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Going Topless

When changing tubes on my ARC preamps, I noticed a substantial lift in performance when the top covers were left off the units. An increase in "Air", 3D and just plain "relaxed ease" was appearent when the covers were off.
Now my particular units have Litz signal wire running from input selector and PC board to the RCA I/O jacks in the back. These bundles of wire come close to the top chassis cover, without actually touching it.
Are we dealing with "Eddy Currents" here? I have come to the conclusion that all (music)signal carrying wires, must be isolated from close proximity to metal. I have heard the same effect on ICs and Speaker wire. All of these wires appear to be well shielded and use a stiff dielectric. There must be stray Magnetic Eddy Currents at work here.
Anyone else go through this? Better yet; Can anyone explain this?
The moral, Metal and wire don,t mix...........Frank
frap

Showing 1 response by corbindallas

corbindallas
3 posts
 
I prefer topless:

In fact, I even took the metal cover off my breaker box because my system sounds more dynamic (less constricted). I replaced the cover once, but didn't like the resulting affect on my system, so I removed it again and have been enjoying it without the cover for the past few years. (Kids don't try this at home!)

I also had good results removing the top covers from some tube preamps and amps. I just cover the gear with plastic when not in use to keep the dust out. --Bruce
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