Surprised at Low Household EMI Readings


I picked up a Trifield EMI100 meter to check for EMI noise around the house. After watching a few YT vids I was expecting some pretty high readings. Surprisingly almost everything was low. The unfiltered outlets where my system is plugged in measure less than 10 milllivolts with all equipment powered on. The worst was the bathroom GFCI outlet at around 65mV. I use a 10-year-old Blue Circle power conditioner, and that output is a few mV less than the wall outlet. The house was built around 1970, and outside of a new fuse box installed a few years ago, everything else is original.

Very happy with these readings as I was considering a power conditioner upgrade. The $150 Trifield meter seems to have saved me a few thousand bucks.

jaybe

Showing 2 responses by ghdprentice

One of the first things I learned when I started pursuing high end audio was to listen first and... well, over time was to ignore most measurements. There are so many variables that to isolate a couple and attribute the results to them will be too confounding to be helpful. I was trained and professionally a scientist for a decade. 

If you want to put together a great sounding system then looking for measurements and applying logic, then making purchases is dead end. You will end up with a very mundane uninspiring sounding system. Listen to well seasoned audiophiles and use observation as you primary tool. 

I would be willing to bet that you would hear a substantial improvement by installing direct lines and also by upgrading power conditioner... and depending on your equipment installing audiophile duplex receptacles.

I don’t think in my fifty years pursuing the high end has measuring one or two variables ever told much of the story. 

Go to a dealer, borrow a top of the line power conditioner. Now that is a appropriate test.