Bojack, depending on our starting point and individual sensibilities our mileage may vary. While according to APC's literature the unit might protect against against power drops,has a fan something the OP expressly wants to avoid.
david
david
DAC Being Impacted By Home Power Issue - Help
A review in Stereophile by Kal Rubinson (KR4 at Audiogon) of the APC S10's similar but more powerful big brother, the S15, can be found here (scroll down to the middle of the page). There is no mention of fan noise amid his very favorable comments. I would re-emphasize my earlier suggestion, though, that the first question which should be addressed is whether or not the outlets used for the system are connected to the same AC phase as the refrigerators. If they are, and assuming they are not on the same breaker, a simple wiring change at the breaker panel could very conceivably solve the problem. ZD's suggestion of trying a long extension cord to different outlets may also provide useful information. Regards, -- Al |
John, "Due to the fact that the first two levels are on slabs..." Are you saying that your first and second floor are of concrete slab? If so, then yes, running a circuit to your listening room will be very expensive. However, If your second floor is of wood frame then maybe I would contact another electrical contractor to look at running a dedicated circuit to your listening room. I am very familiar with holmes on slabs and can tell you that there usually are ways of feeding a wire to another level and on the opposite side of the house without breaking the bank. Typically you would look for possibly 2 closets stacked one over the other (or maybe a utility room under a closet, ect.). A good mechanic would be able to remove the base, drill holes and fish the wire up to the attic. And then make a drop down the wall where you want the electrical outlet. |
After connecting the DAC to my system, I listened briefly to some incredible sound, and then, the sound started dropping out, almost literally every five minutes. I had a friends brother, who runs his own electrical contracting company stop over to look at the issue. He was able to identify the problem as being associated with my refrigerator and large wine refrigerator, which are on the other side of the wall of my listening room. Every time they turn on, or cycle, the drop in power affects the DAC,"He was able to identify the problem as being associated with my refrigerator and large wine refrigerator, which are on the other side of the wall of my listening room. Every time they turn on, or cycle, the drop in power affects the DAC," Did the Electrical Contractor, electrician, verify the receptacles on both sides of the wall are fed from the same branch circuit? By chance did he turn off the breaker that feeds the branch circuit that feeds the power to the refrigerators and then checked your audio equipment power and see it was dead as well ? Al, All good points. I would start first by verifying if indeed the refrigerators and audio equipment receptacles are fed from the same 120V branch circuit. Are the refrigerators located in the kitchen? If so the branch circuit wiring should be a minimum of #12 awg. Do electricians sometimes cheat and feed a lonely duplex receptacle on the other side of the wall from a kitchen circuit? yes. If the OP's electrician did not check for sure, the OP can by checking the panel schedule on the electrical panel and turn off the breaker that feeds the refrigerators. If the panel schedule is not marked, well then, he will just have to start turning off one single pole 120V 20 amp breakers one at a time until he finds the correct circuit/s. He could plug a table lamp into the receptacle his audio system is plugged into instead of having his audio system turned-on and killing the power to it. Note the OP said the audio system is on the other side of the wall where the refrigerators are located. If the audio equipment is not fed from the same branch circuit as the refrigerators,the problem could be caused by radiated EMI/RFI. Solution might be to move the audio system to another wall if possible. It is also a very good chance the receptacles on another wall will be fed from another branch circuit. He can find that out if he finds the breaker that feeds the refrigerators. With that breaker turned off check for power at the other receptacles in his audio room. IF the problem is caused by radiated EMI/RFI due to the close proximity of the refrigerators and DAC, jmho, the OP will not solve his DAC problem with a power conditioner. If the audio equipment cannot be moved to another wall and the problem is being caused from radiated EMI/RFI it is possible a thick sheet of steel of sufficient size behind the two refrigerators might solve the problem. (Multiple layers of sandwiched steel bolted together will accomplish the same amount of shielding needed.) Jim |