Announcing the next generation: UltraCap LPS-1.2 (Now 5/7/9/12V! ; Now with parallel LT3045 regulators!)

Fifteen months ago, UpTone Audio began shipping the revolutionary UltraCap LPS-1.  By all metrics it can be considered a huge success. 1,650 units shipped (including in bundles with our very popular ISO REGEN), and orders continue to pour in for this small yet sophisticated 1.1-amp, bank-alternating, isolated and “floated” ultra-low-noise linear power supply.

Reviews—by users and web publication reviewers—have widely praised the LPS-1, and here at CA this month we won a 2017 Readers’ Choice Award.

Now it is with great pleasure that we announce the retirement of the UltraCap LPS-1 and the birth of the UltraCap LPS-1.2!

Here are highlights of the terrific enhancements incorporated into the redesign of our unique power supply:

Where previously the user adjustable output voltages of the LPS-1 were 3.3V, 5V, and 7V, the new UltraCap LPS-1.2 offers you 5V, 7V, 9V, and 12 volt output choices.  This broadens the range of devices that can be powered.
Maximum guaranteed output current—at all voltages—is still 1.1A.

[The wider range of output voltage settings brings interesting possibilities for a range of higher voltages by connecting two LPS-1.2 units in series (+/-/+/-).  You can see how two units set to the same or different voltages can now combine to result in 10V, 14V, 16V, 17V, 18V, 19V, or 24V!]

The output voltage regulators—previously a cascade of the very fine (4.2µV/RMS noise) Texas Instruments TPS7A4700—have been changed to the truly extraordinary (0.8µV/RMS!) Linear Technology LT3045—a pair of them paralleled in a special configuration that further lowers output impedance.  We are down into the 3mOhm (10Hz-100KHz) range now!

[While the wonderful 200mA LT3042 has been around for a couple of years (and we use 5 of those expensive buggers in the ISO REGEN), the higher current (500mA) LT3045 was not introduced until late 2016—well after the design work on the original LPS-1 was complete. We are excited to at last be incorporating this special part into the new LPS-1.2. While all your original LPS-1 units are still fine supplies, this aspect of the new model might be compelling enough for some of you to step up to it.]

A power on/off switch has been added.  Some people prefer to turn off the supply at times.  Now you can do so without having to unplug any cables.

The complex charging circuity has been redesigned around the very expensive ($28 each whether we buy 100 or 1,000 pcs.) Linear Technology LTM4607 regulator micro-module.  This was done both to allow for the higher (18V) internal charge voltages required to offer the 12V output, and to improve reliability and robustness of the input side of the unit. (A few people have fried their LPS-1 units with over-voltage spikes from 3rd-party chargers.)  As you can see from the back panel, the input voltage range has been expanded; the LPS-1.2 can run off chargers from 7-24V—more on this in a moment.

 
The electrical math of providing the new 9-volt and 12-volt output settings on the LPS-1.2 necessitates the use of a higher wattage AC>DC power supply to “energize”/charge the unit.  The strict requirement for the charger is now 36 watts—and we print this on the back panel.  As before, we are flexible with regards to the voltage of the charger—but the charger voltage times its current capability MUST equal 36W or greater.  (So you can see 7.5V/4.8A, 9V/4A, 12V/3A, 18V/2A, 24V/1.5A are all acceptable charger ratings.) 

Every UltraCap LPS-1.2 will come with a newly sourced 7.5V/4.8A/36W, world-voltage-compatible SMPS (see photo below). While our UltraCap supplies have always 100% blocked the path of low-impedance AC leakage (from its charger and the path from other connected components), recently discovered high-impedance leakage was able to enter. This is easily prevented by the shunting (connecting) of the SMPS charger’s DC output “ground” to AC mains ground (see this post: https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/37034-smps-and-grounding/?page=9&tab=comments#comment-734822.  The customized new SMPS we are including for charging already has that connection internally, so no high-impedance leakage ever enters the LPS-1.2.

In the image of the LPS-1.2's back panel you may notice a very small, 3-pin jack (standard 0.1” header pin spacing) to the right of the LPS-1.2’s output jack. This is a port for measuring output voltage and device current draw.  Typically measuring the current draw of a device requires putting an ammeter in series with the power cable (DC or AC) feeding it.  But this clever port provides a measurement of current with a voltage: 1 Volt equals 1 Amp.  So if you measure 0.2V (across the pins labeled ‘G’—for ground—and ‘I’—for current), that means the device you have attached to the output is drawing 0.2A or 200mA. The pin labeled ‘V’ always outputs the voltage that the LPS-1.2 is set to.  Small displays are available cheaply to use this—see below pic—and we may develop our own little display board to peek up from back of the unit.

With this redesign our own parts cost have gone up significantly.  So the price will be going up—by $40 to $435.  Likewise, the $655 ISO REGEN/LPS-1 bundle price (a $50 savings) will, with the LPS-1.2 be going up $50 to $695.

