PS Audio Noise Harvester
Jan 21, 2007 at 11:23 PM Post #62 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by dcfis /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You had those same boxed foods in your door for over a year??? What do you do for work man? Thats some martin logan statements you have in just power cords.


I don't do work, I used my life savings to buy Valhalla cables. I didn't actually buy them new from that Swedish store, I bought them used from Audiogon and cut to shorter lengths, the best investment I ever did. Valhalla is worth fasting for!


old.beans.JPG
 
Jan 21, 2007 at 11:34 PM Post #64 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't do work, I used my life savings to buy Valhalla cables. I didn't actually buy them new from that Swedish store, I bought them used from Audiogon and cut to shorter lengths, the best investment I ever did. Valhalla is worth fasting for!


old.beans.JPG



I still recognize a bean or two...
 
Jan 22, 2007 at 11:30 AM Post #65 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by dcfis /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Empire or somebody please point me to something that will give clean, noise free power for the one item (headphone amp) that I use that plugs into the wall. Surge protection a plus.


Plugs into a wall.....hmmm that's abit hard unless you're willing to DIY.

I usually recommend a PEM with a fastblo fuse, should protect from alot of spikes and surges. As for the PEM i recommend either the Schurter FMW2 @ 1A (Medical Grade/set standard for emmissions) or a Corcom 3EC1. Why? Because they usually are small enough to replace your old IEC connectors easily. They generally are a drop in solution provided you case has enough space, just unscrew the old IEC socket and put in the new PEM. And walla, you're done
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A more hardcore, but still pretty simple job would be using 2 things, an Isolation transformer, if you're rich, go ahead and use a torroid, but any Line Isolation transformer should do fine (mind you they will eat into your power bill due to heat loss from eddy currents), and then stick the transformer in line with a single phase power filter like the Schaffner FN2410. Then add a nice metal casing.........with loads of ERS paper.....nah......buy some copper EMI shielding tape from 3M if you like overkill and paste it around the interior (or whatever you want to shield from EMI and RFI for that matter, be it your cat, dog, furniture, CDs, books, whatever). You might wanna get a good Volex power cord with strain relief for a better job.

Here's a serial diagram if you're going to go DIY.

Socket -> Power Cable of your choice -> Transformer (if you like overkill, feel free to add another PEM infront of the transformer) -> Single Phase Filter -> Output

Wohoo, you have a power filter of the highest caliber for less than a 100 bucks. Nothing a little elbow grease can't do eh?
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Jan 22, 2007 at 4:11 PM Post #66 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Russ Andrews The Silencer


That product name has an eerily familiar tone to it...
 
Jan 22, 2007 at 4:13 PM Post #67 of 104
Patrick, there is zero reason to post your moldy beans. None.
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Jan 22, 2007 at 5:02 PM Post #68 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Patrick, there is zero reason to post your moldy beans. None.
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What moldy beans? It's a picture of my flurry little pet. He lives in my fridge in a little box, I feed him beans.
 
Jan 22, 2007 at 6:27 PM Post #69 of 104
I'm hearing unbelievable detail and transparency now, no problem with bass! Yesterday I did a few things to my computer and have no idea which one was the reason for the improved sound, so I list them all. I wasn't expecting any improvement in the first place, it just appeared.




  1. Extra rubber bands for isolation feet needed a couple days to break in.
  2. I moved all music to a dedicated harddrive. I changed my RAID0 setup from 2 drives to 4 drives (my 2 drive array was 50+% fragmented, my 4 drive array is 5% fragmented). Before I was using 3 drives in my computer, now I'm using 5 drives. It increased the wattage with about 25watts which gave more internal power supply switching noise. The current draw of Valhalla cables to the wall has increased as well so the whole audio system is affected.
  3. Turned off computer without turning off audio system (different combination of burn-in).
  4. Didn't listen to my system for over a day (normally I listen many times a day).
  5. Used a different album to keep my system burned in.
  6. Didn't train my muscles for over a day (normally I train 2-4 times a day).
  7. Ate a loaf of bread and butter within 18 hours (there was nothing else to eat).
  8. It started snowing and temperature went from 0 to -5.5 degrees Celsius, it hasn't been this cold for a year. Inside temperature dropped from 20.5 to 19.5 degrees. Window was open when I was sleeping and when I woke up the room was very cold. I closed the window and went to bed with K1000 and watched a couple episodes of Prison Break season 2, the sound was clearer than season 1 which I finished a week earlier. Afterwards I turned on music and was shocked of the low-level detail.




The biggest improvement came from computer. But I'm also surprised that my Cary transport sounds a little better too, I'm hearing the "snowy weather" sound signature but with little more detail from the removal of bass because of more current draw through the Valhalla cable from the wall. It's like making the power cord a little thinner again.

