Hello!
What pin in the AC plug DirectStream is hot?
Tried it by ear, if I connect the hot pin "up" - the sound is softer.
If it's "down" - the sound more bright.
Hot pin "UP"-
Hot pin "DOWN" - 
What is right?
(I use European version 230V)
Experts, please, help me understand the issue.
âRightâ is what sounds best to you.
I am no expert but I can add more to the picture. There is a company who makes a device called a silk . It does what your doing on 5 outlets seperatly . Meaning you can plug Ina all of your audio goodies and move the SW,s up and down and find what sounds better .
I asked this question and got answers but no reality check meaning no impact on why . The theory is not all transformers Are wound the same . As there is no standard for this. So by moving the sw,s up or down you are changing the polarity of each device . When you match all of your stuff it sounds best . The man who makes this device that is not ul approved I truly trust . My point is Its not the dac alone that is making the sound different itâs the combination of all of it. Now I do not own one nor have I tried one. I do plan to get a lone on one and try and report back here.
Lastly we change fuses and even find a direction for them , this drives my small brain crazy but many swear by it. Why no one really tries this puzzles me , I guess it comes down to posting letâs see what happens now . Keep in mind in the states there is an allowed polirty itâs why the prongs on the plug are not the same even if there is no ground prong . Now I am not saying itâs bad or dangerous itâs just making the wrong wire hot .
mine is hot pin down as measured by a multimeter measuring ac differential with a cheater plug and wires disconnected
Not sure about your power because 220v in the US has 2 hots and a ground with each hot being a different phase. International advice on this subject can be a âhot messâ. 
This review of the DS is now available in English (free download).
Check page 49, you will see this picture -
Download Link
If its 220 thatâs correct but the terms I explained still remain and itâs why at any voltage potential and or phasied uses meaning one or two the soind does vary . Oddly onowone comments lol and this has true scientific facts that can be easily measured with a scope . Also outside of the use where two phases are used there is no polarity to speak of.
Hi, I firstly misunderstood the schema. I was thinking to look at the IEC plug of the cable and not the IEC at the back of the DirectStream^^
If it is the case (view of the IEC on the DS), hot pin âUPâ configuration if far better for me. 220V in Europe.
What made a great improvement in my system is a furutech Rodium wall plug. Waooou!! But itâs another subject.
Pat
Yes, I look on IEC on the DS, and hot pin âUPâ is much better sound quality for me too.
Right hot pin (view IEC on the DirectStream) for 230V European version -
Sound becomes more emotions, rich & beautiful.
Edit. Sorry!
I couldnât measure it (too little difference), I listened with no noticeable difference, then I used pin up phase. I called the distribution and they told me about the same (hardly any difference measurable and audible, orientation doesnât matter)
For me there is a big difference in the âsibilanceâ. Much better with the pin up at the end + more warmth in the midrange. I run my HT gear (stereo only) through the DS and sibilance made me almost crazy with the pin downâŚ
InterestingâŚI didnât know sibliance from digital so far!
I have balanced power lines providing my 230V with no neutral (115V Line & 115V Line) I have no idea if PSA power plant converts that into a single 230V Line + Neutral. I should do some testing to verify that.
Maybe I did not use the right term for what I have intended to say. I ment the "s"s in voices are very and sometimes uncomfortably pronounced in the âdownâ position in my system. âUpâ integrates them much better, and everything seems to be in the âright placeâ again. But I have to say, that I use AUDIO RESEARCH wit TRIANGLE speakers - older models (dipol), high efficient (91db), and this is the area, were You walk on very thin ice with themâŚ
Yes, thatâs siblianceâŚreally interesting that you hear it from digital in this case.
I wired my isolation transformer to provide balanced powerâŚ60 volts 180 degrees out of phase on each of the two non-ground legs.
1 Like
FWIW here in the UK one doesnât swap live and neutral. However, a reviewer of Power Plants noticed that the output of the UK 13amp outlets had the pins reversed. I donât how this affects what you guys are talking about but be aware that a power plant could be reversing things.
1 Like
I checked the output of the P15, and the two poles are Line or âPhaseâ just like the mains.