We think all of the above is very good news.
However, for the 50+ people who have placed--and are waiting on orders for an LPS-1 or ISO REGEN/LPS-1 bundle since about the very end of November—and were promised a January 18th ship date—we have some bad news followed by good news:
a) The UltraCap LPS-1.2 boards and chassis are not yet out of production and we are going to blow right past that January 18th date.  250 of each will be arriving the week of February 5th, so barring any train wrecks we can plan on shipping everyone’s orders the following week.  I am guessing on Valentine’s Day.
b) All customers who already placed orders for the LPS-1 (and/or ISO REGEN/LPS-1 bundles) at the original price will be receiving the new UltraCap LPS-1.2 as described above.  So that’s a $40 per unit savings they are getting—as consolation for having to wait about 3 more weeks to be shipped a tremendously upgraded power supply.
This information will also be sent in an e-mail to everyone who ordered when the web page and confirmation had said January 18th.

We are now accepting pre-orders for the new UltraCap LPS-1.2—strictly via our web site as usual.

John and I will try to answer your questions, but please realize that this is a very busy time for us and there is still much to prepare.  And despite the above detailed enhancements perhaps sounding like simple changes, I can assure you that the engineering challenges that were encountered in this major shift of architecture (especially in the charging circuits) involved at least 200 hours of work.  I am not even sure how much hair John now has left! 

We do this all for our fans.  After this, we can continue on with the other exciting products planned for the year, as well as John’s ongoing development of a unique and powerful measurement system.
Here’s to good music and more great audio fun in 2018!
 

Thanks everyone,

—Alex Crespi
—John Swenson 

Congrats Alex and John!

Really exciting product and can’t wait to get my hands on one. 

I am very happy that Uptone Audio listens to its customers and keeps pushing the boundaries. An impedance of 3 mOhm, that is impressive!

Congratulations, Alex and John.

That looks like a sweet PSU, and if it can improve on the LPS-1, it will be very special indeed!

Great news Alex & John!

A very nifty swiss army PSU that ticks many of my boxes. It will be a winner! Congrats! ?

51 minutes ago, RichB said:

So, there is some kind of cleverness going on here (with switching around between s-capacitor banks) that allows a 7.5V charging/source power supply via the LPS1.2 to generate 9V or 12V output voltages (without using some kind of DC - DC converter), yes???? :-)

All kind of cleverness of course!  

There have always been both buck and boost converters in the LPS-1.  All this is on the charging side--and the cap bank being charged is never the one providing voltage to the output regulators--so noise from the switching regulator module is not a factor at all.

Really the input "charger" voltage has not much direct relationship to the output voltage that our UltraCap supplies are set to.  We charge the caps up to appropriate voltages (higher than the output settings).  So let's say one were to use a 24V/1.5A AC>DC unit to "energize"/charge the LPS-1.2 (that's the top of the new model's allowed input range; don't to that to an original LPS-1); And let's say the output switch of the LPS-1.2 is set to 5V.  There is not a 19V drop!  The charge regulator module charges the supercapacitor banks (now 70 Farads per side!) alternately, but in this case to something like 8-9V (John can correct me), and the cascade of TPS7A4700 reg on each bank feeding the paralleled LT3045 regs at the output deal with the drop.

Conversely, and to your question, a 7V charger can be used and the module will boost to 18V for a unit set to output 12V.  

The most important thing is that whatever charger is used be capable of 36 watts.  Not that that much power is drawn all the time--it certainly is not--but it is needed during charge cycles.

The reality is that the LPS-1.2 is nearly unfathomably complex (lots of FPGA code and unique and tuned circuits involved), and this redesign was vastly more challenging than either of us imagined it would be.    

7 hours ago, lmitche said:

Congratulations on the launch of the  LPS-1.2!  The specs look great!

Thanks Larry!

7 hours ago, lmitche said:

I am curious about the new smps energizing supply. Will you be selling this with the ISO Regens as well?

Likely at some point.  In fact, that is why I chose to got with a 7.5V/4.8A/36W unit instead of a 12V/3A/36W.  Want to only have to stock one model across the range, but ISO REGENs get hot from 9V or 12V if they are asked to provide much 5VBUS output to the DAC.

But we still have 190 Mean Well 7.5V/22W units in stock, and the new 36W supply is physically a little bigger--requiring different retail packaging.  So ISO REGENs will continue to ship with the Mean Well for a bit.

7 hours ago, lmitche said:

Are there models of different voltage available in this product line?

Sure, if one wants to order 1,000 pieces from China like I did.   With the particular OEM we chose, everything is custom--in the sense that they do not stock 36W units at various voltages.  You tell them what you want, pay the money for 1,000 pcs., and wait. (I also paid $2,094 for UPS shipping of the 25 cartons. Ocean freight takes months and brokerage fees, local ground transport, etc. all add up anyway.)

