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Least Controversial, Reasonably Priced AC Upgrades

Hello Everyone

At last, the light is appearing at the end of my house renovation tunnel, and -- fingers crossed -- I may actually be listening to music in my new living room before 2005.

Having spent every last penny on marriage, family, Subzero refrigerators etc, I am trying for the first time to upgrade the wiring a bit and protect the equipment against surges.

Despite my enthusiasm for this site and a pretty decent system, I remain firmly in the dark ages on power conditioners, high end power cords, outlets, surge protectors etc.

The place where we are we are moving in the country apparently has frequent power outages, especially in winter when falling branches down the lines.

I have read many heated debates about power conditioners etc with some of you saying that they actually WORSEN the sound, that I would like to start with a simple:

dedicated line?
Albert Porters wall outlets?
a chunky power strip inside my new 6' component rack on casters?
a surge protector (Monster Cable?) to protect all of the above in my newly flaky electical district?

Again, simple, effective, not wildly expensive please.

The idea is to have a moveable rack of equipment on casters that I can wheel from the corner of the room to my listening chair for easy access, which will be tethered to the wall by one power cord only and with long interconnects to the amp which will be located by the speakers.

The rest of the spaghetti mess will stay neatly inside the rack, concealed by a ventilated door.

Thank you in advance for all ideas and suggestions.
cwlondon

Showing 7 responses by lak

lak's avatar
lak
4,715 posts
 
1) Install a whole-house surge protector at the main service (breaker).

2)Install dedicated AC lines 10 gauge.

3)In my opinion Albert Porters wall outlets are very good (other cryo'd brands are very good also).

4)Install a Xentek isolation transformer (5 KVA) some where before your AC power gets to your wall outlets.
lak's avatar
lak
4,715 posts
 
Psychanimal is very knowledgable (and opinionated) about many audiophile theories. I have learned much from Franciso, as well as from many on Audiogon and Franciso’s mentors.

Unemployed? Why the heck did you move over 1000 miles away?

What ever happened to the classes you were going to take at Owens to become an electrician?

Best regards…and good luck with whatever you are doing with your life.
lak's avatar
lak
4,715 posts
 
Kana831,
You are correct, I have two 5 KVA Xentek isolation transformers cleaning power that goes into my sub-panel that feeds three of the four sound systems in my home. They do generate some heat (not too bad, warm to the touch) and about 60 dB of noise (hum) each. That's one of many reasons I have them located in my basement.

Some of our Audiogon members have their isolation transformers in their music rooms with AC outlets installed in them so they can plug equipment directly into the isolation transformer. Seems to work well for them but perhaps not ideal but very workable.

Psychicanimal,
I agree Toledo is not perfect however for me living in Perrysburg has worked out well. Whenever I retire I will most likely relocate Westward. The climate in Orlando should suite your needs quite well (I hope) and your health will return to you quickly! Must feel similar but not as good as Puerto Rico!

You’re one of the masters of "power delivery/noise control is application specific. It can also be dependent on what can be grabbed in the surplus market."
lak's avatar
lak
4,715 posts
 
Kana813,

These are the benefits that I hear in my system:

Blacker background, more resolution, greater detail and transparency, more dimensional sound stage with greater depth. An over all improvement that I would have never believed if I had not heard with my own ears.

If Psychicanimal is feeling charitable, he can jump in any time.

Keep a close eye on Ebay for these items that are used and/or speak to some electricians, many times they have used isolation transformers they will sell.
lak's avatar
lak
4,715 posts
 
Thanks Sean,
Your still the man!
There is a Topaz on Ebay also as we speak however the price is up!
lak's avatar
lak
4,715 posts
 
Cwlondon,
“ If I have a dedicated line leading to a new panel, then leading to as few as 2 Alpert Porter Wall outlets in my listening/living room, would I then plug the transformer into the Albert Porter wall outlets?”

You could, or:

Is the dedicated line leading to a new panel a subpanel? If yes, why not clean all the AC power going into the subpanel with a 5 KVA or larger isolation transformer, that way all power coming out of your subpanel is good to go.
lak's avatar
lak
4,715 posts
 
Rx8man,
If that's the case you might be able to shop new instead of on Ebay etc.
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