Update 2, some food for thought?
Results so far
Test 1: When loaded the supply could only achieve about 80% of the rated 2.5A before the voltage dropped off. Trace 1 @ .55A load
Attached photos show results.
In photos showing two traces, the upper trace is channel 1 (power supply output) and the lower trace being a converter or filter:
Conclusions (so far)
The cheap switching power supplies and cloned converter that I tested appeared to be fairly noisy, the switching frequencies can be seen on the traces. The LC filter (which is a combination of Inductors and capacitors tuned to block certain frequencies) appeared to remove some of the power supply switching frequencies and might be worthy of addition tests and investigations.
I haven’t conducted any listening tests, I am always weary of ‘snake oil’ type magical fixes/upgrades to audio equipment, for all I know, manufacturers who power their equipment with switching supplies might already include additional filters to clean up power supply inadequacies.
Future tests will include using a linear 12 - 5v converter used with a switching supply and results for a fully linear supply.
Disclaimer:
Please note that I have no formal training in electronics, the knowledge I have gained is purely as a hobbyist, the above tests were carried out on equipment that was available to me, more up to date equipment such as a storage or digital oscilloscope would be required to achieve more accurate results than I was able to achieve.
