Dedicated Power line for amps.

[WarriorAnt]

I have always found that one of the most important improvements to the sound of a high end system is the installment of a dedicated power line with a good ground.

A dedicated line not shared with anything else can be as important as any component in the sound chain.

For my high end system I use 2, 20 amp lines with nice gauge wiring and hospital grade outlets.

Is there anyone here that uses a dedicated power line for their headphones rig? I'm sure that it makes a big difference in the quality of the more powerful amps used in speaker setups and I have no doubt that clean power can also help the lower power headphone amps.

I'd like to hear anyones experiences.

Thanks.

 

[apatN]

Nice thread. I am interested in hearing some experiences as well. I can only guess that a nice clean power helps the SQ.

 

[Happy Camper]

A dedicated distribution panel for audio with it's own earth ground as close to your gear as possible. Hard wire your power wiring directly to the transformer of your amp. Of course removing your fuse may cause some anxiety, especially with a tube amp but one could size a quick trip breaker for the amp rating and keep everything else on another circuit.

Put your digital gear on a regenerator.

 

[musicman59]

Each one of my 3 systems a home has dedicated lines. One for the power amplifier (or 2 in case of my monoblocks) and another one for the rest of the electronics. All the wiring is 10 awg and AC outlets are Furutech. Each out let has an Auricap in parallel. This has been one of the best investments in my system. I got more open, dynamic and death quiet.

My headphones amplifiers are connected to the same line since they are in the two stereo systems and also they share the same results.

I have a sub-panel for all the dedicated lines.

 

[WarriorAnt]

Nice Musicman!

The first tow homes I lived in as an audiophile I wired up myself. But the last one I had an electrician do it. When you tell them what wiring you want and what outlets you need they often try to talk you into standard stuff because thats all they use.

So its best to buy it all yourself and have it on hand for them.

One thing that is often ignored are the areas where wiring comes into contact with the outlets. These can oxidize over time. A short time. It can help to remove the outlets every year and clean the contacts. Also it can really help to clean the female sockets now and then by simply inserting a plug in and out repeatedly to remove grime and oxidation.

Does anyone find that listening very late at night sometimes produces a more vivid and focused soundstage? I have found this so with speaker/amp systems ( I am new to the cans scene).

This is because the current flowing into ones home is also flowing out. Its coming in from somewhere and going out most likely to your neighbor. Late at night people are using a lot less items in their homes that can add all kinds of crap to your power.

I once had the good fortune of being the first home off a pole transformer. I got the power before everyone else grunged it up. My electrostats loved that, and so did my KRELL.

HAPPY CAMPER.
What is a regenerator? Is it a power line conditioner?

 

[hockeyb213]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarriorAnt /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have always found that one of the most important improvements to the sound of a high end system is the installment of a dedicated power line with a good ground. A dedicated line not shared with anything else can be as important as any component in the sound chain. For my high end system I use 2, 20 amp lines with nice gauge wiring and hospital grade outlets. Is there anyone here that uses a dedicated power line for their headphones rig? I'm sure that it makes a big difference in the quality of the more powerful amps used in speaker setups and I have no doubt that clean power can also help the lower power headphone amps. I'd like to hear anyones experiences. Thanks.

using a "home run" in the speaker and theater world is important yeah but for headphones I have no clue what the difference to the listener would be. In the theater in my home I believe there is 100 amps worth going to feed that system I know my sub uses 20 alone.

 

[Happy Camper]

A quick spin in this one is worth a read but search the threads for a broad opinion

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/wh...rators-253558/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/im...erence-191869/

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeyb213 /img/forum/go_quote.gif using a "home run" in the speaker and theater world is important yeah but for headphones I have no clue what the difference to the listener would be. In the theater in my home I believe there is 100 amps worth going to feed that system I know my sub uses 20 alone.

