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Low AC Line Voltage

Hello all.

I had something very strange happen the other night. My system hasn't been sounding quite right so I decided to try some power cords. I tried 3 Cardas Cross power cables. One on my power amp, one on my preamp and one on my Oppo CD player. I connected them all to an outlet box I had assembled using hospital-grade hardware. I turned everything on and let it warm up for a bit and the sound was totally unbelievable. Big wide open warm detailed spacious deep everything you could possibly ask for. I was totally amazed. The next morning I turned everything back on and tried it again and all of that wonderful sound was gone. It was almost like I had dreamed it. The system was back to sounding harsh and just not fun again. I couldn't figure out what happened. It was that way for several days. I bought a plug-in voltage meter. The voltage is always about a hundred 116 volts or so. This morning it was 123 volts and that wonderful sound was back. Am I crazy or could this possibly be caused from voltage?

Thanks in advance.

Ben

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honashagen

Showing 1 response by cleeds

cleeds
6,087 posts
 
elizabeth
116 is not a problem. 123 is kind of high.
Actually, in much of the US, 123VAC is nominal voltage. 116VAC would be at the very low end of spec.

I think it means that there is not much ’load’ on your local transformer with it at 123 volts.
It’s not that simple, because AC is delivered at relatively high voltages - typically more than 4kV. If your voltage sags substantially under realistic loads, you've got a problem and should request a "best of burden" test from your electric utility.

110 or lower is kind of low.
That’s below spec - or what they call "tariff" - in most states.
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