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New dedicated line & outlets sound worse, not better- HELP!

About 3 weeks ago I installed a new dedicated power line from my breaker box to the outlets for my stereo set-up.  I used 10 gauge Romex, a new breaker in the panel, and also installed two new Porter Port cryo'd outlets.

My system is comprised of the following:
Gallo Strada speakers
M&K MX-80 sub
Parasound A23 amp
Consonance Cyber 222 line stage pre
MHDT Stockholm 2 DAC
Audio Philleo converter & Pure Power module
Clear Day double shotgun speaker cables
Silnote Epirus USB cable
Silnote Morpheus IC from DAC
Audience PowerChord from DAC
spiked maple stands for pre and amp

So my concern is that my system sounded just about perfect prior to the installation of the dedicated line and outlets- very clean, open, and detailed, yet also a musical and relaxed sounding. I figured the new dedicated line and outlets would just bring more of all of the good things I was hearing.

Instead, following it's installation, everything sounds a bit edgy and fatiguing to my ears. Soundstage depth and separation are improved, as well as bandwidth, but I literally cannot listen for more than 30 minutes before I get irritated. The treble seems too aggressive, which I'm very sensitive to. And there seems to be a slight veil over everything- just not as open as before.
Do I need to just be patient with break-in of the line and outlets? I've heard it can take a month or more for things to settle down. What are others experience after installing a new line and/or outlets?
Any insights or possible issues I might have overlooked are much appreciated!
Lincoln
lincnabby
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,611 posts
 
Agree with the need for break in.  One thing to check and I speak here from personal experience, check that the ground is tight on that new line. When our house was built, I had the electricians run 10 gauge Romex to my listening room.  After some time had passed and things should have been sounding pretty good, I opened up the 200 amp service and found several loose, and I mean loose grounds.  Correcting that made a huge difference, especially dynamically.

I am interested to hear how things go as your line has run-in time.

lak's avatar
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lak
3,516 posts
 
I totally agree with the above posts.
Other than using my cable burner, to burn in cabling and outlets I have plugged a fan into the outlets and let it run 24/7 when I'm not listening to music or I install the outlet where I can plug in my refrigator or a freezer.
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
Um, one reason why I usually suggest against such great wiring is you are closer to the noise in the rest of your house and outside of the house as well. A little impedance in the wiring may actually reduce noise.

I feel it’s better to run a 220V line to a step-down transformer, and feed your audio equipment from that. Commercial step-down transformers are relatively inexpensive, and electrician installed.

I would suggest a Furman conditioner with LiFT or Equitech like balanced power conditioner as ways you can solve the problem now relatively inexpensively.

Best,


Erik
auxinput
1,538 posts
 
I honestly don't know about using a refrigerator or freezer for break-in.  It's true that the compressor motors draw a lot of current, but they don't run all the time.  You will only get a small trickle from the computer based controller in the frig.  It's probably better just to leave your amplifier on - as it will draw a certain amount of current idle (the A23 is biased somewhat into Class A, so I'm going to guess at somewhere between 100-200 watt current draw -- the Emotiva XPA-1L set at Class A mode 30 watts will draw about 160 or so watts from the wall idle).
lincnabby OP
43 posts
 
I'm encouraged with responses. 
I did not burn in the Porter Ports prior to installation.
I'm currently running fans on two of the outlets and I have kept the Parasound A23 on day and night. 
At this point it's probably just a matter of patience. 
I will update again in a week or so and share impressions. Hopefully there will be some improvements!

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