2. misc-audio
  3. 973062414

The fallacy of ac treatment

I see a lot of threads related to managing and tweaking the ac powerout end of electronic systems. Much has been said about dedicated wiring, termination and even the right kind of extension cords to use. I work for an electric utility; and that's the extent of my credibilty here. The majority of you will no doubt be far more erudite wrt music hardware. Just a thought, though: domestic ac distribution goes thus: power station-step up-city-step down-subdivision-final step down. As far as the utility is concerned, you and all your neigbours are collectively the load for the step down tranformer. Any inductance/capacitance created by your neigbour running motors/tubelights, etc is felt by the lot of you. Additionally, the voltage frequency will almost always move around a tolerance from 50hz as the whole country turns on the air, off the lights - changes all the time as peaker plants ramp up etc. Nothing can change that- the frequency of the grid supplying your city is the frequency in the mains at your house. So what's my point? Well only that how much difference can the last 10 feet of cabling, etc make when the other hundreds of miles are outside of your control? And more importantly, frequency is one of the most imp parameters for measuring electricity quality (your expensive hand-coiled toroids are entirely subject to the f in the primaries) and nothing other than running an f generator can shield you from that. Methinks all the improvements you see from ac cord treatments are pyschosomatic. But that's cool.
snobgoblinf669
whatjd
615 posts
 
Sorry to say the same thing over and over again..in these threads that come up. But quite simply, any and all pieces of wire act an antenna, and there is no bigger antenna in ones home than the yards and yards of AC wire. Any audio component, well designed or not, can be impacted by RF (as well as EMI, etc..) and an audio circuit can work to amplify or pass on RF...or can intermodulate it with the audio signal. It is very true, that getting crazy with high cost AC treatment can become overkill, but RF and other electrical concerns for audio does exist...and as Jeffrt points out very well..it is best for one to try, and do, at whatever level pleases them.
carl_eber
1,425 posts
 
Snobblob, Methinks you haven't heard a PS Audio 300, which does re-generate the frequency, BTW.
mikem
39 posts
 
There are several enhancements avaialable that DO improve the power we receive from the utility company. The PS units re-create power. I have a Balanced power isolation transformer that lowers the noise floor by 15db. I have heard for myself the difference power cords make in a system. The differences are not great, but in a revealing system, they do make a difference and can be used to fine tune a system. While I don't believe $2000 power cords are worth the expense, I have found that a well built and shielded power cord can make a difference and can be had for about $140. Those who spend thousands on power cords could use the money elsewhere in the system for larger gains. mike
classicaudio
2 posts
 
Snobgoblin: Love your handle. I can't say I am qualified to have an opinion on this, since I have never listened to a mains cable. But I have listened to a lot of other things that are supposed to make HUGE differences and just DON'T hear them. I hear small differences but not big ones. And considering the subtlety of difference I have heard in other kinds of wires, I just can't get worked up over $200.00 for a "Mains" cable (sounds better than "power cord"). I do hear some differences a good decent speaker cable and zip cord. But after that it is - in my opinion - all voodoo for the "true believers" in high end - the "it's got to be lots better if you throw a lot of money at it" crowd.) I made a statement questioning the supposedly vast differences in high end audio equipment in a post of my own - "AUDIO AND THE EMPORERS NEW CLOTHES" recently. Suggestions that money doesn't always make it better will always raise the ire of some of the true believers. (I wonder if maybe the money is what they are "true believers" in). Then again, maybe our ears just aren't as good as theirs. But if that is the case I am thank the good Lord that it is not nearly so expensive for me to enjoy good music as some of these others.
hiwaves
43 posts
 
The last ten feet has become critical for high-end systems because the manufacturers of those systems have provided the consumer with the lowest quality power cords possible. Hence the need to purchase and use 10 gauge or 8 gauge cords in order to supply hungry amps with enough power to drive the bass in our speakers and subwoofers. The last ten feet is critical because municipalities have permitted the use of the lowest quality power outlets in our homes, not hospital grade units. The last ten feet is critical because the internal wiring in our homes is often not copper, or is otherwise inadequate, and so we attempt to overcome this by wiring from the transformer to a dedicated panel just for audio equipment. The last ten feet is critical because there is a measurable, and obvious, improvement in audio reproduction when we apply these changes. What other justification do we need?
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