I'm hearing combinations of many things now. The colder temperature should have given less low-level detail but it didn't, something else is the reason for that. The extra current draw from two more harddrives could be the reason, there is not too much bass anymore. I'm hearing more potential from the computer now (plugged into Ultimate Oulet), the transients sound a little broken but it seems that Premier Power Plant would fix that.
When I turned on my Cary transport (connected to P300 Power Plant) it sounded perfect for a couple minutes until I started hearing bass problems, that's a good sign, normally I have something to complain about from the start.

I'm still hearing the "Harvester bassy wall" signature so I know it's still working. I'm also hearing the "extra rubber bands for isolation feet" signature as well, but it sounds like the rubber bands are more stretched now so it causes me to hear more low-level detail. The stiffer the rubber bands are the more the midrange is emphasized.

Computer has unbelievable speed, background is blacker than ever. I can't believe the quiet sounds I'm hearing! Bass is in background like the way I want it, but with Cary it is in front. My transports sound the opposite now!

Computer sounds very different now, I'm hearing more midrange low-level detail, but the bass detail is reduced which makes bass sound cleaner and tighter. I'm hearing more broken surface transient speed but with more midrange low-level detail.
It seems that the internal switching noise of the power supply gives better sound than the noise from the wall, because there is less noise for the amp and DAC. This increases the low-level detail which is more apparent in the midrange.

I like to keep the transport a little jittery to get the illusion of more blackness and transparency. I like the "hairy" sound of the computer as well, the transients are that thin and the rest of the system needs to be good enough to hear it. But I haven't heard the hairiness anymore since I stopped using P300 Power Plant for computer. Today I'm hearing more potential from computer than ever before. It seems like I would like computer more than my 10 times more expensive transport because computer is hairier with less bass. I need to fix bass of Cary somehow, it is using the output transformer of P300 Power Plant, that must be it. Before I got the Harvester my Cary sounded almost perfect with too little bass and too much blackness, computer sounded heavier, smoother, warmer and more dull, I couldn't believe it! It was from the unmodded Valhalla power cord.

Now the Cary sounds a little too heavy with the Harvester plugged into the wall, and the computer sounds too thin after adding a couple more harddrives. The difference between my gear has always been a tweak or two apart.
 
Jan 22, 2007 at 7:52 PM Post #71 of 104
Temperature outside has dropped from -5.5 to -7.5, it feels a little colder inside too but measurement device in corner hasn't updated itself (it isn't in the path of airflow).

I'm hearing whiter and blacker sound now, very analytical and cold now. The sibilance has started to bother me a bit, I had no problems an hour ago. Bass from Cary has reduced again and it sounds tighter, colder temperature does this.
It is unbelievable I'm still getting more detail than yesterday. Harvester plugged into wall is compensating for colder ambient temperature!

I think the ambient temperature made most of the difference, if this is true then the summer will be a problem.
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How to compensate for the summer?
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My PSU isn't strong enough to handle more harddrives to boost up the wattage draw from Valhalla cable.
 
Jan 22, 2007 at 11:37 PM Post #72 of 104
Changing your HDD configuration cannot change the sound. All the audio you are hearing is buffered to RAM and then read from the RAM.

Also, it's unlikely that adding two more HDD's will "strain" your PSU. HDD's only use a maximum of a bit over 10W during normal operation.
 
Jan 23, 2007 at 1:00 AM Post #73 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by threEchelon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Changing your HDD configuration cannot change the sound. All the audio you are hearing is buffered to RAM and then read from the RAM.


I didn't think that either, but I was listing that just in case. The files used to be in heavily fragmented active drives and sometimes the music would stutter, it still sounded great though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by threEchelon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Also, it's unlikely that adding two more HDD's will "strain" your PSU. HDD's only use a maximum of a bit over 10W during normal operation.


My old Krell power amp that drew 200 watts sounded better with a fatter power cord at that time. I found that 4x16 awg per signal was the best size. My computer takes 100+ watts and 2x16 awg sounded better than 3x16 awg. I found that the power cord size needs to be optimized based on many variables, and one of them is current draw.
 
Jan 23, 2007 at 1:08 AM Post #74 of 104
I feel like i'm a witness to one mans spiral into an OCD breakdown, kind'a uneasy reading - i hope your taking the time to enjoy what you're listening to, what is your preferred choice of music at the moment patrick?.
 
Jan 23, 2007 at 1:14 AM Post #75 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by musicmonkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I feel like i'm a witness to one mans spiral into an OCD breakdown, kind'a uneasy reading - i hope your taking the time to enjoy what you're listening to, what is your preferred choice of music at the moment patrick?.


i think you missed his other thread, "how to enjoy music" - apparently he does not know how to enjoy music, he claims.
 

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