[discoman]

Hi all,

I am living in an apartment and the power supply is not very stable. I am now using an UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply, AC battery backup power) for my computer. My audio gears are pluged in the same plug with a small refrigerator and a few more appliance. I am thinking to get another UPS for my audio gears. Winter is coming, I think UPS will save my CDP, the amp is ok since it got huge capacity.

Will UPS 'clean up' the power? or degrade it?

Also, where can I get hospital grade power cord locally beside audio store?
Those power cord with a small green dot. I remember I have read a post here claim $100+ audio cord is 100% the same as a $10 hospital cord.

Thanks

John

 

[Hirsch]

A computer grade UPS will keep power within acceptable levels for a computer. It may clean up some noise, and may not. Many computer UPS products can degrade sonics by adding EMI/RFI to power. If the power in your apartment is unstable, you may not have a choice. ISTR reading something about Tripplite UPS's being better about filtering noise than most, but cannot remember the source, and have never used one.

Your audio gear should not be in the same plug as a refrigerator. If possible, it should not even be on the same circuit...refrigerators and other appliances create electrical noise. You may want to look at the recent thread on the AudioPrism Quietline noise filters.

 

[dngl]

some $100+ power cords are the same as hospital grade ones, but not all of them. Quail has greendots the cheapest.

The Bolder power cord and the Asylum cable are highly regarded for sub $100 cords.

 

[morphsci]

I previously used two Tripplite power conditioners on my Den system. They had some filtering and also acted to keep the power to the system stable when the heating/cooling unit kicked in and the refrigerator kicked in. I now have a BPT balanced power unit. I was concerned because the BPT unit does not stabilize undervoltages like a conditioner. However, I have had the unit in for a couple of months now with no problem. The BPT unit has much better filtering and provides a much cleaner background compared to the Tripplite units. You can see my system HERE.

 

[BenG]

I tried a APC 700 UPS with my low current audio, and it did drop the noise floor slightly, with no major artifacts.

I would be hesitant to plug speaker amplifiers into a small UPS though. Smaller UPS can't handle alot wattage (they'll choke dynamics & bass of power amps). Lower current stuff like CD or even headamps should be okay though.

 

[discoman]

I just re-wire my setup. Now the refrigerator is plug in with a different outlet, but still the same circuit. (There is only 3 useable circuit in my whole apartment) and I plug in CDP and Amp to Tripp-Lite OfficePro 500 (from my computer), and replace my cheap IC with IXOS IC. Well, the system sound cleaner, just a little bit, but I can tell in 2 minutes. The bass is the biggest improvement, it is a bit tighter.

I am not too sure is the changed location of the plug of the refrigerator or UPS or IC or all of the above improve the sound quality. It only cost me $70 for the new IC and another UPS for my computer and have noticeable improvement. I am a happy man now.

Conditioner, definitely need one, but later...for now... (got to put away my Visa...)