A dedicated line with a separate ground would give your headphone amp cleaner power source than it would get from the normal house circuit.
Its not just important that an amp get the full power draw it needs as is the case for a speaker/Amp setup where those amp can really pull from the wall, but also that an amp get good clean power.

In a normal house circuit you may have RF on the line from all kinds of things from within the house. Refrigerators compressors, your TV, whatever else is connected to that line. A dedicated source will simply give you a cleaner feed.

 

[WarriorAnt]

Happy Camper. Thanks for those links.

I've never had any luck with any of those devices with large amps like KRELL's since they seem to limit and starve large Amps.

Just as a side curiosity. Is there a thread in the forum on the use of VPI bricks on top of amp transformers?

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarriorAnt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Happy Camper. Thanks for those links. I've never had any luck with any of those devices with large amps like KRELL's since they seem to limit and starve large Amps. Just as a side curiosity. Is there a thread in the forum on the use of VPI bricks on top of amp transformers?

I and many would agree. ^

My recommendation is for your sources like dacs.

 

[timreeves]

My suggestion would be that if you notice differences by doin these things then you have a weak power supply section in each of your bits of kit

This coming from someone that's studied electronics and specifically audio electronics, not someone that's studied what hifi/stereophile/whatever you kids are reading these days

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timreeves /img/forum/go_quote.gif My suggestion would be that if you notice differences by doin these things then you have a weak power supply section in each of your bits of kit This coming from someone that's studied electronics and specifically audio electronics, not someone that's studied what hifi/stereophile/whatever you kids are reading these days

This is about tweaks.

"It filters the electromagnetic bandwidths which are most destructive to high quality playback. Lower harmonics in the mains are not as detrimental to electronic audio purity as the higher harmonics. Input transformers and standard filtering schematics work very well to alleviate the effects of lower frequency interference, but are hopelessly incapable of dealing with high frequency interference. Therefore, this noisy interference should not enter the audio devices at all. At extremely high frequencies, even the enclosures themselves act as resonators. Unpredictable reflections and resonations occur within the gear, not unlike the concept of exciting room modes in the physical science of acoustics."

excerpt from: Background : LessLoss high end audio power cables, high end video power cables, audio cables, digital cables, power filter, DAC

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timreeves /img/forum/go_quote.gif whatever you kids are reading these days

Thanks Tim! I'm 52 (I think, I cant remember anymore!)

 

[timreeves]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is about tweaks. "It filters the electromagnetic bandwidths which are most destructive to high quality playback. Lower harmonics in the mains are not as detrimental to electronic audio purity as the higher harmonics. Input transformers and standard filtering schematics work very well to alleviate the effects of lower frequency interference, but are hopelessly incapable of dealing with high frequency interference. Therefore, this noisy interference should not enter the audio devices at all. At extremely high frequencies, even the enclosures themselves act as resonators. Unpredictable reflections and resonations occur within the gear, not unlike the concept of exciting room modes in the physical science of acoustics." excerpt from: Background : LessLoss high end audio power cables, high end video power cables, audio cables, digital cables, power filter, DAC

I always found it's a great idea to base science on product manufacturers websites who co-incidentally sell a product for extortionate prices to fix said problem

:lol:
Oh GOD, it's another person claiming shining a blue light onto a cd makes it sound better - the logic behind this is so fundamentally flawed it's unreal and hilarious. Please stop reading things on the internet and taking them for gospel.

good smoothing and regulation is all that's needed for all the "benefits" your looking for, and by the tme your using kit that's expensive enough to notice these differences you have a good enough power section.

 

[Skylab]

I have my main stereo and headphone rig in the family room on a dedicated 20 amp circuit that is just for the A/V gear. But of course, since I have a family, I do have video game consoles and the TV on that circuit, which is less than completely ideal. I use a separate outlet for the AV stuff and the 2-channel stoff, and each has it's own power conditioner. But as was posted above, my power amps to not get a power conditioner - straight into the wall for them.