My PS-1 Arrived Today

[Maks]

I don't intend to do an in-depth review here, but wanted to offer up my first impressions of the PS-1. I know from experience that cheaply made switching power supplies can cause noise, be it in audio or video form and have seen it firsthand numerous times. My system consists of two W4S Remedys and one Recovery used on a Mac Mini. After hooking up all these devices I was looking for a linear power supply solution that could support these devices and possibly more without using something like three iFi Power supplies (which I know are switching and more later on this). Enter the PS-1.

I've had my eye on the PS-1 since it was announced on the W4S site and was excited to learn it was now shipping during the holiday sale. The sale included an extra power module so it was a no brainer. The package arrived today and I was impressed by the weight. It's a sign there is a very solid transformer inside and the W4S website confirms this with photos. The rest of the build quality is typical of W4S, no cheap plastic parts here. It's a solid construction and looks great as well.

Digging in there is a standard power cord and enough DC cables to support however many power modules you've ordered. The cables are 1m in length (~40" tip to tip) which should be adequate for most people. There is a manual even though operation is pretty straightforward.

Operation couldn't be easier. There's a power switch, the unit is on or off, the manual recommends turning the unit off when components aren't in use. My unit arrived with two power modules, both set to 5V by default. Since I'm using 9V devices I had to remove the modules and change the voltage. Simple enough. Remove two phillips screws, pull the modules out and simply slide the switch between 5V, 9V, 12V or 15V depending on your application. Done and done.

I haven't done much listening yet and no A/B comparisons, but I intend to do so this weekend. I also have an iFi iPower so I will try to compare that vs the original power supply vs the PS-1.

That all said I think this is a great product. You've got a linear power supply that is modular and supports 4 different voltages simultaneously in a beautiful compact form factor.