Core Audio Technology Kalos Power Supply HUGE UPGRADE

Our Philosophy

Your system is only as good as the power fed into the chips. The problem isn't that companies don't know how to design a proper power supply, it's that it's the very first place that costs are cut and things are simplified.



The truth is that designing a high-end power supply isn't as simple as throwing in a couple of regulators or large capacitors. While that may lower the noise, that isn't the end solution to power supply design for digital.



Digital is affected by different bandwidths of noise than analog circuits. It's this noise that causes amplitude distortion on the ones and zeros of our digital sources. This distortion leads to the lack of organic character and emotional content that we find in most modern digital.



By treating all sources of noise in the power supply we not only make power conditioning obsolete, but fancy power cables as well. Our power supplies boast nearly 100% PSRR and we have implemented technologies that remove distortion that could potentially be created in the power supply itself.



Cascading Filter Technology

A single type of filter can only be tuned to a certain bandwidth. Because of this we don't believe that a single technology is the solution to ultimately clean power.



Removing the noise from the circuit is the single most important aspect of power supply design and, unfortunately, the least explored. Many filters just dump power supply noise onto ground, which is then floated or decoupled. This noise usually remains rather stagnant on the circuit since there's nothing pulling it away from the device. This stagnant noise creates resistance on the ground plane making the power supply less effective. Since power supplies follow the principal of path of least resistance, the more resistance created on the filter the smaller the bandwidth.



Our approach is to control the noise by creating a magnetic pull on ground that literally sucks it away from the circuit. This involves a rather sophisticated grounding layout. While the concept began with star grounding, we didn't believe that was enough to remove filtered noise from the circuit. With the path of least resistance in mind we specifically crafted devices that allowed us to control resistance at certain points. Doing this allows us to control how the current flows through our circuit and to where. Think of it as a noise vacuum.



The next step was to understand how filters work and what filters are the most important for digital systems. By using a bank of capacitors we reduce the Equivalent Series Resistance. Lowering the resistance increases the bandwidth of the filter. Because electrolytic capacitors can only be so fast, we also have a bypass section using different types and values of film caps to further increase the speed and bandwidth of the filter. Voltage regulators further help to remove power supply ripple. Ripple current is controlled and removed using chokes and our custom constant current devices.



The final step was our AC filter design. Higher order AC harmonics are one of the primary causes of voltage ripple in the power supply. Even the most sophisticated of power conditioners and cables still pick up noise before the power hits the IEC. Because it's impossible for a single power conditioner to be tuned to the resonance of different circuits, a fancy power conditioner is no true solution to treating power, only a bandaid.



Our AC filter is placed directly after the transformer before the 6NS rectifier diodes. This position makes it the very last point in the chain to filter AC and the shortest signal path possible. We then used standard mathematical formulas to generate a filter that is tuned specifically for our power supply circuit and digital components. The end result is a power supply that sounds identical plugged into the wall with a generic power cord as it does plugged into a fancy power conditioner and cable.



Core Audio Technology power supplies bring the beauty, emotional content, and fun factor only found in top-fleet analog systems.

The power supply is 8x14x3", weighs 17lbs, and can be configured to domestic or international voltages.

Customers have upgraded:
2009-2011 Mac Mini (including our internal power filter, inquire for pricing)
Metric Halo LIO-8
TC Impact Twin
Squeezebox Touch
Hiface Evo
Antelope Zodiac Gold
Empirical Audio Pace Car
Dodd Tube Buffer
Intel Atom computers
ATX Style PC Motherboards
And several other devices for significant upgrades.

As with all Core products it comes with a 30-day money-back Guarantee and 90-day full-value trade-in. A basic DC cable is included in the price, but mac mini modifications are not included.

For more information see http://www.coreaudiotechnology.com