Stormfriend
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2010
- Posts
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- 15
Some background before I ask my question:
I'm using HD800s and for a long time had a near constant problem with them sounding bright, to the point where I preferred the sound of silence at one point and just took them off. Whilst occasionally they would sound utterly brilliant, the rest of the time they were so fatiguing they were unuseable.
Since then I've gone through my system replacing every component that was helping them to sound bright or aggressive and I've replaced the USB cable, added a USB converter, switched to a bassier DAC, tried a valve amplifier, changed interconnects and upgraded the headphone cable. All of that helped in many ways, and the sound got a lot better as a rule, but it was only when I replaced the power cables with some hose-pipe sized versions that I finally killed the excessive brightness. They weren't a panacea though:
I got a Russ Andrews reference something or other for about £200. Used on the Micromega T-DAC initially it removed some of the aggression and helped the system sound more expressive, so I decided to keep it. It took a long time to run in though and there was still a lot of brightness in the system.
I then switched it to the MF M1 HPA and the sound was so bassy it made the system sound like a reggae club. It turned out it hadn't finished running in and eventually settled down over the next couple of weeks. Most importantly it made a huge difference in reducing the brightness, so I bought a second cable and got it pre-burnt to add back to the DAC. Listening to this system for a while was much more pleasant as the brightness was all gone, but at the same time I started to notice a lack of detail and finesse - it just wasn't sounding as interesting, with a thick bass and midrange.
Next up I got an APC Back-UPS Pro 900 (UPS) as I've been meaning to get one for years. It's hooked up to my PC of course, but also gives me a constant voltage readout so I now know my local voltage averages 246-248v, with swings to 244 and 250. I then plugged in the Hiface EVO (which has a Russ Andrews PSU as no other dealer could supply one for it, except their home-built version which they wouldn't sell, or the battery pack which cost a bomb). Using the filtered output from the UPS to the EVO made a big difference to treble smoothness, although it didn't affect brightness or cure the homogeneity of the sound. So I used one of the hosepipes into the UPS and hooked up all the components to the UPS with generic cables. That helped bring back some of the detail, but it still wasn't right.
I now have the EVO and T-DAC fed by hosepipes and the M1 HPA fed off the UPS, which has generic cables both in and out. It's only been running a short time with this configuration, but so far (apart from the fact the EVOs PSU is sticking up into the air at 45 degrees because the power cable is bigger and heavier than it is) this is the best combination yet. It's still not perfect, but it's much more interesting and the brightness hasn't returned. I do think it lacks slam occasionally, as though it's being held back slightly, and I seem to remember the system is capable of sounding better - but my memory may be playing tricks of course. I'll need to keep it running in this configuration and see how much it changes according to day and time.
The Dacmagic I have and Earmax Pro require a normal plug socket so I can't experiement in the same way with those.
Research:
As the mains supply is making such a huge difference to the sound of my system, and every component is affected in one way or another, it's probably worth doing something substantial to sort it out before upgrading anything else. I have the following options at the moment from my initial research:
1. Get a VPhase Voltage Optimisation unit installed at the mains input to the house which will take my constant over-voltage and convert it to a constant 220v, adapting as the mains voltage changes. They sell it as an energy saving feature, but I'll be honest - I care more about the sound of my hi-fi than the planet.
It costs about £350 installed iirc, depending on how much the electrician charges.
2. Get a balanced mains transformer. I've seen units from Airlink, Trichord, Russ Andrews and Atlas Cables. The RA one is in the sale at £1000 and has a 60 day home trial, but it only has two output sockets and I need three. Adding a decent mains extension is going to crank the price up and will make a mess. I found a review of the Airlink which said it worked well for sound quality but hummed - and I can't stand anything that hums. The RA unit has a switch to change input voltage to try and stop it humming, but it's not a certainty. I don't know if the Airlink has that option. I've not seen much on the Trichord and the Atlas is so new the website doesn't even list the features yet. I did see the Atlas at the Bristol show however and it was one of the few rooms where the equipment didn't sound horribly bright. It's the best looking unit by some way too.
3. Get a PS-Audio mains regenerator, either P3, P5, or go total overkill and get a P10. I can get these on interest free credit from Audio Affair (making them 'affordable'), but arranging a home demo may be tricky. They're seeing what they can do, but the only option may be borrowing one from a member of staff, which isn't ideal for either of us! The P3 won't be out for a couple of months either, but as my headphone setup only consumes about 11 watts according to the UPS the smallest unit should work just fine.
Question:
I don't know for sure what the real cause of my sound quality problems is, except it's not likely to be the voltage. I have a constant over voltage problem, the Micromega is 20 years old and is rated at 220v, but variations in voltage over the week don't correlate perfectly with the sound quality changes, and changing power cables doesn't change the voltage but does change the sound. So what's it likely to be? Does anyone have any experience comparing balanced mains transformers against the PS Audio units? I thought the PS Audio units would be a one stop shop, but their website suggests using a mains filter before the regenerator, meaning it may make little difference to my problems. Given the difficulty of arranging a demo does anyone have any ideas?
I also have a Dacmagic, which sounded just fine at a previous property, but I'd assumed was broken as it sounds so appalling here. Plus I have an MF M1 DAC which sounds great at brief moments, but is generally just bass-light the rest of the time. I've gone back to the T-DAC as it responds better to the new mains cable and helps counter the overall brightness of the system. It's also capable of great expression and I can't really say anything bad about it. I just can't tell how the various units compare as my mains is so variable I can never be sure what I'm listening to is correct. So yes, all these mains units cost more than the hi-fi, but spending more on the hi-fi itself just now would be folly unless I go down the battery powered DAC/amp route...
Edit: It was the VPhase unit that creates a constant 220v I believe, the Voltis Home I mentioned originally is just a step down transformer.
