iFi AC iPurifier - Video Mini Series - The look, the tech, the lowdown. MORE ADDED!

[iFi audio]

@iFi audio what does it mean if the polarity led is red no matter the orientation, this is in Norway so unsure if polarity is detected correctly.

Please see here first:

• http://support.ifi-audio.com/kb/faq.php?id=795
• http://support.ifi-audio.com/kb/faq.php?id=815
• http://support.ifi-audio.com/kb/faq.php?id=806

You can always shoot us a message here: http://support.ifi-audio.com

... and we'll try to sort you out.

 

[Yviena]

Hmm i tried out all contacts in the house and my parents house that are nearby, in both houses the polarity was red no matter orientation so i assume we have balanced mains wiring as i doubt there could be problems in both locations.

 

[markk02474]

My location with its AC quality and my system seem to be very prone to AC noise degradation. I find that the AC iPurifier makes a profound difference on my system. This is with HiFiMan HE1000V2 headphones, Woo Audio WA6SE amp, Yggdrasil DAC and Ayon transport. The noise floor lowers considerably, layers of grit and grunge are removed, the overall sound is much more transparent.

I was already using a couple of homemade passive plug-in AC filters, simply a couple of small value polystyrene capacitors (.0056uF 600V) connected across AC and Neutral. By themselves they caused a distinct though smaller improvement along the same lines as the AC iPurifier. I found that with these small value filter caps that presumably affect only very high frequency noise on AC, the capacitor dielectric is still important; it still seems to affect the sound quality. Polystyrene is the highest quality inexpensive dielectric used in capacitors available in these values.

The iPurifier greatly magnified the improvement.

As an experiment, after plugging in the AC iPurifier I removed the homemade AC filters. I discovered that these small value polystyrene caps were significantly enhancing the effect of the iPurifier. They are essentially an effective tweak to the iPurifier. I theorize that they introduce a better dielectric (polystyrene versus probably polypropylene or polyester or perhaps even ceramic used in the iPurifier) to the passive filter in the iPurifier, and perhaps slightly extend the frequency range of its coverage.

While I have also experienced the audible benefits of homemade AC filters with high quality capacitors, there is a safety risk with the capacitors you have chosen. UL standards require Class-X and Class-Y certified capacitors to be used. The risk is that a high voltage spike can short non-certified capacitors, potentially causing a fire. Less risky but still good sounding are metalized film capacitors like metalized Teflon and metalized polypropelene types. The thin metal plating layer will vaporize from voltage spikes, but then redeposit, making it self-healing. Unfortunately, metalized polystrene capacitors don't exist, so metalized Teflon (600 Volts or greater) is the best available. Hard to find them as film-foil perform slightly better in circuits, and size and cost penalty of film-foil is much smaller than for other types with thinner and much less expensive dielectrics.

 

[iFi audio]

Hmm i tried out all contacts in the house and my parents house that are nearby, in both houses the polarity was red no matter orientation so i assume we have balanced mains wiring as i doubt there could be problems in both locations.

That's likely, yes.

 

[lantian]

Amazing device, thank you ifi for making such a wonderful product. For someone who has terrible mains this thing allowed me to actually listen to my music, all the background noises are completely gone, whats left is just the music. Effect is the same for both my headphone amps and my speakers.

 

[iFi audio]

Amazing device, thank you ifi for making such a wonderful product. For someone who has terrible mains this thing allowed me to actually listen to my music, all the background noises are completely gone, whats left is just the music. Effect is the same for both my headphone amps and my speakers.

Sure, enjoy!

 

[Jgeffen]

I’m a big ifi fan, after replacing one LPS for an ifi Power supply. Right now, I have 3 ifi iPower supply’s. Two of them are in my Kemp Electronics power strip with star cabling inside. Unfortunately, I can only connect 4 devices to this strip right now, or I must extend this power strip with an small power bar.
In this 4-way strip I have my amplifier and two ifi ipower supply’s. my question to ifi is: where should I place my ipurifier in this strip? Or should I extend my strip for a second ipurifier. This Kemp strip is not connected to a wall outlet but directly to my house installation on a separate fuse.because of this I have placed my second ipurifier placed in the kitchen, where all the noisy equipment is situated.

 

[Jgeffen]

In addition:

My Kemp Elektroniks power strip is having an built in SNS plug against noise and star cabling as I wrote. Does this have influence on the working of my ifi products?

 

[iFi audio]

In addition:

My Kemp Elektroniks power strip is having an built in SNS plug against noise and star cabling as I wrote. Does this have influence on the working of my ifi products?

We can't say as we don't have what you have. But AC iP should be used between various types of PSUs and digital/analog hardware accordingly to this handy diagram:



And a simple tutorial follows:

• Insert AC iPurifier (1) into the shared mains wall outlet.
• Place AC iPurifier (2) at the first entry point.
• A third AC iPurifier (3) is best located in-between the two types of power supplies.

