Just got one of these and noticed that after an hour's use the unit is quite hot to the touch - hotter than any other components, despite not putting anything on top of it and leaving space in front, to the side and behind it for ventilation. Can any other Dacmagic owners check theirs and report back? I'm not talking fry an egg on it hot, but noticeably warmer than any of my other components, such as amp or CD player. Cheers !
How hot does your CA DACMagic run ?
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Warmer than CD player...certainly, Warmer than amp...definately not mine (see below) however if its an intergrated then possibly if the amp isnt working very hard. Difficult to quantify really.......a little cooler than my tv and a little warmer than my pc.........
Mine runs at 39.6 Degrees Celsius when playing Hot Hot Heat and -7.2 Degrees Celsius when listening to Coldplay
As long as it has enough ventilation it will be fine
As long as it has enough ventilation it will be fine
chebby
Well-known member
A friends Dacmagic runs very hot (power supply too).
He is ok with it, but it would bug the hell out of me and I would feel it necessary to power it off even if I were just going out for 30 minutes!
However it has come to no harm so far and has been powered on 24x7 since he bought it around Christmas time so it must be safe.
He is ok with it, but it would bug the hell out of me and I would feel it necessary to power it off even if I were just going out for 30 minutes!
However it has come to no harm so far and has been powered on 24x7 since he bought it around Christmas time so it must be safe.
Here's some correspondence I had with an upgrade company whilst my DAC Magic was away being fettled:
"Your Dac is leaving the building today for tomorrow delivery. I do however recommend you change your psu supply. It is running slightly higher than most Ive had and the internal voltages are reaching +/-30V and things are running very hot (hotter than the normally already borderline temp).
I recommend getting the Maplin one that people seem to like but get it in the 9V as I have found this runs the unit cooler and it has more current. The sound is better than 12v version too.
The link is here - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=96964 and its the L53BR"
I've been using this 9v PSU for 24 hours constantly now to burn-in the upgrades, and it works perfectly, as well as the DAC running barely warm to the touch.
Hope this helps.
"Your Dac is leaving the building today for tomorrow delivery. I do however recommend you change your psu supply. It is running slightly higher than most Ive had and the internal voltages are reaching +/-30V and things are running very hot (hotter than the normally already borderline temp).
I recommend getting the Maplin one that people seem to like but get it in the 9V as I have found this runs the unit cooler and it has more current. The sound is better than 12v version too.
The link is here - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=96964 and its the L53BR"
I've been using this 9v PSU for 24 hours constantly now to burn-in the upgrades, and it works perfectly, as well as the DAC running barely warm to the touch.
Hope this helps.
ratty_uk2000:
I recommend getting the Maplin one that people seem to like but get it in the 9V as I have found this runs the unit cooler and it has more current. The sound is better than 12v version too.
The link is here - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=96964 and its the L53BR"
I've been using this 9v PSU for 24 hours constantly now to burn-in the upgrades, and it works perfectly, as well as the DAC running barely warm to the touch.
Hope this helps.
Original post edited.....9V AC will give a maximum of 4.5V DC....allowing for rectification / regulation etc etc the voltages would probably be a tad low....maybe it works but it wont be in spec.......interesting all the same though
I recommend getting the Maplin one that people seem to like but get it in the 9V as I have found this runs the unit cooler and it has more current. The sound is better than 12v version too.
The link is here - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=96964 and its the L53BR"
I've been using this 9v PSU for 24 hours constantly now to burn-in the upgrades, and it works perfectly, as well as the DAC running barely warm to the touch.
Hope this helps.
Original post edited.....9V AC will give a maximum of 4.5V DC....allowing for rectification / regulation etc etc the voltages would probably be a tad low....maybe it works but it wont be in spec.......interesting all the same though
Gerrardasnails
Well-known member
raym87:Warmer than CD player...certainly, Warmer than amp...definately not mine (see below) however if its an intergrated then possibly if the amp isnt working very hard. Difficult to quantify really.......a little cooler than my tv and a little warmer than my pc.........
I don't turn mine off and it's no hotter than my Sky box. Nothing to worry about.
I don't turn mine off and it's no hotter than my Sky box. Nothing to worry about.
EDITED BY MODS - House rules
The plastic on the PSU becomes brittle after a while and cracks. I've seen it mentioned in various places on the the internet.
EDITED BY MODS - House rules
Also, if you look up the Russ Andrews PSU on his site and click on the feedback tab, you'll see person reviewing the Russ Andrews PSU had his Cambridge PSU fall apart when he unplugged it, which is what happened to me.
So get yourself a Maplin AC PSU (be it 9V or 12V) for £16 for safety reasons if nothing else.
Glenn
The plastic on the PSU becomes brittle after a while and cracks. I've seen it mentioned in various places on the the internet.
EDITED BY MODS - House rules
Also, if you look up the Russ Andrews PSU on his site and click on the feedback tab, you'll see person reviewing the Russ Andrews PSU had his Cambridge PSU fall apart when he unplugged it, which is what happened to me.
So get yourself a Maplin AC PSU (be it 9V or 12V) for £16 for safety reasons if nothing else.
