RWA Black Lightening - Battery Power Supplies

[tyrion]

Here is a link to Vinnie's site: Products > Black Lightning - Red Wine Audio

Any thoughts on whether this is a good product and priced right. I tend to think that the RWA gear is way overpriced for what you get.

[Beefy]

I can't think of a single scenario where I would prefer to use this instead of, say, a Sigma 11 or 22 at about 1/4 of the cost.

[n_maher]

Doesn't seem horribly over-priced if it's actually built well. Not knowing how they go about developing the various output voltages it's kind of hard to say. An internal picture would be very interesting.

[Pars]

I can't think of a single scenario where I would prefer to use this instead of, say, a Sigma 11 or 22 at about 1/4 of the cost.

I would agree. It wouldn't surprise me if they are also quieter (electrically) than a battery supply, assuming good implementation.

[tyrion]

The more I read, the more I realize that at the moment I wouldn't have any use for this. I don't run anything at the moment that uses an power adapter. The uln-2 can be powered in that manner but I power it from my firewire port. Everything else is a power cord (only 2 pieces of gear) into the wall. The Sigma ps are excellent and less money. It would be nice to do a comparison. Pics of the insides would be nice as well. I wonder is someone with some pull in the industry, cough, jp #'s aka Mr. CanJam, could convince Vinnie to send one for the meet.

[aardvark baguette]

This is probably going to be my next gear purchase:

FurmanSound.com - Home Theater Product - F1000-UPS

I dont really buy the hype about cleaner sound from batteries, but I do want protection from brownouts. The smp protection from Furman should be more than adequate for line grunge. Its also got hot-swap battery capability.

[K3cT]

The concept itself is interesting though.

[Beefy]

I dont really buy the hype about cleaner sound from batteries, but I do want protection from brownouts. The smp protection from Furman should be more than adequate for line grunge. Its also got hot-swap battery capability.

That is definitely a better way to spend your money IMHO.

I mean seriously, who of us here use the switching wallwarts that this product is designed to replace?

[mypasswordis]

The concept itself is interesting though.

In what way? It's still just a battery in a box, with a charging circuit. Just that it's lead-acid and not the typical lithium ion/polymer.

[n_maher]

That is definitely a better way to spend your money IMHO.

I mean seriously, who of us here use the switching wallwarts that this product is designed to replace?

I use wall warts all the time. Of course I usually feed them through a regulated power supply but I guess my point is that wall warts are not inherently evil nor created equal.

[Beefy]

I use wall warts all the time. Of course I usually feed them through a regulated power supply but I guess my point is that wall warts are not inherently evil nor created equal.

I did specify switching

But I absolutely agree...... an AC wallwart feeding a regulated supply is a great solution. Much cheaper than a shielded transformer.

[Augsburger]

I use a tripath based amp in my home office that is powered with a rechargeable 12 volt SLA battery. Originally I used a battery powered cdp feeding various dacs via toslink and since the speakers were full range and very efficient, it worked real well. I didn't need to use a dac but the system seemed to sound better when I did. So when we were experiencing our periodic southern California blackouts, I was the only one in the neighborhood rocking out.

Excuse the niave question, but wouldn't a ups backup serve the same purpose as the RWA stuff?

Edited November 17, 2009 by Augsburger

[guzziguy]

I love the "reviews" on the website, two one or two line testimonials, one from a business partner, who sells RWA equipment, and the other from another MOT. I'm sure that they are complete and unbiased.

[aardvark baguette]

I use a tripath based amp in my home office that is powered with a rechargeable 12 volt SLA battery. Originally I used a battery powered cdp feeding various dacs via toslink and since the speakers were full range and very efficient, it worked real well. I didn't need to use a dac but the system seemed to sound better when I did. So when we were experiencing our periodic southern California blackouts, I was the only one in the neighborhood rocking out.

Excuse the niave question, but wouldn't a ups backup serve the same purpose as the RWA stuff?

in the case of the furman unit I linked to above, you can buy extra batteries and, assuming you still have power, change them while everything is fired up playing. They also offer external battery packs, but that would probably be a pain imo. There is also a larger unit

I've had my car audio do some strange things, even w/ an aftermarket battery. I'd trust a power conditioner w/ voltage regulation to supply a more steady stream of juice than any battery, especially since there is no memory.

I've been looking at the APC UPS's but I like the aesthetics of the furman better, so I'm probably going that route myself.

[mrarroyo]

I have had the opportunity to listen to the K1000 amped by a Signature 30.2 and I owned an Isabellina HPA which I felt sounded very nice and it had no noise I could hear w/ any of my headphones. So impressed was I with their sound that I have ordered a Signature 30.2 power amp to drive my K1000.

I am in the process of saving money to upgrade from the Isabellina HPA to the Isabella fully loaded. Is it the best? Who knows, considering what is out there I doubt it but to me and my ears it sounds very nice.

I also had on loan the ALO Amphora Amp which is the bases of the dynamic headphone amp in the Isabellina HPA. I felt the Amphora was also very nice sounding, although in the Isabellina HPA I felt it had more punch. Perhaps due to the higher voltage and amps driving it.

On my Isabellina HPA I had Vinnie install the 12 volt socket on the rear to power the Wadia i170 instead of the wall-wart that Wadia supplies. I tested and felt the sound was not as harsh w/ the battery providing the power to the Wadia i170.

Of course, none of the above means anything until each of the users has a chance to listen for himself/herself. Cheers.

[penger]

Does anyone know what that chip in the Amphora really is?

ALO/ Red Wine Audio Desk Top Headphone Amp (Amphora) W/ PHOTOS - Page 14 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

[Hopstretch]

If I recall, the consensus here was it was probably one of the older National Semiconductor Boomer amps.

[penger]

Ah. Thanks for the info.

[jp11801]

I really like Vinnie and think he is a stand up guy but his power amps have their limits and are great as a compromise between , heat, size, power and SQ. I thought the F1 was the better amp for the k1000 in a head to head with the sig 30 amp but YMMV.

I like the battery solution for items that may not need huge amounts of power like a cdp or pre amp but question their usage on high draw power amps

[K3cT]

In what way? It's still just a battery in a box, with a charging circuit. Just that it's lead-acid and not the typical lithium ion/polymer.

Hmm... wouldn't using a battery PSU like that eliminate potential surges and spikes from the AC line? Same reason as using power conditioners I suppose.

Then again, a good power supply design should be able to do that on its own.