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Being an incessant tweaker and having read the numerous threads on this tweak, I recently picked up a Hammond 193L choke. It arrived yesterday and I attached it to a plug with the longer lead going to the hot part of the plug.My dedicated audio outlet is fully occupied so I thought I'd try it on the HT line. All my HT stuff is plugged ino an APC S15 UPS/conditioner so the 193 went into the other duplex on that line and left it for a few hours. When I turned the TV on, I was pleasantly surprised at the improvement in the picture quality with what I'd describe as more uniformity in color intensities and a sharper image as I was able to more clearly see the very small words that one sees at the end of auto lease commercials, etc.
I'm not sure how I'm going to implement this into my audio rig. I've thought about wiring it directly into either of the plugs of the power cords, or building a distribution box and pluggin it in there.
A couple questions for other 193 users: How many can be used in one's home? I'd like to put on in our bedroom for my Sony LCD set. Another question- how many can be used in a system? Will too many cause sound degradation?
Thanks in advance.
Cogito Ergo Credo
Edits: 05/02/09Follow Ups:
Did you try, while looking at the improved video, to have someone unplug the 193L ? If so can you see the video return to before the 193L ? The benefits you mention should be immediately apparent if the parallel choke is actually improving the situation.
No, but I am familiar enough with the resolution of my TV. I have since put the 193 on the power cord of my CDP. I do notice less resolution on the TV since the 193L has been taken out.Cogito Ergo Credo
Edits: 05/06/09
Thanks for your response. I am very interested to understand how a parallel reactor (choke) behaves when placed in parallel, on a residential branch circuit that feeds out precious equipment.
I got a bit concerned about the workings used here, but nevertheless I will experiment with this as well.
One suggestion is that it's a good idea to put a small in-line fuse holder in series with the Inductor for safety reasons with 2 amp slo-blo fuse.
The chokes used are 5 Henrys or greater, so their impedance at 60 Hz is greater than 1800 ohms and the current at 120 volts is less than 64 mA (reactive).
These chokes look like power transformers but without secondary windings. Their parasitic capacitance is what makes them act as filters for high frequency electrical noise.
You may add a fuse if you like, but be aware that many fuses degrade audio performance.
At 60 Hz, a 193L just sits there in parallel with a reactance of 3015.33 Ohms.
We are talking steady state behavior, not transient.
It's probably the 'shock absorber' properties that make the difference you are noticing to line transients ?
The 193L will make the power factor ever so slightly more inductive, for whatever this may do to the loads in parallel. Maybe irrelevant.
Whether this makes an improvement, is probably another audioasylum subjective tweak.
Think of it's analogue as a capacitor charging up to a steady state DC value. Then what ?
My only question remains, why 193L ? Why not a smaller or larger value inductor ? Is that exact value of L important, and why so?
I fail to connect this tweak with the behaviour of an inductor at 60 Hz, to me it seems like the an "emperors clothes" tweak.
Inductance is almost always applied in series to choke out HF noise in power conditioners. Not much happens electrically in this scenario, apart from a very small increase of an almost un-measurable power factor degradation.
When you factor in the rest of the active residential AC loads, it get's lost in translation so to speak.
The fuse is for safety.
You can use a 1/4 amp or less, simply to protect the rest of the equipment in parallel.
The AC branch circuit breaker on the outlet may not trip in time if the 193L happens to short, unlikely, but then we have fire extinguishers handy when we least expect to need them.
I forgot to add...
If the Parasitic Capacitance of the 193L Inductor (have you determined this value empirically?) is what makes the tweak work, there are dozens of Power Conditioners out there that have capacitors in parallel that provide all of the benefits you are striving to achieve (it seems.)
What then make the parasitic capacitance of an inductor so special?
Why not just put a capacitor in parallel ?
Just curious to understand the rationale here.
You have some Inductive reactance at 60 Hz doing nothing and the parasitic capacitance it has doing something.
Seems like a cheap tweak if you have a stray choke "inductor" handy to act as a surrogate parallel capacitor.
Could be expensive mail order for a 193L Hammond if you don't.
Something just doesn't add up here, or maybe none of the above matters in the search for the line conditioner tweak of the century.
Even though I am skeptical, I am going to try this tweak when I get home in early june.
Sometimes the science and the results don't correlate somehow in the tweakers world.
I have the largest Hammond Choke they sell I bought years ago, a 193Q.
Do you think that this 10H, 500ma choke is OK as compared to the model you are using ?
Will report back what improvements I can perceive with a before-after test.
Fuse vs. sonics is a debate I choose to stay away from. In my mind safety first.
The chokes I've seen have resonances around 5 KHz, IIRC. This means they look like capacitors above that point. The capacitance involves the magnet wire insulation and air, and it likely has fewer problems than the typical synthetic polymers (polyester, polypropylene) used in line-rated suppression caps.
The size of the choke determines the magnitude of the parasitic capacitance and the winding resistance. The smaller chokes seem to be less effective, so your big one should work as well as or better than the typical 193L.
I don't use chokes in my setup, as I've found good performance with R-C filters using the Wima metallized paper line-rated suppression caps.
Happy to hear you like the tweak. Wire the choke directly into the IEC connector of the power cord.Several can be used around the home with no problems. One can be added per component with no problems, best used with digital, video, and amplifiers.
Alan Maher
Edits: 05/02/09 05/02/09 05/02/09
The 193L puts out a hefty magentic field as measured by a couple devices I use. If the 193 is mounted on the IEC end, might not the magnetic field it puts out affect the operation of the component or am I incorrect about my concerns over magnetic fields?
Cogito Ergo Credo
No need to be concerned with the magnetic field, the choke is installed in parallel and not series. The magnetic field of the choke will be used to reduce the ringing of the caps in the power supply. The choke at 60Hz should act as the perfect capacitor and will adapt to the component draw.If you are still concerned with stray magnetic field you can always install a parallel filter.
Alan
Edits: 05/02/09
Can you explain how a a 193L Choke @60 Hz works as the perfect capacitor? Or did I misunderstand something. Tnx, Rich
and will try it out tomorrow.
Cogito Ergo Credo
Give the choke 2 weeks to settle in after the install.
Alan
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Cogito Ergo Credo
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