Glenn
Help
on the advice from other's on this thread i went and bought the maplin power supply, when i went to plug it it in i needed to match the right size adapter, my problem is it plugged in so the centre is + and the outer - or the other way round (if this makes any sense) ive tried it both ways and there is power but i don't want to cause any long term damage to the dacmagic.
thanks jon
on the advice from other's on this thread i went and bought the maplin power supply, when i went to plug it it in i needed to match the right size adapter, my problem is it plugged in so the centre is + and the outer - or the other way round (if this makes any sense) ive tried it both ways and there is power but i don't want to cause any long term damage to the dacmagic.
thanks jon
It's an ac output power supply so there's no +ve or -ve polarity; you can plug the adapter tip into the DAC either way.
I guess the polarity symbols on the adapter tips are there since they're universal parts and used also for DC output power supplies.
I guess the polarity symbols on the adapter tips are there since they're universal parts and used also for DC output power supplies.
cheers ratty_uk2000
thanks for the quick reply,now i can relax & enjoy my music without the worry of it over heating the dac/charger.
kind regards jon
thanks for the quick reply,now i can relax & enjoy my music without the worry of it over heating the dac/charger.
kind regards jon
I'm having this problem with my Beresford Dac but have eliminated all possibilities to find that the psu adapter for my laptop is the reason. Try battery power if you are running laptop- no probs.
I guess there is the possibility that if you went digitical optical rather than usb from the PC to the Dac you may also solve the problem . I haven't tried that route yet.
I guess there is the possibility that if you went digitical optical rather than usb from the PC to the Dac you may also solve the problem . I haven't tried that route yet.
In reply to the Maplin PSU mentioned above......I took a chance on the 12v version.....its going back today. On load voltage id 15.03V....way high. I will swap it for the 9V and see what happens.
Unusual for an AC PSU to read over by that much....... Not like an unregulated DC PSU where the voltage will drop when the current goes up, an AC one should be fairly (ok they will vary a bit but not by very much at all) stable so I dont understand why its reading so high.
Will report back......
Update.....PSU changed for 9V version. Tested voltage on load....10.7V...so they all run high by the looks of it. Maplins didnt seem particularly worried but there were no probs changing it. Dacmagic works OK and yes, as you would expect with less power to dissipate, it does run cooler, just a few degrees above ambient, . Dont know yet if there is a positive sound difference....will have a better listen later.
So.....all in all,changing the PSU was worth it even on the basis of everything running cooler. Any improvements in sound (if any) will be a bonus. Still a little concerned about the quality of manufacture though. I wouldnt expect an AC PSU to be outputting voltages so far off their nominal value. Unregulated DC, yes but not AC. By the way...the original CA PSU was giving 14.2V on load........so its not just Maplins who have this problem. (if indeed it is a problem).
Unusual for an AC PSU to read over by that much....... Not like an unregulated DC PSU where the voltage will drop when the current goes up, an AC one should be fairly (ok they will vary a bit but not by very much at all) stable so I dont understand why its reading so high.
Will report back......
Update.....PSU changed for 9V version. Tested voltage on load....10.7V...so they all run high by the looks of it. Maplins didnt seem particularly worried but there were no probs changing it. Dacmagic works OK and yes, as you would expect with less power to dissipate, it does run cooler, just a few degrees above ambient, . Dont know yet if there is a positive sound difference....will have a better listen later.
So.....all in all,changing the PSU was worth it even on the basis of everything running cooler. Any improvements in sound (if any) will be a bonus. Still a little concerned about the quality of manufacture though. I wouldnt expect an AC PSU to be outputting voltages so far off their nominal value. Unregulated DC, yes but not AC. By the way...the original CA PSU was giving 14.2V on load........so its not just Maplins who have this problem. (if indeed it is a problem).
raym87:
Still a little concerned about the quality of manufacture though. I wouldnt expect an AC PSU to be outputting voltages so far off their nominal value. Unregulated DC, yes but not AC. By the way...the original CA PSU was giving 14.2V on load........so its not just Maplins who have this problem. (if indeed it is a problem).
Unfortunately due to the transformer performance this is pretty standard, all these power units must give the rated voltage at the maximum quoted current, so any reduction in current will give a rise in voltage.
You could buy a supply that provided less maximum current - would give closer voltage, but that would mean it would run hotter - back to square one!
Better to use the lower voltage, higher current unit.
Still a little concerned about the quality of manufacture though. I wouldnt expect an AC PSU to be outputting voltages so far off their nominal value. Unregulated DC, yes but not AC. By the way...the original CA PSU was giving 14.2V on load........so its not just Maplins who have this problem. (if indeed it is a problem).
Unfortunately due to the transformer performance this is pretty standard, all these power units must give the rated voltage at the maximum quoted current, so any reduction in current will give a rise in voltage.
You could buy a supply that provided less maximum current - would give closer voltage, but that would mean it would run hotter - back to square one!
Better to use the lower voltage, higher current unit.
The power supply is AC and (I presume) the Dacmagic uses a voltage doubler to achieve balanced supplies. However the important thing is that a lightly loaded power supply fed with AC will produce 1.4 x AC (the AC rating is RMS and peak is 1.414 times this) less .7-1.4v for the rectifier.
Thus a 12v AC supply will produce up to 16v DC on light load -it's not a problem, it's just the way rectifier-capacitor combinations work. If you use a transformer with a higher current rating, it would be wise to drop to a slightly lower voltage- thus the 9v unit is recommended.
Thus a 12v AC supply will produce up to 16v DC on light load -it's not a problem, it's just the way rectifier-capacitor combinations work. If you use a transformer with a higher current rating, it would be wise to drop to a slightly lower voltage- thus the 9v unit is recommended.
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