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Discovering I may have the cleanest AC power in USA

PS Audio Noise Harvesters are on sale. $50 each.. So naturally I had to buy a pair. 36 hours later in my home.Well I clean the prongs, Caig Gold them, and plug them in.
Nothing.
Nothing.
I am wondering broken? DOA?
I move them to other outlets not on my stereo in the kitchen, in the bathroom (the bathroom has a air cleaner plugged in the same outlet, motor running). OK a single blink.
I remember the dimmer thing. Plug the Noise Harvesters into the stereo again.. and turn on the only dimmer in the place (in the bedroom, on a different circuit) KABLAM!!! Now they are blinking pretty regular. OK they are NOT broken.They also blink when I put them on an Adcom AC box also on different circuit than stereo. Both the Cable internet box and the WiFi box are on it. And yes they blink every minute or so.I checked the Furman REF 20 outlets, no blink. The direct to the amp.. no blink.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So I apparently have just naturally the cleanest AC line in America? (For my stereo equipment.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Part of it may be the fact I packed the duplex enclosure 20 amp single line I use for the stereo with small quartz crystals coated with Automotive dielectric grease, in small baggies, the duplex is also the Furutech GTX NCF type, and the wall plugs are also filled with the loose small quartz crystals, plus some flattened baggies of the crystals wrapped around the outside shell of the plugs at the wall
Good thing I only ordered two of the Noise Harvesters. More are not needed. (and I actually do not even need the two. but that is OK. I can keep them as a sentinel, to know if I ever get noise on the lines.
So I do not know if my home made anti noise crystals work magic? (along with the Furutech NCF which is basically a refined version of my own crystals) or if I really do have some of the cleanest AC around. (PS I live in a 90 unit apartment building, folks above below, around me. Things like my frig I have several ferrite cores with the AC zipcord wire wrapped in and around them, ditto air cleaners, lamps..
elizabeth
elizabeth OP
6,726 posts
 
Clearly I do not have enough noise on the AC lines to hear or see a difference. Even with the one dimmer in use in my apartment.. no change. (If the dimmer did make a change, I would have noticed it before now.. MY LP collection is in the bedroom, so using them the lights on and off a lot while listening. (The Noise Harvester is responding a lot to the dimmer even though the dimmer is on another branch. and the Noise Harvester is at least seventy five feet of wire and a few circuit breakers away from it.
Other folks have commented they can her the difference removing the AC line noise.
MY THREAD HERE is mainly saying I have no need for them. Period. Thus the I have the cleanest power in USA comment. But I do have to say using them to find the products which add noise seems very useful.
My laptop charger in particular is spewing HF junk.
One thing I am going to do is stuff that dimmer box back full of treated crystal baggies. and then see if the results matter to the Noise Harvester. I will report back on the results.            
Added ten minutes later: I pulled out the dimmer, stuffed a few baggies of treated crystals around the back, and wrapped one around each leg of wire. Results: lessened the blinking of the Noise Harvester by about a half. Still clear even blinks, but wider spacing between the blinks. from obviously one source. So the crystals did a little, but not a lot to eliminate the HF noise from the dimmer. The dimmer makes no noise if on full, or off. Only creating hash when actually 'dimming' the two 100 watt bulbs. (Yes I still use incandescent in there. They are not on a lot. and last for many years!
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
1,457 posts
 
Just what kind of noise is the PS harvesting?
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
This just in!

Excerpt from Stereo Times review.

“The little lights on the Harvesters blink continually, indicating that noise on the power line is being reduced to harmless light. They are quite busy when I turn on any lights in my listening room: this is, according to PS Audio, because the lights are generating contaminating NOISE. Well, one thing’s certain, when I turn off my lights, whether halogen or standard bulb, the frequency of the lights blinking on the Harvesters slows down significantly. When I turn them back on, the Harvesters light up like the 4th of July.

(Note to self: Oh, I get it! 💡That’s why people like to listen in the dark.)

My first impression of the PS Audio Harvesters during Dave Caplan’s visit was confirmed. Overall, I think the Harvesters quieted the system quite noticeably. This has, in my opinion, a sort of domino effect. Things get noticeably quieter thus the music gains a greater sense of spatial acuity and dimensionality and this, of course, makes music sound more lifelike.

To be honest, I couldn’t detect any differences using a single PS Audio Harvester in my system. Two gave a very subtle impression of lowered the noise floor, giving the music a slightly better feel. Three definitely took some hard edges off massed strings, giving them a smoother feel. Four certainly took the sound closer to what I heard with all five installed. It became obvious why PS Audio sells them in 5-packs! Five appears to be the magic number of units for optimal improvement. And at $399.00, I would have to qualify them as a bargain. Because they can be used in parallel using 5,10, 15 or more isn’t crazy nor unheard of and may provide interesting results (though with all those blinking lights your space might closer resemble an airport landing strip).”


elizabeth OP
6,726 posts
 
Currently, the sale at Music Direct is two or more... $50 each.So at the sale price five would be $250. not $399.
Since I already have no noise.. I cannot see buying several more just to discover I didn’t have any noise after all....
Seriously, on the amplifier line, the light NEVER blinks.(except if the bedroom light dimmer is on.. then just a steady slow blink blink blink/The Plasma in on the Furman, and the noise is cut from the other duplex in the Furman, and outside of it, nothing.
When I moved the Laptop PS, the noise is not making it back to anything.
Even though I do not seem to need them, they were useful to find noise. And pick out offending noisemakers. Worth $100 to know this.                 
to twoleftears: The ’NOISE’ is HF garbage riding on the AC lines.
glupson
1,794 posts
 
I am not 55 yet, but I will get on the waiting list for your 55+ place. It seems perfectly suited for pumps, ventilators, and whatever I may need one day. For music, I will take geoffkait’s battery-powered approach.
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