cabs; Proprius & Reflex M or C, Enjoy Life your way!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richardl60 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2018 at 8:22pm
As ever a well researched and thoughtful solution to a particular issue and what appears to be a niche but excellent product, well done Graham.
If as I read this correctly the capacitors are electrolytic and as I understand it degrade over time?  If correct where does this sit with either leaving powered up 24/7 or the potential inability to replace them in years to come?
 
It is good to see that Graham has investigated the use of the upgraded DC cable; which focuses on eliminating a specific problem.  In my experience going back 3-4 years the 'standard' AC & DC leads supplied tended to sound a little thin, splashy and lacked body, naturalness and fine detail.  Whilst not suggesting either would necessarily work around the problem Graham identified these do remain a relative weakness within the excellent standard units.  Differences were not huge (nowhere near the significance of other mains leads) but collectively in my case two upgraded mains and 1 DC lead (other is captive to from Elevator PSU) did provide a smoother, more integrated presentation with greater naturalness and notably less splashy and better separated mid-high frequencies.
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote morris_minor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2018 at 11:04am
For the past month or so I've been beta testing the Enigma ps with my Accession MC. Aside from the colour of the cable this looks just like any other PSU1. But for the AccMC though it really does the business of improving what was already a stellar sound. 

The effect of the Enigma is to bring the sound even more into focus - not making it "sharper", but just more defined. (Think Blu-Ray video versus DVD). Dynamics are also improved. This was most notable with Pink Floyd's "Division Bell". I'd just completed a video of a few tracks from this when the Enigma arrived so I re-ripped the audio and compared the waveforms. Sure enough, with exactly the same level into the ADC, the loud peaks were obviously louder visually, and sonically this translated into not only a more exciting sound but one where the inner detail within those peaks was more noticeable, more tangible.

This doesn't only benefit rock music; jazz and classical stuff I've played has even more immediacy and going back to the vanilla PSU1 is like dialling down the colour saturation and contrast slightly. It's still a very, very high quality sound, and if you've never heard the Enigma you'll be very happy with it. But . . .  once heard!

Having been around on this forum for many years I've known of Graham's antipathy to MC cartridges. It seems that the Accession MC + Enigma ps has performed a miracle - not on the road to Damascus maybe, but on the A6195. Wink

I've been an audio cynic for quite a while. Cables were just bits of wire until I chanced on Graham's CuSat, Lautus and Spatia offerings. Power supplies were necessary but boring until I swapped a plug top supply on my then Solo SRGII with a PSU1 I had on loan - I thought nothing of it until I swapped back and my headphone sound shrank and became duller. 

From anyone else the Enigma would have all the hallmarks of creative marketing, but knowing that everything Graham releases is based on sound electronic design and painstaking testing to standards very few makers seem to aspire to in these days of quickly churning out products to keep the bottom line afloat, it is no surprise that the Enigma really does work. Graham says that it's not cheap. The Accession MC isn't cheap. But their combined performance is in such a different league that comparisons with phono amps costing 2, 5 maybe 10x more would not be unreasonable. You may miss out on fancy bling-tastic casework, microprocessor switching, remote controls - but for the music lover who's gone to the dark side and uses MCs the AccessionMC/Enigma combo is a no-brainer.


Edited by morris_minor - 28 Jun 2018 at 11:05am
Bob

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Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links
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Ash View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2018 at 8:34am
Jeez, I think I need to go back to school and start my education all over again...
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