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Audiophiles swear by Apple chargers as a power source. It's a needlessly clean power source. I was having extreme issues with noise from my DAC, to the degree o

Audiophiles swear by Apple chargers as a power source. It's a needlessly clean power source. I was having extreme issues with noise from my DAC, to the degree of clearly audible at normal listening levels. Apple sorted that right out. The charger is the only product I will buy from Apple. It's complete and utter overkill, you'll never have problems for a very minor premium (absolutely speaking, not relatively).

dep_b 5y ago
Do you have some sources for this? A quick google search turned up nothing
- samtheprogram 5y ago
  Professional (and generally speaking) audio equipment can produce undesired sound effects if there’s any voltage irregularities going on. I know that certain outlets in my house that cause static noise out of a guitar amplifier because they aren’t.. perfectly wired? Also, I know audio engineers will typically plug their equipment into an outlet that is separate from their computer to avoid this as well. I haven’t studied electrical or sound engineering too deeply but I have noticed the same. Knowing that this is a general issue, I did a quick search and found this: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0712/ http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0712/
  - dep_b 5y ago
    Oh yeah I have a electronic music studio for years and a clean power source is the beginning of everything. Brought in stuff for repairs only to have the technician tell me that there was nothing wrong. At home same problem again. "Try plugging it in directly to a wall socket" problem solved. And with lots of outboard gear you get lots of cables and lots of adapters.
- jwatte 5y ago
  Google "balanced power for tube amplifiers" and see how far that rabbit hole goes ... (And it's not all superstition, and it's not all for tube amps -- it's all in the SNRR of your power stages for every piece of equipment in your sound chain.)
  - j-walker 5y ago
    Is SNRR different than PSRR? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_rejection_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_rejection_ratio
- lame-robot-hoax 5y ago
  https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/lightning-adapter-audio-quality.htm https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/lightning-adapter-audio-qu... https://www.audioreviews.org/apple-audio-adapter-review/ https://www.audioreviews.org/apple-audio-adapter-review/
  - dep_b 5y ago
    This is about the audio converter not the charger.
stefan_ 5y ago
What you are experiencing is not "power supply noise", but most likely ground loop noise. The fix is not to shill Apple power supplies, which as switching power supplies are still extremely noisy, but to use proper connectors and signalling.
- Angostura 5y ago
  > The fix is not to... Except the fix was exactly that, according to the commenter.
  - amelius 5y ago
    The way you say it makes it sound like cargo culting. I'd rather know what causes my problems than turn to Apple for every problem.
  - antasvara 5y ago
    That's like saying "I had back pain, so I bought a 10,000 dollar mattress and it's fine now!" Meanwhile, the actual solution was that the person needed a firmer mattress. Knowing what the actual problem is rather than what product fixes it will save you time and money.
    - zamalek 5y ago
      > so I bought a 10,000 dollar mattress and it's fine now! It's $20. The jitterbug (ground loop/galvanic isolation) is $60.
MawKKe 5y ago
Heh. If I plug an iPad charger in the "wrong way" (symmetric EU socket), I observe massive interference/hum via the 3.5mm audio jack. The hum disappears if I rotate the plug, or touch the metal backplate of the iPad.
- niklasbuschmann 5y ago
  I have the exact same issue with a MacBook (2015). As soon as I plug in the audio jack, I will hear background noise, except if I touch the aluminium body. I solved the problem by replacing the default short connector to the socket with a desktop-like long power cable, that unlike the short one has a ground connection.
amelius 5y ago
> Audiophiles swear by Apple chargers as a power source. Are these the same audiophiles that swear by gold plated contacts for every connector?
- zenexer 5y ago
  As an audiophile who is picky about chargers, no. Also, Apple isn’t the only company making decent chargers, but many of the comparable chargers I’ve gotten from other companies—e.g., some of the older Pixel chargers—have died over time, while their Apple counterparts are still kicking. I keep meaning to open one of the dead chargers to determine the cause of failure, but I have a tinkering backlog at the moment.

dep_b 5y ago

Do you have some sources for this? A quick google search turned up nothing

samtheprogram 5y ago
Professional (and generally speaking) audio equipment can produce undesired sound effects if there’s any voltage irregularities going on. I know that certain outlets in my house that cause static noise out of a guitar amplifier because they aren’t.. perfectly wired? Also, I know audio engineers will typically plug their equipment into an outlet that is separate from their computer to avoid this as well. I haven’t studied electrical or sound engineering too deeply but I have noticed the same. Knowing that this is a general issue, I did a quick search and found this: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0712/ http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0712/
- dep_b 5y ago
  Oh yeah I have a electronic music studio for years and a clean power source is the beginning of everything. Brought in stuff for repairs only to have the technician tell me that there was nothing wrong. At home same problem again. "Try plugging it in directly to a wall socket" problem solved. And with lots of outboard gear you get lots of cables and lots of adapters.
jwatte 5y ago
Google "balanced power for tube amplifiers" and see how far that rabbit hole goes ... (And it's not all superstition, and it's not all for tube amps -- it's all in the SNRR of your power stages for every piece of equipment in your sound chain.)
- j-walker 5y ago
  Is SNRR different than PSRR? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_rejection_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_rejection_ratio
lame-robot-hoax 5y ago
https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/lightning-adapter-audio-quality.htm https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/lightning-adapter-audio-qu... https://www.audioreviews.org/apple-audio-adapter-review/ https://www.audioreviews.org/apple-audio-adapter-review/
- dep_b 5y ago
  This is about the audio converter not the charger.

stefan_ 5y ago

What you are experiencing is not "power supply noise", but most likely ground loop noise. The fix is not to shill Apple power supplies, which as switching power supplies are still extremely noisy, but to use proper connectors and signalling.

Angostura 5y ago
> The fix is not to... Except the fix was exactly that, according to the commenter.
- amelius 5y ago
  The way you say it makes it sound like cargo culting. I'd rather know what causes my problems than turn to Apple for every problem.
- antasvara 5y ago
  That's like saying "I had back pain, so I bought a 10,000 dollar mattress and it's fine now!" Meanwhile, the actual solution was that the person needed a firmer mattress. Knowing what the actual problem is rather than what product fixes it will save you time and money.
  - zamalek 5y ago
    > so I bought a 10,000 dollar mattress and it's fine now! It's $20. The jitterbug (ground loop/galvanic isolation) is $60.

MawKKe 5y ago

Heh. If I plug an iPad charger in the "wrong way" (symmetric EU socket), I observe massive interference/hum via the 3.5mm audio jack. The hum disappears if I rotate the plug, or touch the metal backplate of the iPad.

niklasbuschmann 5y ago
I have the exact same issue with a MacBook (2015). As soon as I plug in the audio jack, I will hear background noise, except if I touch the aluminium body. I solved the problem by replacing the default short connector to the socket with a desktop-like long power cable, that unlike the short one has a ground connection.

amelius 5y ago

> Audiophiles swear by Apple chargers as a power source. Are these the same audiophiles that swear by gold plated contacts for every connector?

zenexer 5y ago
As an audiophile who is picky about chargers, no. Also, Apple isn’t the only company making decent chargers, but many of the comparable chargers I’ve gotten from other companies—e.g., some of the older Pixel chargers—have died over time, while their Apple counterparts are still kicking. I keep meaning to open one of the dead chargers to determine the cause of failure, but I have a tinkering backlog at the moment.