The quality of these new chargers seems very high.  I loaded this 4.8A-rated unit up to 6 amps(!) yesterday and it held up great.  The output cap on this unit must be pretty big too because after unplugging the AC from it the LED on this SMPS stays lit for 40 seconds.

Plus the factory was willing to customize the DC cord to a 1.0m 16AWG coax (lower inductance and less radiated field), a shorter DC barrel that full inserts into the jacks we use,  and they put my artwork on it.  I even went with them for the detachable 18-inch AC cord as theirs have plated and more solid plug prongs.

2 minutes ago, RichB said:

@Superdad Thanks Alex and in case you have not noticed yet, have already ordered a LPS-1.2. :-D

Thanks Rich.  You're the best! 

In case others don't know, Rich runs one of the best small dealer shops on the east coast--and we have known each other for at least 20 years.  We met because he helped Merlin Music Systems at every CES, and Merlin always used Hovland/UpTone film-and-foil MusiCaps in their crossovers.

Recently Rich spent 40+ hours completely rebuilding a pair of Merlin TSM speakers --that were a gift from Bobby P. (RIP) to Hovland more than 20 years ago.  The only thing left original were the cabinets.  Now they sound terrific in the UpTone Audio workshop, driven by a vintage American-made Marantz 19 receiver and an Apple Airport Express modified to be powered by an LPS-1.

Here's a pic:

48 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

All kind of cleverness of course!  

There have always been both buck and boost converters in the LPS-1. 

Speaking of cleverness, is there a "buck and boost" device for amperage?

I have devices for which 1.5A would offer a comfort cushion for their draw of 1+ A and 1.1 does not do it.

Apparently I am not alone since I troll a forum where posters are ganging 2 and 3 LT3045 boards to get over higher amperage.

Unfortunately no, the LPS-1.2 is 1.1A and that's it. The design was optimized for 1A, anything higher takes a complete redesign, not just "bumping up" a couple parts. The transistors used for switching between banks will not work well at higher currents than they currently handle. Going to "beefier" transistors radically increase their capacitance which dramatically degrade the leakage current isolation. Increased current also means significantly redesigning the driver circuits to these transistors.

Once you start this process there is a huge cascade of effects and you wind up with a whole redesign in order to run at higher currents.

What this really means is that the LPS-1.2 is highly optimized for the best performance at the lowest possible price. There is no way to boost the current without completely redoing all that work. It would take a lot of work, and I can guarantee that it would be a lot bigger and cost a lot more money.

John S.

10 minutes ago, jamesg11 said:

Sufficient spares of this new-gen smps that might be available for separate purchase?

I already know the answer ...

Do you? 

Well the answer is YES, but not until AFTER UltraCap LPS-1.2 production is rolling and all orders have been filled.  Ask again in March please.  Of course anyone who does not want to wait until then can either:

a) Use John's easy DIY ground-shunt trick as detailed here;

b) Place an order for an LPS-1.2 here.

Thanks all.  Time for dinner.  Good night.  --Alex C. 

3 hours ago, agladstone said:

We all want an LPS-2.2 one day in the future to power our higher current gear! I know it sounds like a pipe dream and something that will likely not ever come to realization, but it would be a winner!  I would be glad to pay $900 - $1,000 range for one and I’m sure everyone else with DACs, etc that require larger current draw would too:) - I won’t hold my breath, but it would be a dream come true and another major sellout product for UpTone!! 

I want to stop working on power stuff for a while and get working on all the clock analysis stuff so we can get a good handle on all this clocking stuff and build some equipment where we really KNOW what is going on, I have a feeling this will be far more game changing than another power supply.

John S.

15 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

Sorry BigGuy.  All the stuff I was explaining is what goes on on the input, charging side of the LPS-1.2.  Nothing can change the fact that the wonderful LT3045 is just a 500mA regulator (we use 2 of course and push them a bit to deliver a total 1,100mA).

 

The folks who are paralleling separate LT-3045 boards for more current need to be very careful--with matching to within a few milliVolts--or they will end up with one board bearing much more of the load.  I've hand-paired a few LPS-1 boards in the past to allow for parallel connection and higher current, but that is not a service we offer.  

Of course series connection of units for higher voltage can always be done by anyone. 

 

Building a higher current UltraCap supply--say based on 6 LT3045s--would require larger everything!  Larger ultracaps, larger case, heat-sinks, different charging circuits, larger energizing supply, etc.   Don't anyone hold their breath for this from us!  

 

As I write this I see a notice that John also replied.  Bet he says almost the same thing...

Thanks to both John and Alex for the detailed explanation.  I have wondered why it is so difficult to find higher amperage power supplies or even DIY boards at a reasonable price.

Congrats on the LPS-1.2.

My 3 current LPS-1's now look at me reproachfully with their green "eyes" as they watch me drool over the LPS-1.2.