Thank you!
I was unaware. 
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Happy Anniversary my friend!!!
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Thanks for keeping threads on topic.
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Indeed, regenerators from PS Audio isolate extremely well but by different means than other products.
A Power Plant has magnitudes lower output impedance than the wall socket. This is because of the active feedback loop that regulates the output power. With such low output impedance, connected equipment cannot develop a noise voltage across the output and thus any noise generated by connected equipment is effectively squashed.
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It is correct, I see no other way it could practically and finically be done in a huge country with lots of rocky ground.
In the Netherlands we are simply lucky that our ground is sand or mud, easy to dig in and lots of moisture to have a low resistance.
On the other hand, a high current cable (in North America by default 2 x higher current than Europe) radiating freely at 6 to 10 ft above the ground does cause more noise than a lower current cable coming from 4 ft buried in the ground.
So Steve does have a point Badbeef.
Let’s call it a draw in SQ on each side of the pond, North America offers the space for decent speaker placements and in Europe we enjoy better power.
Given what people on this forum have reported as to problems with power in both North America and Europe we seem to be tied as to power quality.
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When you think about the national grid with power stations going on and off line at unknown times, outages, demand surges (think Texas) and other normal issues it’s a wonder any of it works at all. Still we are very lucky to have a national shared power grid at all. When you add in wind and solar it really becomes iffy.
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It is a pretty amazing system over all.
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I used to work for laboratories testing power distribution gear on both sides of the pond and can acknowledge that each approach has its pro’s and con’s.
But I am sorry to say that the reliability of the European grid is of a different level (better) than in the US. I can speak from experience as user, engineer, installer and assessor having lived and worked on both sides of the Atlantic.
This is not to blame people but based on facts and circumstances.
I wasn’t really trying to make a point. Fremer’s just lucky he doesn’t live in downtown Bangkok, he’ get a load of noise in his system and his vinyl would probably melt. But thanks for clarifying.
I have no idea which grid is more reliable. I imagine this depends on the specific location in the States and Europe.
My comment relates to power quality - THD, consistent voltage, etc. Forum members in every part of the world report they experience issues with power quality.
Me neither, but BadBeef and Elk seem to be of a different opinion.
Which is fine, their pitch seems to be US based and perhaps the fear that we are implying that Power Regenerators are rather redundant in Europe, which was not what we are saying.
Power regenerators do cost more than high end power amps and as such one should really consider cost vs. benefit.
I believe they have benefits, just in the US a bit more than in Europe.
What is also never mentioned:
EU EMC directive (including mandatory harmonized standards) for Electro Magnetic Interference dictates detailed testing requirements for emission and immunity. Whereas the US FCC the requirements for immunity are limited to a general statement for immunity.
As such devices bearing the CE Mark are mandatory to comply with stricter immunity requirements than devices (without CE Mark) solely intended for use on the US market.
Please see my reply to Steven above, EMC more strictly regulated in Europe.
The advantage of the US is that everything can be big, there is way more space and most sources of noise are more spread out.
Which is why immunity in general is not considered such a big issue there.
In Europe sources of noise may be closer by, although we have way less powerful airconditioners to worry about.
Higher currents cause issues with magnetic interference and transients, higher voltage may cause issues with electric radiation.
Never the less I liked the sound of the same stereo I still own in the US, powered from a 2.5 kW real power UL approved step up transformer, much better than here in the Netherlands. The living space is was much bigger and the carpet and slided popcorn sealing was the best room treatment we ever had.
Plus, we love our friends in Texas, living in the US was mega fun, our family would never want to miss that experience. There are simply more important issues in life than the electrical grid.
Again, I am only reporting on what we have seen here on the forum. The most recent European located member complaint was massive variations in voltage. We have also seen similar complaints of very high THD and the like from European members - whatever the regs may be.
We also see North American members report remarkably low THD and rock steady voltage.
That is, power is local and varies greatly by location and, thus, gross generalizations are of little value. What matters is what is coming out of your home’s outlet - whether in Europe, Thailand, or the States.
I think we are all in agreement that the power in Bangkok as shown in the picture is likely pretty noisy. Trouble shooting a loss of power has got to be a challenge.
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You see. Gigawatt, a polish manufacturer of power conditioning products, includes in their products an insurance of PLN1,000,000 (Aprox USD 250,000). But the insurance will not pay if the product is used in USA or Canada. This might say a lot about us vs eu power grid quality.
See the last paragraph
http://www.gigawatt.eu/produkt/reference-power-line-conditioner-gigawatt-pc-4-evo/
I have a gasoline backup generator, with a switching panel similar to this one. You are right. The panel is only two sets of contact that alternate via the switches.
BUT the generator outputs such a bad some wave (Aprox 10% THD) that I prefer to bypass the whole system and simply not.listen to music during the occasional power outage. But at least my fridge keeps working and my beer is kept cold.
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Many products are not insured outside of their home area and warranties differ as well. This tells us nothing other than different regions are treated differently.
And again, what matter is the power coming out of your outlet - which can be good or bad, regardless of where you reside in the world.
Agreed, especially with your pragmatic stament that the power that comes out of the outlet is what matters.
But this one is insured all over the world (including Brazil, where I live), except for US and Canada. Go figure.
Agreed, FWIW.
Not appropriate, for example, to generalize when comparing “Europe” to “US” in terms of THE power grid and regulations. The disparate nature of the US Federal system and the sheer size of US States and geographic regions, comparatively speaking, makes it nary impossible to equivocally rate one “grid” as “better” than the other (literally or “on paper”).
Depending on the definition of “European”, I think something like 25 European countries could fit within the Continental US.
The quality and stability of power in the US is, I believe, excellent in general; but like Politics (as “they” say), “Power is local”.
I could be wrong, but I suspect the same can be said of various regions and countries in Europe.
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Here’s some worse local power. Single wire, earth return (SWER). Crap reliability and basically a floating ground in the house (pull more current and some lights get brighter and others get dimmer.) We were one of the last two SWER neighborhoods in Puget Sound Energy’s purview.
Fortunately fixed in 2009. Sound quality increased noticeably.
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