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I'm living in San Antonio, Texas. The voltage in my house is relatively high, usually in the range of 126-130V. The sound from my system is sometimes very good, but sometimes, especially in the evening, is tasteless. My system is AMC CD8B-Zu Oxyfuel-CREEK-OHM12-Zu Disco-Odyssey Stratos-Groneberg Quattro Reference-Migrage OM-10. My amp is directly plugged into a FIM outlet in the wall. The other component went through a Monster HTS2000. I believe the main reason is dirty power and high voltage. I’m trying to figure out an inexpensive way to fight the power problems. I don’t want to spend $1000-2000 to buy a power regulator. I’m thinking variac, but heard different opinions. I guess the result to some degree is system dependent. Now I need to figure out what is the key component that lowered sound quality when voltage is high or the power supply is dirty-CD player? Amp? What is the best way to solve the problem?
because the power company gets your line voltage back down to more normal levels doesnt mean your power is going to be any cleaner.after they --fix-- things it may actually get worse !
an isolation xformer will bypass the need for building any type of line filter/conditioner and will also not allow any surges to pass through it that may damage your equipment.
you could also get 2 120v primary/60v secondary xformers and series them for a balanced 60v-60v isolation xformer and never have to worry about your power again.
be certain that you get xformer(s) that are of a high enough va rating to be able to supply all the equipment you will be powering from them and then some extra for headroom.
all you would have to make then is a multi-receptacle box with some high quality receptacles and powercord going from the xformer(s) to the receptacle box.
this is going to be way more effective than any line-conditioner or surge suppressor that you would build for cheap.
and its also going to extend the life of your equipment and let you hear the best possible sound your system can produce. :)
ive been saying for a while that unless you have clean power you are never going to hear what your system is capable of.
snkby - Could you help me more about the balanced 60v-60v isolation transformer? Like web site carrying and explaining the basic of how to use the products. Audiogon people also recommended that.
http://www.equitech.com/ but realize that you dont have to buy the finished product if you are inclined to make something yourself for a fraction of the cost.its not they are ripping you off for their product its just that you can build something comparable for far less if you do the assembly/design work.
i bought some expensive $200usd-$500usd isolation xformers from the salvageyard for $3usd-$5usd each !!
for the balanced ac power you need 2 preferably identical xformers with 120v primary and 60v secondary.
then you simply parallel the wall-outlet power to the 2 120v inputs on the xformers then tie 1 of the xformer 0v secondary tap to the other xformer 60v secondary tap.
this will provide the balanced 60v-60v on the line out instead of the usual unbalanced 0v-120v configuration coming from the wall.
if you are not comfortable with dong the construction yourself you can buy a pre-built version of the unbalanced isolation transformer--> http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=6656097&St=6931&St2=47940268&St3=46791776&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=3207&DID=7 <-- for less than the cost of replacing even 1 piece of your audio equipment.
good luck and please post back with oyur results.
Power company came in today. Their meter measures 123.5V when my meter read 126V. He considered it "perfect voltage." Although I don't agree, I cannot argue with him. Now I'm on my own. I'm ready to try the suggestions from this thread and another one on audiogon, starting from the least expensive ones. Thanks every body for the help.
With line-level or low-power electronics, I use a BrickWall surge protector in line with a Tripp Lite LC1200 or LC1800 voltage regulator to keep things in check. With power amps, I use just the BrickWall.
That's way too high for US standard. 120 is supposed to be
the nominal.High voltage will shorten lamp lifetime, cause potential problems with some electronics, and a variety of other things.
I can't offhand attach what that means to your system sounding bad sometimes, but you might try checking line voltage when it sounds bad and when it doesn't. (No, this won't generally capture noise, but it might capture some information.)
Meanwhile, if you're sure that you've got an accurate meter, you ought to call the power company and tell them they're overvoltaging you.
You should also check other outlets in the house, make sure that you don't have a bad center (ground) that is allowing your house voltage to be high on one side of the 240 line and low on the other. While that's not the most likely thing, perhaps, if you find that to be the case, call an electrician quickly, that can lead to "ground" and "neutral" being far enough apart to be dangerous.
That problem can also be either in the house or at the pole, but in any case, make sure you don't have it!
JJ
"bad center (ground)" should read "bad center (neutral)".Coffee. I need coffee.
JJ
Your power is way to high. Should ideally be around 117. yes, call the power company immediately, being 10+ volts over can shorten the useful life of many appliances. You can have a step-down transformer wound for you, but I might look for a PP300 instead. It will keep you at 117 no matter what (within reason). Won't need to plug your amp into it.Marty
Hey, I glad I stumbled on to this thread. I have amp hum which I have not been able to get rid of. I don't even know how to check my 120 voltage but I will find out how.I go through light bulbs in this house like no other house I have ever been in.
Also the outlet that runs all my gear is the closest outlet in the house to the main breaker. In fact the outlet is directly below the the breaker box by about 2 1/2 feet. I am now suspicious that this may well be the problem. I thought it was a "dirty" power problem but this is sounding like it could be something different.
If I find this to be the probelm I will post and alert others.-- Thanks
Call your power company and complain. If the voltage is too high, it will shorten the life of many things, especially light bulbs. You transformer feeding your area could have a problem causing what your getting and the only way the power company is going to know is if someone brings it to their attention.
I have the same problem early evening, I think the main problem is with the FMJ DV27 playing CDs, as I don´t notice any big difference playing DVDs...So I assume it is it´s power supply inducing jitter on PCM playback, apparently it doesn´t affect the other components as much...
Consider one of Jon Risch's DIY balanced power filters. If you truly have a consistently high over voltage condition you could have a tx custom wound for your situation, (correct me if I'm wrong.)
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