The Sean Jacobs Mini ARC6 DC4 Linear Power Supply
By Roy Gregory
If estate agents (or ‘realtors’) ever got honest and started producing audio equipment, their universal mantra would probably be, “Power supply, power supply, power supply…” For once, they probably wouldn’t be exaggerating!
It’s particularly ironic that, in a world where power supplies, multiple power supplies and additional, external power supplies are almost de rigueur, the emergence of network audio has created an audio landscape littered with little boxes, most of which come trailing a wall-wart. So it comes as no surprise that, as we’ve move past the initial, unquestioning wonder of dematerialized muzak (for which read, cheap, available and with really, really big numbers attached so you know it must be good…) to a point where we’re actually trying to generate music from our streamed files, it’s now more or less accepted that those wall-warts have to go.
As a file-replay sceptic, I’ve struggled long and hard to generate decent, musically credible results from streamed sources, whether stored locally or on some corporate server. The arrival of the Wadax Reference Server, complete with PSU and Akasa cabling went a long way to levelling the digital playing field – at a price. That isn’t a problem in the context of six- or seven-figure systems. But it doesn’t really signify when it comes to more affordable set-ups. For that I use a Roon Nucleus+, which whilst it might not be the best sounding product out there, does represent a genuine and widely used benchmark. The problem is that, in standard form, there’s a gaping chasm in performance between the Roon and the Wadax. Time to figure out how to improve the Nucleus and the first stop on that path was always going to be a linear power supply to replace the plug-top supply that arrives with it.
It didn’t take long to discover that if you are serious about computer audio and upgrading your stock supplies, then Sean Jacobs of Custom Hi-Fi Cables Ltd is the go-to guy. Not only is he highly qualified (with qualifications that are actually relevant to audio power supply design and engineering), he consults on power supply design with at least one of the higher-profile ‘computer audio’ companies. But better still, he offers his expertise in ‘own-brand’ form, a form that, true to the best traditions of the UK audio industry, has much more to do with what’s on the inside than what’s on the outside. I could have messed around with a number of cheaper alternatives but, if performance is what counts, quicker and easier to start at the top. A brief correspondence with the man himself established that what was required was a “Mini ARC6 DC4 LPS”. I know when to be told and duly sat back to await delivery, without actually knowing quite what to expect…
Priced at £3,600 (inc. 20% sales tax and depending on configuration) the Jacobs power supply – hereafter referred to as the DC4 – costs around 50% more than the Nucleus+ it’s going to be driving, which will have many an audiophile (and not a few engineers) nodding sagely with approval. It sits one from the top of his range of ‘semi-stock’ power supplies, with a bigger, full-width version above and various lower power/complexity versions below, along with a bunch of dedicated supplies for Naim products. It’s worth noting that this and most of the other Jacobs power supplies can be built by partner producers in both the US and EU, making for easier supply in local markets and harmonised pricing, without the tax and duty issues associated with self-importing products.