I'm using HD800s and for a long time had a near constant problem with them sounding bright, to the point where I preferred the sound of silence at one point and just took them off. Whilst occasionally they would sound utterly brilliant, the rest of the time they were so fatiguing they were unuseable.
Since then I've gone through my system replacing every component that was helping them to sound bright or aggressive and I've replaced the USB cable, added a USB converter, switched to a bassier DAC, tried a valve amplifier, changed interconnects and upgraded the headphone cable. All of that helped in many ways, and the sound got a lot better as a rule, but it was only when I replaced the power cables with some hose-pipe sized versions that I finally killed the excessive brightness. They weren't a panacea though:
I got a Russ Andrews reference something or other for about £200. Used on the Micromega T-DAC initially it removed some of the aggression and helped the system sound more expressive, so I decided to keep it. It took a long time to run in though and there was still a lot of brightness in the system.
I then switched it to the MF M1 HPA and the sound was so bassy it made the system sound like a reggae club. It turned out it hadn't finished running in and eventually settled down over the next couple of weeks. Most importantly it made a huge difference in reducing the brightness, so I bought a second cable and got it pre-burnt to add back to the DAC. Listening to this system for a while was much more pleasant as the brightness was all gone, but at the same time I started to notice a lack of detail and finesse - it just wasn't sounding as interesting, with a thick bass and midrange.
Next up I got an APC Back-UPS Pro 900 (UPS) as I've been meaning to get one for years. It's hooked up to my PC of course, but also gives me a constant voltage readout so I now know my local voltage averages 246-248v, with swings to 244 and 250. I then plugged in the Hiface EVO (which has a Russ Andrews PSU as no other dealer could supply one for it, except their home-built version which they wouldn't sell, or the battery pack which cost a bomb). Using the filtered output from the UPS to the EVO made a big difference to treble smoothness, although it didn't affect brightness or cure the homogeneity of the sound. So I used one of the hosepipes into the UPS and hooked up all the components to the UPS with generic cables. That helped bring back some of the detail, but it still wasn't right.
I now have the EVO and T-DAC fed by hosepipes and the M1 HPA fed off the UPS, which has generic cables both in and out. It's only been running a short time with this configuration, but so far (apart from the fact the EVOs PSU is sticking up into the air at 45 degrees because the power cable is bigger and heavier than it is) this is the best combination yet. It's still not perfect, but it's much more interesting and the brightness hasn't returned. I do think it lacks slam occasionally, as though it's being held back slightly, and I seem to remember the system is capable of sounding better - but my memory may be playing tricks of course. I'll need to keep it running in this configuration and see how much it changes according to day and time.
The Dacmagic I have and Earmax Pro require a normal plug socket so I can't experiement in the same way with those.
Research:
As the mains supply is making such a huge difference to the sound of my system, and every component is affected in one way or another, it's probably worth doing something substantial to sort it out before upgrading anything else. I have the following options at the moment from my initial research:
1. Get a VPhase Voltage Optimisation unit installed at the mains input to the house which will take my constant over-voltage and convert it to a constant 220v, adapting as the mains voltage changes. They sell it as an energy saving feature, but I'll be honest - I care more about the sound of my hi-fi than the planet.
It costs about £350 installed iirc, depending on how much the electrician charges.2. Get a balanced mains transformer. I've seen units from Airlink, Trichord, Russ Andrews and Atlas Cables. The RA one is in the sale at £1000 and has a 60 day home trial, but it only has two output sockets and I need three. Adding a decent mains extension is going to crank the price up and will make a mess. I found a review of the Airlink which said it worked well for sound quality but hummed - and I can't stand anything that hums. The RA unit has a switch to change input voltage to try and stop it humming, but it's not a certainty. I don't know if the Airlink has that option. I've not seen much on the Trichord and the Atlas is so new the website doesn't even list the features yet. I did see the Atlas at the Bristol show however and it was one of the few rooms where the equipment didn't sound horribly bright. It's the best looking unit by some way too.
3. Get a PS-Audio mains regenerator, either P3, P5, or go total overkill and get a P10. I can get these on interest free credit from Audio Affair (making them 'affordable'), but arranging a home demo may be tricky. They're seeing what they can do, but the only option may be borrowing one from a member of staff, which isn't ideal for either of us! The P3 won't be out for a couple of months either, but as my headphone setup only consumes about 11 watts according to the UPS the smallest unit should work just fine.
Question:
I don't know for sure what the real cause of my sound quality problems is, except it's not likely to be the voltage. I have a constant over voltage problem, the Micromega is 20 years old and is rated at 220v, but variations in voltage over the week don't correlate perfectly with the sound quality changes, and changing power cables doesn't change the voltage but does change the sound. So what's it likely to be? Does anyone have any experience comparing balanced mains transformers against the PS Audio units? I thought the PS Audio units would be a one stop shop, but their website suggests using a mains filter before the regenerator, meaning it may make little difference to my problems. Given the difficulty of arranging a demo does anyone have any ideas?
I also have a Dacmagic, which sounded just fine at a previous property, but I'd assumed was broken as it sounds so appalling here. Plus I have an MF M1 DAC which sounds great at brief moments, but is generally just bass-light the rest of the time. I've gone back to the T-DAC as it responds better to the new mains cable and helps counter the overall brightness of the system. It's also capable of great expression and I can't really say anything bad about it. I just can't tell how the various units compare as my mains is so variable I can never be sure what I'm listening to is correct. So yes, all these mains units cost more than the hi-fi, but spending more on the hi-fi itself just now would be folly unless I go down the battery powered DAC/amp route...
Edit: It was the VPhase unit that creates a constant 220v I believe, the Voltis Home I mentioned originally is just a step down transformer.
