theorist
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2016
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Clean power and a good ground (very low resistance) makes a vast improvement to the 430HA and all the other components in your system. So I can see how the fuse change makes a notable improvement.
Back in the 90s/early 00s I was seriously into conventional audio (Martin Logan CLSs panels/ then B&W 802 Nautilus speakers, Plinius power amps running bridged in mono, top-end Audio Research preamp, Wadia CD player, Kimber Select Silver cabling, etc) and I had my electrician put in a separate dedicated audio house wiring system with good wall sockets and solid heavy wiring, dedicated fuses box with audio grade fuses and dedicated ground rod for it (with 10 awg wiring), as well as using then state of the art audio powercords. Then I got tired of changing hissy tubes on the preamp and this new fangled thing called an iPod seduced me to the dark side of iTunes, etc for a decade (although mostly using my trusty HD600 HPs), and I traded my whole audio system (but luckily kept my CD collection) for a couple of nice watches.
Then the Mac and DAC brigade lured me back to sonic sanity (indeed it was the introduction of the Oppo HA-1 that really got me rolling).
Anyhow, as you do, I got serious and now have a 430HA using an Auralic Vega DAC (subject to upgrade once MQA gets sorted one way or another) driven by an Antipodes DX, and numerous HPs including LCD-4, 3F, Focal Utopia, HD-800, etc and several IEMs (used with my AK70). This was originally located in the kitchen nook plugged into the normal mains, but then moved the system (with purchase of an Eames lounge chair and ottoman) into the living room and plugged into my old dedicated audio mains -- WOW!!!! What an improvement! A whole veil was removed from the sound which had more silence and more slam. A big difference!!!
This suggested to go the next step and recently I acquired a Nordost wiring loom (mix of Tyr 2 and Heimdall 2 interconnects and powercords) with direct star grounded DB distributor box (with dedicated ground) -- MORE WOW!!!! Another level of veil removed from the music event and even more silence and dynamic slam.
The Nordost loom was not cheap, even using Heimdall 2 power cords for the less critical components, but I seem to remember the electrician charging me only a three figure sum for the dedicated audio house wiring -- although nearly 20 years ago, so perhaps $1500 today -- the cost of a good HP! Although not the $20 of replacing the 430HA fuses, which might be the first place to start!
Back in the 90s/early 00s I was seriously into conventional audio (Martin Logan CLSs panels/ then B&W 802 Nautilus speakers, Plinius power amps running bridged in mono, top-end Audio Research preamp, Wadia CD player, Kimber Select Silver cabling, etc) and I had my electrician put in a separate dedicated audio house wiring system with good wall sockets and solid heavy wiring, dedicated fuses box with audio grade fuses and dedicated ground rod for it (with 10 awg wiring), as well as using then state of the art audio powercords. Then I got tired of changing hissy tubes on the preamp and this new fangled thing called an iPod seduced me to the dark side of iTunes, etc for a decade (although mostly using my trusty HD600 HPs), and I traded my whole audio system (but luckily kept my CD collection) for a couple of nice watches.
Then the Mac and DAC brigade lured me back to sonic sanity (indeed it was the introduction of the Oppo HA-1 that really got me rolling).
Anyhow, as you do, I got serious and now have a 430HA using an Auralic Vega DAC (subject to upgrade once MQA gets sorted one way or another) driven by an Antipodes DX, and numerous HPs including LCD-4, 3F, Focal Utopia, HD-800, etc and several IEMs (used with my AK70). This was originally located in the kitchen nook plugged into the normal mains, but then moved the system (with purchase of an Eames lounge chair and ottoman) into the living room and plugged into my old dedicated audio mains -- WOW!!!! What an improvement! A whole veil was removed from the sound which had more silence and more slam. A big difference!!!
This suggested to go the next step and recently I acquired a Nordost wiring loom (mix of Tyr 2 and Heimdall 2 interconnects and powercords) with direct star grounded DB distributor box (with dedicated ground) -- MORE WOW!!!! Another level of veil removed from the music event and even more silence and dynamic slam.
The Nordost loom was not cheap, even using Heimdall 2 power cords for the less critical components, but I seem to remember the electrician charging me only a three figure sum for the dedicated audio house wiring -- although nearly 20 years ago, so perhaps $1500 today -- the cost of a good HP! Although not the $20 of replacing the 430HA fuses, which might be the first place to start!
