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Static or line voltage instability

Hi,

Maybe some of you guys enlighten me on this subject. A few weeks ago, my CJ preamp suddenly stopped playing in the the middle of a listening session. A volume level of "0" appeared on the led display like it put itself on mute. Since I could not make it switch off mute, I closed and powered it on again and everything came back to normal. I could not see what could have happened even double checked if the unit and the whole system was correctly plugged in the wall suckets. All showed OK.

Last weekend, the same thing happened, even after multiple listening sessions since the first incident. But this time, my power amp blew out all its fuses and the preamp stopped. After replacing the fuses in the amp, I've tried to power the preamp but it will not play. Even the tubes do not glow. So something is wrong, at least with the preamp. A CJ technician told me by phone that my lines could be having problems. I've had dedicated lines for my system for the last 15 years and never had any problems since. I'm a bit confused.

Any ideas ?

Thanks !
andr
4 responses Add your response
larryi
3,788 posts
 
Dedicated lines will isolate your system from hash feeding back from other appliances on the line and reduce the voltage drop caused by other appliances drawing on the line. But, if your whole house got a nasty spike, it would not do anything for that.

You should ask the CJ technician about whether you should be using some kind of surge protector. These come in all sorts of cost, from cheap units built into power strips to some fairly elaborate (and expensive) units. Not everyone likes what these do to the sound of certain components, that is why I suggested talking to the CJ technician. Another option is a whole house surge protector that an electrician installs at the main panel feeding the house.
Post removed 
andr OP
109 posts
 
Thanks for your interest !

Yes this had me thinking about getting a quality line conditioner and surge protector but was always told it wasn't necessary with my dedicated lines and overall quality of the electrical supply in our vicinity.

No, no special problems lately with bulbs or appliances. And yes the lines are truely dedicated since I supervised the electrician's work at the time. So four plugs in two double outlets. Each four has its own line going directly to the electric box into four seperate breakers. Don't ask me what amperage the breakers are though, but the electrician told me everything was calibrated to supply a high power home cinema.

Another thing : I'm driving Acoustat 2+2 since January. Their not the hardest electrostatics to drive and I really don't listen at high levels. The amp seems to drive with ease and never gets hotter. But they're quite close to the rest of the gear. Could this be of consequence ?

Thanks !

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