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UcPure Quad enhanced pure ultracapacitor power supply
UcPure Quad enhanced pure ultracapacitor power supply
Introduction
UcPure is a pure ultracapacitor power supply. It makes use of the huge 3000F or higher capacitance ultracapacitor pack to achieve an ultimate power supply performance. Because it is a pure passive power supply, there will be no feedback and no active components involved when it’s turned on. At the pure output mode, only the pre-charged ultracapacitor pack will be applied to the load.
UcPure equipped with a SYNC charging function to be able to re-charge the ultracapacitors during music stops.
UcPure Quad is an upgraded solution over UcPure. It uses a new architecture to make four 3000F ultracapacitors working in parallel (two groups) to achieve an ultimate performance. It’s capable of delivering up to 4800A dynamic current with only 0.23mOhm internal ESR (continuous output mode). UcPure Quad could be the best low noise high dynamic power supply on this planet so far.
Sound quality of sensitive audio applications such as low jitter clock oscillators, DACs, FIFOs and many other circuits will be benefited greatly from this UcPure Quad power supply.
Highlighted Features
•Pure ultracapacitor power supply
•Ultracapacitors work in class A mode which current going only in one direction.
•Output can be configured to 3.3V and 5V(default) by jumper setting switches
•Outputs are 100% isolated from charger and power input at pure mode
•Can be controller by the on/off control chain (optical isolated) as part of power supply group
•Also comes with both built-in and external on/off control switches
•Optical isolators are used for all internal operating logics
•Built-in protection scheme to prevent ultracapacitor from exhausted and low output voltage
•With powerful SYNC UC charging function. Can re-charge the UCs during music stops. This feature can avoid the output voltage drop or trigger the protection mode even if you listen to music for a very long time. SYNC control signal can be connected to the MUTE signal of a MonitorPi pro or a FifoPiQ7. More UcPure can work together with this signal as a control chain. This signal is isolated from UcPure so it doesn’t affect the power supply performance at all
•Heavy duty design for 24/7 operation
UcPure Quad new Features
•Four 3000F ultracapacitors work in parallel (two groups), to reduce the output ESR to an ultimate lower level which has never been reached before. Noise was also reduced by 1/sqrt(2) in principle.
•New dual PCB architecture to completely eliminate the wires between UcPure and ultracapacitors, thus significantly improving the performance. Because the resistance of the wires can be even higher than the ultracapacitor ESR itself
•ESR:
Continuous outputs J10, J13: 0.23mOhm
Switched outputs J7, J9: 0.43mOhm + Fuse ESR
•The pure time will be double
•Balancing functions have already been integrated on PCB, so no longer need external balancer/protection boards.
•With both horizontal and vertical mount brackets.
•5.3A or 8.1A fast charging current, jumper configurable
•Optimized to 12V AC input, can also work with 15V to 20V DC input.
•Double copper thickness, four layers PCB design to ensure the lowest ESR performance
•Two groups of switched and continuous output to make it easier to share this great power supply with different circuits of the system
•Full set of accessories
•DIY friendly. super easy to assemble, just screw and play.
Note:
- Please cut the connector pins shorter at back side of the PCB if they are too long. And place suitable washers in between. Otherwise, there will be a risk to touch the ultracapacitors and make a short circuit. Please be very careful.
- When using DC input such as a standard laptop power adapter, the grounding pin (if there is any) of the power cord (plug) must be removed to avoid ground loop or possible short circuit.
- Ultracapacitors are not included. Recommended ultracapacitor P/Ns are:
XL60-2R7308T-R
XL60-3R0308T-R
TPLH-2R7/3000SL60138
TPLH-3R0/3000SL60138 - Recommended transformers as AC input(12V 3A or higher):
182M12 or 1182P12, You can also use a 1182L12 with two secondary coils in parallel.
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Glorious pure power.
Removes suspicions of noisy power.
Got this kit to replace a UcConditioner/LinearPi P/S for the 3.3V inputs on the FifiPi Q7 and Dual Mono II DAC hats for Ian's flagship DAC kit. The board has 2 outputs (same voltage) and chassis mounting brackets so it is a cleaner solution than using 2 UcPure/Balancer kits. That said, a quad pack of ultracapacitors is huge. I had to modify my case to accomodate the 5.25" X 5" X 7" mass with Eaton 3000F ultracapacitors added.
The UcPure Quad kit comes complete with nuts, washers, signal cables and nut covers. High quality, heavy duty PCBs. Lots of switches & jumpers to configure multiple use options. Read the manual.
Does the DAC perform better with the UcPure Quad? Jury's still out on that. I have a very revealing system that is sensative to even the smallest changes in the chain. I haven't heard anything yet, but it is certainly not worse. Any difference from the UcPure Quad is very subtle.
I'm still using a pair of UcConditioner/LinearPi P/S's for the +5V / -5V on the output stage, so maybe that is limiting. Or maybe I've reached the limits of my hearing. My logic was to feed the crystal oscillators with the cleanest power first. I might try another UcPure Quad for the +5V / -5V output stage to satisfy my DIY tweaking urges. It's just money, right?...
Which brings me to value. At $169 this kit is a bit pricey. Add $250 for 4 ultracapacitors and you are into some big money for a very small improvement. But that's the reality for high-end audio.
But let's consider this price in context...
Ian is supporting the DIY community with outstanding products - a small, niche market. It's not like he's churning out thousands of kits a week. He's certainly not getting rich from this stuff. I'm pretty sure he still has a day job. I don't know the guy, but he clearly has a passion for audio. He has answered multiple emails within hours (does this guy ever sleep?). He is active on tge forums. He is offering excellent designs that you can't get anywhere else. From this perspective, his products are a bargain.