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Tag Archive for power supply

Introducing Lira, the flagship network station as successor of EtherStream2 and Nikola2

 in News

 

Lira - Side

 

On Christmas night in year 2024, I had a dinner with my audiophile friend who purchased EtherStream2 network switch and Nikola2 linear power supply to upgrade from previous highend network switch and use with his dCS Vivaldi One streaming CD player.

After dining, he proposed the idea of building a better version of network switch knowing what I’m capable of from listening to Erawan flagship streamer product in his system. I confessed to him that I considered it but it’d create a dilemma with EtherStream2 + Nikola2 combo.

 

Lira - Back

 

He understood my point and clarified the issues he had further. The switch is so small. It’s very hard to keep switch attached with isolation feet after swapping audiophile ethernet cables. Cables from Nikola2 to EtherStream2 + AirStream2 + main router are cluttering audio rack too.

At that moment, I realized that making linear power supply infrastructure and route access to network as a single box product that surpasses both EtherStream2 and Nikola2 is the solution we’re looking for. Customers can send EtherStream2 and Nikola2 to be upgraded as well.

 

Lira - Internal

 

With a clear vision in mind, I finalized Lira as a suitable companion of Erawan flagship streamer. Aside from thick aluminum chassis enclosure and footer to handle resonance and vibration control better, Lira has the improvements over EtherStream2 and Nikola2 as below:

 

Improvements from EtherStream2 network switch
-Bypass power switch and input socket completely improving purity of power distribution
-Optimized output for shortest path possible to supply power from output board to network switch circuit
-Upgrade input capacitor upgraded with high quality polymer hybrid design with much lower impedance
-Upgrade noise reduction capacitors with even lower ESR with improving tuning for lower impedance and current leakage
-Upgrade resistors around grounding and internal circuit components to further reduce noise in circuit

 

Improvements from Nikola2 linear power supply
-Add dedicated chassis ground connector to ground conditioner product
-Change output connector to gold plated XLR with very high voltage rating (same termination as HDPlex)
-Upgrade DC output cable with high quality pure copper wiring
-Upgrade diodes with Schottky design with years of listening tests with different models
-Upgrade internal wiring with high quality solid core pure copper wiring
-Upgrade output transformer with 100VA Toroidy audio grade transformer
-Upgrade stock fuse with improved dynamics and musicality

 

Lira - Front

 

After testing Lira in a few audio shows and with highend to ultra high-end level systems using $30-50k sources from CD and vinyl as reference, I’m confident that Lira will deliver worthwhile improvements that meets ultra high-end standards.

The product price will be $1899 USD with 30-day money back guaranteed and free shipping until 30st November 2025. You can read more about Lira network station product in details before ordering with discount up to $900 USD if you upgrade from EtherStream2 and Nikola2.

Introducing Aura, medical power supply for audiophiles

 in News

 

Aura - Medical grade power supply for audiophiles (Front)

 

After launching StreamHub streaming router, we’ve been developing suitable power supply upgrade for StreamHub with the goal to offer completed network improvement solutions under $500 USD. Today, our dream has come true with Aura medical grade power supply.

You probably wonder why Aura is not linear power supply. It’s because good linear power supply designs have these requirements:

 

  1. Reliable transformer – We need transformer that meets our standards and good transformer that won’t break after years doesn’t come cheap
  2. All rounder regulator and design – Some affordable designs may work on limited current or voltage range. Good designs to cover all cost more
  3. Quality multiple diodes – Some products use one diode, and it’s not really linear. Nikola designs use 4 quality diodes to keep current linear
  4. Optimal capacitors – Some capacitors cost several times more, but they also bring sound design improvement as intended

 

To check all these boxes with good build quality makes it very challenging for us to build even more affordable than Nikola Classic. However, we can take advantage of massive volume in switching power supply demand and medical grade quality to improve price/performance to the next level.

From our research and development with various manufacturers, we found the lowest possible ripple with low leakage current and suitable parts quality for audiophiles. We tested a few prototypes and finalized the design from both objective and subjective data.

 

Aura - Medical grade power supply for audiophiles (Back)

 

After testing finished products with audiophile friends and vendors, they were very impressed not just sound quality but also build quality of Aura. With StreamHub and Aura, completed network improvement is now possible under $500 USD with these features:

 

  1. Medical grade power supply – Very clean and transparent upgrade from bundled switching adapter with medical grade standards
  2. Nikola Classic’s level of build quality – From chassis, internal wiring, connectors and soldering quality, Aura can deliver with Nikola’s standards
  3. Mean Well’s reputation – Many audiophiles worldwide trust Mean Well as the most reliable switching power supply
  4. 2 outputs with high current – You can power up to two devices with 5A current which is more than enough for most applications
  5. 18 gauge DC cable – We use good quality 18 gauge DC cable which is the same gauge specs used in Nikola and sound wonderful

 

Aura can deliver performance closer to Nikola Classic at fraction of price that can work well in high-end audio systems. At the moment there’re 12V version and 5V version with 5.5mm x 2.5mm DC cables. For custom inquiry, please contact us for custom order.

The product price will be $219 USD with 30-day money back guaranteed and free shipping until 31st March 2025. You can read more about Aura medical grade power supply product in details before ordering and happy listening.