Music Direct had the Noise Harvester on sale so I bought 5 after reading up on the device online. I bought 5 of them based on the ‘more is better’ tout.
Previously (years ago) I’d followed Jon Risch’s DIY instructions and created a ‘conditioner’ for my preamp and other low-power equipment by putting two (2) 450VA isolation transformers back-to-back and then putting 14uF of A/C rated capacitors between (across) the output-input of the back-to-back connection. It has worked for several decades without problem.
So I receive the 5 Noise Harvesters and immediately (unthinkingly) plugged one into the output of the back-to-back capacitor-filtered isolation transformers - and nothing, no blinking LED. WTF, was the device dead out of the box? I unboxed the other four Noise Harvesters and plugged them directly into A/C outlets in my music room (living room). Their LEDs started blinking like crazy! Removing the Noise Harvester from the isolation system and plugging it into a direct A/C outlet and it started too blinking like crazy.
There’s now all five of the Noise Harvesters plugged into the two dedicated 10g ‘music only’ A/C lines in the music room. All of them now blinking very rapidly (light 'pollution in the room for sure). I hear a new smoothness to music, and it seems less fatiguing.
Clearly the Jon Risch back-to-back capacitor filtered isolation transformers trick is working very well in my system. NO blinking from a Noise Harvester plugged into it. I live in a urban area - but where’s all the noise pollution coming from? I’ve had to mask the LEDs of the Noise Harvesters due to their light output. They are all blinking at significant rates. Anybody got any clues as to what kind of noise the Harvesters are eliminating in my system?
Am I to interpret that given the blink rates of five Harvestors in one room that ‘even more’ Harvestors’ would improve matters? One wonders?
There is a remarkable amount of hash on power lines from other households, as well as from your own. Suspects include digital light controls, appliances (both controllers and motors), televisions, computers - all sorts of stuff.
It appears your DIY unit is doing a great job.
I find the Noise Harvesters to be a nice supplement to a system. Adding more may well improve your sound further, but there is an issue of diminishing returns.
I believe the Harvesters operate in the 7 kHz to 15 kHz range. Perhaps this will lead to some insight into why they would flash while plugged into a Power Plant.
For example, I assume multi-wave includes high harmonics which could trigger the Harvesters.
Do you have a smart meter for your electric service? Most of them use very noisy switching power supplies. Mine clips the top of my sine wave as well. My P5 smooths it out.
Hmmm, I’m sure there is some possible criticism of the Jon Risch 'Isolation back-to-back transformers, with capacitor filtering between the transformers for low-power equipment, but I re-emphasize that a Noise Harvester plugged into its output is ‘dead’, i.e. no blinking whatsoever. Very curious that a Noise Harvester would blink on the output of a Power Plant. Curious?
To “all sorts of stuff”, add recessed lighting, which I have in my office/ music room ceiling. They activate the hell out of my noise harvesters. I turn off those lights while listening.
Chas
One thing I’ve noticed is my Harvesters is they are dead quiet until between 4pm until 8pm and they blink like strobe lights. I don’t know if it’s my neighbors come home from work and turn on their TV’s, microwaves, PC’s, etc. Does anyone else have this happen?
Yes mine do the exact same thing,mine go really crazy when I see my neighbor turn her dining room light on it must be on a dimmer it makes my noise harvesters light up almost continuously until she turns it off same time every day seven days a week 4 PM to 9 PM
I’ve noted the exact same phenomena. Very early in the morning before the sun comes up my five Harvesters are quiet, or mostly so. Later on in the day they begin to blink continuously.
But COVID-19 seems to have made a difference: Thursday, 9 AM Long Beach, CA - My Harvesters are blinking very slowly, with time between the blinks. Not much happening yet I guess? In the past the LEDs would seem to be on almost continuously towards evening.
My noise harvesters start going crazy when my wife begins yelling at me to do something or to turn the music down, but unfortunately I can still hear her …
Fortunately we have no dimmers in our house, but we have 2 cable boxes, plants on digital timers, 2 LCD TV’s, 2 laptops, and a digital microwave. However I do have an old PS Duet that makes an audible improvement. In fact the 2 empty outlets on the Duet is where 2 of the Harvesters are plugged in and a hospital grade outlet on the wall where the Duet is plugged into with the vacant outlet is Harvester number 3. I had a $40,000 system back in the late 90’s(long story) and I had a P-300 regenerator for everything but the power amps. The improvement was nothing short of amazing. BTW I would never plug anything but the smallest amps into a regenerator.
Now that I am reading this thread- I noticed my harvester is blinking bonkers… then I turned my slider in the living room down to off- no more light. wtf/now-I-know.
Maybe that’s there’s a lot of people who say listening in the dark the sound is better.
Actually, I was recently told to “tone down the attempts at humor”. (seriously)
I guess this forum should be a more solemn place.
But I’ve never been a rule follower.