The meaning of it all.
Lets talk dedicated lines
About a year ago I installed a dedicated 20 amp line for my system...and went as far as modding the whole power structure from the street transformer to my panel to my house...at some fairly major expense. The result was certainly an improvement for my system.
Recently i got to thinking that a lot of us have a system that utilizes the standard 15amp line that more than likely only supplies one other component in our rooms...and that is the lights. While lights can be noisy on the system, particularly if they are halogens, then this is a source of considerable hash and noise. However, since the only other thing shared by this line are the lights...and not the more power hungry grabbing stuff..like the refrigerator, or the Ac etc, then simply playing the system in the dark should essentially allow for a dedicated line effect to materialize on the gear that is attached to this line as well. The standard room convenience outlet( which is what we are talking about here) is 15 amp breaker protected and is only supplying the lights and the convenience outlet in a room....so ( assuming that this is the case--and the lights are the only thing supplied besides the outlet) what is the real advantage to the 'true' dedicated line ? Twenty amps is more than a lot of auto gear needs, so I doubt that is the issue...thoughts?
Recently i got to thinking that a lot of us have a system that utilizes the standard 15amp line that more than likely only supplies one other component in our rooms...and that is the lights. While lights can be noisy on the system, particularly if they are halogens, then this is a source of considerable hash and noise. However, since the only other thing shared by this line are the lights...and not the more power hungry grabbing stuff..like the refrigerator, or the Ac etc, then simply playing the system in the dark should essentially allow for a dedicated line effect to materialize on the gear that is attached to this line as well. The standard room convenience outlet( which is what we are talking about here) is 15 amp breaker protected and is only supplying the lights and the convenience outlet in a room....so ( assuming that this is the case--and the lights are the only thing supplied besides the outlet) what is the real advantage to the 'true' dedicated line ? Twenty amps is more than a lot of auto gear needs, so I doubt that is the issue...thoughts?
Showing 6 responses by millercarbon
Uh oh. Whatever you do, do not- repeat NOT- listen to what Mikey says in this video at 15:50 https://ultimist.com/video/2018/07/21/michael-fremers-listening-room/ This is Michael Fremer. What does he know. Never hear anything with that dog yapping anyway. |
It seems to me that the first thing you should do before incorporating any of the good suggestions mentioned above is determine if you really have a problem that needs fixing. If you do not hear any hum, noise, hash, RFI or other anomalies during silent passages or with the volume turned up without a signal, spending the money on dedicated lines, power conditioners, regenerators, etc are all solutions to a problem you don't have. Good advice. Well... one problem. Your RFI has to be pretty awfully bad to be heard like that. Not that it can't happen. But that's a pretty low bar. We can do better. Once again: RFI is radio frequency interference. Radio frequencies are everywhere. When they cross a wire, any wire- every wire- they induce a current in that wire. All our power comes to us via wires. Therefore, as a matter of pure irrefutable logic, we all have an RFI problem. So the question is not if, but how bad? That one you can only answer for yourself by listening. Again, here's how you do it: Listen to some music. Flip off all non-system breakers. Listen again. The dramatic improvement is telling you the degree to which you have an RFI problem. Which you do have. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. You will hear it. *Limited time offer! You have 30 days to hear it, or your money back! I have done a lot, yet when I repeated this test myself recently as part of a component evaluation the improvement when flipping breakers was as great as ever. Because all those wires are collecting RFI and channeling it into the system. Whether we know it or not. Whether we believe it or not. Whether we admit it or not. Its just a fact. Go and listen. You will see. |
Meet Mr Irony. Irony is the expression of language that means the opposite. So for example one guy actually does something and actually hears and relates this actual experience. Another guy then imagines something different and shares his imaginary experience about something he knows absolutely nothing about, seeing as he never experienced it himself. Yet proceeds to act as if his imagination is reality. Which is ironic. Mr Irony. I like it. Just might stick. |
Every connection is a problem. The wires themselves are a problem. Much of the noise is RFI, radio frequency interference. Radio waves are everywhere. Every radio wave that crosses a wire induces a signal in that wire. That's how radio works! The tuner tunes for the frequency and then amplifies it. Without the tuner all you have is noise. The noise that is on all our wires. To see for yourself, simply go to your panel and flip the breakers off. This disconnects half the wires. Now go listen again. The remarkable improvement you are hearing is reduced RFI. You can confirm this by experimenting with different circuits, those with something running and those without. You will find even circuits with nothing plugged in and running are still bringing noise into the system, proving the process I just described. So my question to you is, do I deserve a raise, or what? |
Pitcher got a hot arm. Batter up! My room started with the usual normal done to code daisy chain of outlets. This was replaced with a dedicated 120V line. This was upgraded to 4 ga 240V with stepdown transformer. This was upgraded with cryo. This was all DIY and done over time so I know what did what and by how much. Since then its all been made orders of magnitude better but unfortunately I am for now sworn to secrecy and so we will just talk about the stuff you are allowed to see. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 The biggest and most cost-effective benefit is using one dedicated line to eliminate the daisy-chain of outlet to outlet wiring that is done to code. The next worthwhile upgrade is going to 240V. But how worthwhile this is depends a lot on the length of run, how good quality step-down you get, and what it costs. Going to 240V costs nothing in terms of wire. You merely connect differently at the panel. The step-down though could be anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand. Anything more than a few hundred and I would say stop, forget about it, there’s better ways to spend your money. Way better. Like, you won’t believe. Word is we may have independent verification coming in a week or so. But for now you just have to take my word for it. |