We recommend that all linear power supplies are located after the AC iPurifier (2) but before AC iPurifier (3). Then all SMPS power supplies are located after AC iPurifier (3).

Also, the digital and analogue power sources should be in their respective groups as shown in the diagram.

And as a bonus of sorts, we propagate this all over HF



That's our Thorsten.

 

[Jgeffen]

We can't say as we don't have what you have. But AC iP should be used between various types of PSUs and digital/analog hardware accordingly to this handy diagram:



And a simple tutorial follows:

• Insert AC iPurifier (1) into the shared mains wall outlet.
• Place AC iPurifier (2) at the first entry point.
• A third AC iPurifier (3) is best located in-between the two types of power supplies.

We recommend that all linear power supplies are located after the AC iPurifier (2) but before AC iPurifier (3). Then all SMPS power supplies are located after AC iPurifier (3).

Also, the digital and analogue power sources should be in their respective groups as shown in the diagram.

And as a bonus of sorts, we propagate this all over HF



That's our Thorsten.

Hello, here you can find additional information about the SNS plug. This plug is integrated in my Power Strip. Does this help to give me an answer?

See, http://www.kempelektroniks.nl/Files..._sns_plug_and_module__arial_version_copy1.pdf

 

[iFi audio]

In addition:

My Kemp Elektroniks power strip is having an built in SNS plug against noise and star cabling as I wrote. Does this have influence on the working of my ifi products?

This is an unusual setup. We would suggest running all iPowers on a separate power strip, with our AC iPurifier plugged in nearest to where the cable exits the housing. Then plug that into the Kemp splitter, your amplifier and other devices also into said splitter, a second iPurifier may be plugged into your Kemp strip as well.

It may also be worth testing a ground wire to connect to one of the iPowers from the grounding socket on the AC iPurifier.

 

[Jgeffen]

This is an unusual setup. We would suggest running all iPowers on a separate power strip, with our AC iPurifier plugged in nearest to where the cable exits the housing. Then plug that into the Kemp splitter, your amplifier and other devices also into said splitter, a second iPurifier may be plugged into your Kemp strip as well.

It may also be worth testing a ground wire to connect to one of the iPowers from the grounding socket on the AC iPurifier.

Thanks for the answer! I don’t known what you mean with a splitter? There is no splitter involved; the Kemp powerstrip is with a high grade power cable under the floor directly connectied to my house installation in a separate group. So, in this way: no wall outlet between the group and power strip, where I could place the third ac ipurifier in a normal situation.

One remark/question left: in the manual accompanying the AC ipurifier there is also the suggestion to place the AC ipurifier somewhere in the middle of a power strip or bar. So, I have it placed mine after my amp and before the two Ifi ipower devices. Is this a good solution too? And the other one in the kitchen where I have earth too (see the audio bacon site). One other question: The powerstrip is having an earth; why should I earth an ipurifier with an ipower?

 

[Jgeffen]

This is an unusual setup. We would suggest running all iPowers on a separate power strip, with our AC iPurifier plugged in nearest to where the cable exits the housing. Then plug that into the Kemp splitter, your amplifier and other devices also into said splitter, a second iPurifier may be plugged into your Kemp strip as well.

It may also be worth testing a ground wire to connect to one of the iPowers from the grounding socket on the AC iPurifier.

Corvette something:

how about star-cabling.

This is an unusual setup. We would suggest running all iPowers on a separate power strip, with our AC iPurifier plugged in nearest to where the cable exits the housing. Then plug that into the Kemp splitter, your amplifier and other devices also into said splitter, a second iPurifier may be plugged into your Kemp strip as well.

It may also be worth testing a ground wire to connect to one of the iPowers from the grounding socket on the AC iPurifier.

Forget one question: is star-cabling making a difference, because there is no sequence in the power strip?

 

[iFi audio]

I don’t known what you mean with a splitter?

As in "power splitter", the Kemp product we have been discussing.

One remark/question left: in the manual accompanying the AC ipurifier there is also the suggestion to place the AC ipurifier somewhere in the middle of a power strip or bar.

This is for conventional power strips/splitters where there is typically a kind of "bus" wiring. This is less applicable for star wiring. Actually, while not a bad idea at all, star wiring partially defeats the operation of the AC iPurifier.

The powerstrip is having an earth; why should I earth an ipurifier with an ipower?

You should not do that. The iPower is double-isolated and thus has no earth connection. Under some conditions this can cause hum as a small amount of current leaks from the mains into the output. By earthing the iPower Output to the iPurifier this current now has a return path, that was previously missing.

 

[BearlyPizza]

After putting the purifier in front of my dac on the power strip, it initially gave a small improvement. Sounds seemed cleaner, slightly less fatiguing. I'd say it was a good idea for me to purchase one!