from today’s Paul video,
“noise on the power-line really isn’t all that important to eventual sound quality”
life is lost, questionable benefits of clean power through scrubbing, lose upper harmonics
in contrast, powerplants/regenerators are good for SQ due to their voltage regulation
would like another primer on why and why cables can improve (or worsen) SQ
I think you’re confusing noise with regulated power supply. Two different things.
not confused
So what’s the issue?
I can’t be sure about the technical details as it’s not my area of expertise. So I’m only going from my own experience. (I have three, older generation PowerPlant P10s, one each for Electrcompaniet AW600 ‘Nemo’ monoblocks and the third for sources, preamp and subs with D-class amps.)
I noticed a ‘tighter’, clearer presentation with the P10s powering the monoblocks rather than just directly from the wall plug and that was with ‘standard’ power chords. My understanding of how regulation does this is because there’s virtually no ‘sag’ or voltage drop due to ‘grid’ impedance when the music places current demands on the power supply. The PowerPlant (and I presume other similar power regenerator products) ‘ensures’ that the voltage is held within a very tight band of variability, so preserving consistant current and consequently power delivery to the amp. I’m guessing that YMMV depending on the quality of the power supply in your amp. I’m also guessing that the improvements may not be as great for powering devices with less demands for power.
It may be given that you use extremely demanding Class A mono blocks.
Over here, the ‘grid’ impedance as you call it, is probably the line impedance. There is also the grid loop impedance, which is a key safety issue. The other key factors are the conductor diameter and consequent fuse ratings in the consumer unit. We are required over here to get all this certified.
My audio is on a spur with about 8m of 12AWG NeoTech cable and has circuit impedance of 0.18 ohms. Some lighting circuits have line impedance of over 2 ohms. The lowest is my car charger, which has 6mm conductors and line impedance of 0.04 ohms.
So the merits of expensive regenerators are likely to depend on your property’s wiring and the components you use. In my system two mains conditioners filter, isolate and ground.
Point taken Steven. I think if was designing and building a new home now, after what I’ve learnt about the positive influence of ‘good’ power on our rigs, I’d include things that you mention, among other things as well. So I agree that you would probably get more benefit from a regenerator in a house built to a typically ‘adequate’ standard for supplying energy to the building.
BTW, the Nemo is a class A/B with a relatively high A-class component. (It consumes 230W at idle.)
I had the same issue with power-line noise
I did have a look at the specs of your amplifiers, they do not state the peak current draw, which is the critical thing.
Because my house was non-compliant and dangerous, I completely rewired it. $6,000 to dig up the pavement and bring in a new 3-phase supply (3x100A) and then about $20,000 to completely rewire three floors, including a new kitchen and utilities, three consumer units, various cut-off boxes, steel trunking, second fix all the sockets and then inspect and certify. A serious professional job.
I have dedicated power lines to the ethernet cupboard, the AV cupboard and the hifi. The total cost of the cabling was about $600. I use two power conditioners, which cost $1,500 and $250 (from eBay).
I could not have got the same result with my old connection because it was to a single phase supply. Some people here in he UK get balanced mains transformers installed off their main supply, which is also a professional job because they are potentially lethal.
Lots of serious audiophiles who build a room put in the electrical infrastructure. It can be expensive as a dedicated exercise, but cheap if part of a larger project. It’s also quite important how far your hifi is from the consumer unit.
I suspect that for a lot of people, updating or installing dedicated cabling might be an option they have not considered. In my previous room I couldn’t do it because the hifi was miles away and there were lots of wooden floors and I did for some time use a regenerator.
Had my hifi been where it is now, digging up the hallway and retiling with a balanced transformer and feed would have been about $3,000. Given that in the UK a P20 costs $13,000, it would seem to make sense to get an electrical survey and consider your options before deciding on any particular power product.