Low-voltage wiring

Well, I followed steakster’s advice, mostly, and bought some silver-plated copper 18AWG wire on eBay....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-feet-18-AWG-Silver-Plated-PTFE-Wire-Gray-Solid-1-Strand/380927049734?_trk...

and some connectors from Amazon...

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IBFNQP6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and got it all hooked up in a few hours. Those solderless connectors relieved my worries about trying to get a good joint on little barrel plugs.

I played my regular test piece (an upsampled-to-DSD recording of Vince Guaraldi playing "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing") and have to say I hear improvement in the sound quality: greater definition, sense of presence. Guaraldi’s recordings are often made on a sort of de-tuned piano with a slightly honky-tonk ring on each note, and for the first time I could understand why he must’ve liked that sound.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. This whole upgrade cost me about $35 and was well worth it.

Thanks for the replies, randy-11 and williewonka.

it won't hurt to snap a ferrite core on your other wall wart power cables

there is some thinking *by the guy who designed your iso regen btw) that inductance on the wall wart cables should be as low as possible - there is a thread about how to build your own cable of that tye on computeraudiphile.c om

@John_g - unfortunately power cables on low voltage devices seldom get the "treatment" their power supplies deserve and I have in the past replaced those skinny little wires with something more appropriate with great results.

I’ve since replaced those components that used them with others that have a "real" power supply that takes an IC connector to avoid separate power supply issues.

Unfortunately - playing with a power supply can get you into hot water if you do not know what you are doing. If you are an electronics hobbyist or in the electrical field then you will appreciate what I am saying and therefore can make the appropriate changes in a safe manner - otherwise I would not recommend changing them.

There are companies out there that make better power supplies, so I would seek them out on the web and replace them

The do make a significant improvement

If the supplies provide a DC voltage then their impact on other cables will be minimal, but if they are AC you can have an emi/rfi issue with cables that are in close proximity and running in parallel.

Personally - I keep all my cables separate and avoid the issue completely

Hope that helps - Steve