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Fundamental importance of power management

I have two systems, one is a fairly simple low power computer-based system in an office building environment.  The other is a bit more elaborate home theater system used for mostly 2 channel listening.  I have recrntly focused on upgrading the power management and delivery to both with great rewards.

I have been struck repeatedly by the effect of different power cables in my system, but I was astonished recently by the effect of putting my laptop source, all computer peripherals including external hard drive and sub on a low cost power conditioner strip I had laying around the office for multi media presentations.  Sound was always a little edgy with this system, even though the Audio Engine desktop amp was on a modest Belken power conditioner.  The effect of putting the computer set up and the sub on a separate conditioner in this noisy environment sounded like a major, major equipment upgrade.  

This increased my interest in cleaning things up powerwise ahead of my home system, even though I have a dedicated 30 amp breaker and 10 gauge supply line, and I would not think home power would be as dirty as an office building.  Each step including an upgraded power strip, conditioner and supply cable, replacing switching power supplies with linear supplies, and trying different power cables for gear has increased my enjoyment greatly, and seems to be allowing the character of each component to shine out, reinforcing the positive attributes of each and the whole.  Because this is a home theater, I have more equipment in a relatvely small area compared to an analog only set up, so some of the benefit may be mitigating self inflicted wounds.

So in my experience, power management seems critical, and the foundation all other “solutions” to getting the best sound must be built.  Down with plug and play.


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erik_squires
16,041 posts
 
Hi @ptss 
You make a bit of a straw man argument here:

but, all talk of room acoustics first seems to me is putting the cart before the horse...  Room acoustics “cannot” improve the quality of the sound emanating from the sources.


Absolutely no one has made that claim, nor has anyone claim the room itself creates music.


However, the room is the largest, and measurably biggest filter and alteration of the perceived sound, especially when compared to power, interconnect, and speaker cables. As you put it: That is not an opinion.


Room acoustics can create peaks and nulls of 20 dB or more. No other component besides the speakers themselves will alter the sound you hear this much. The interaction between speaker and room has many other documented, and undeniable effects on the perceived experience such that it overwhelms everything else.


Speaker and cable contributions are so slight as to be lost in the realm of hearsay, argument and placebo effects. That is not an opinion.


Good room acoustics make a room more speaker and equipment friendly, and will very likely outlast your other equipment. They can, arguably, be rather cost effective when compared to expensive power, speaker and interconnect cables.


Best,

E
ptss
1,964 posts
 
I agree with your last paragraph :)
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@knownothing - apologies for the delay in responding - been out of the country for a few days.

RE:
Interesting conjecture on tube versus solid state power cable requirements. Off the top, what gauge wire would you recommend for linear power supply for tube phono preamp? Also, shielded versus non shielded as a place to start?
I am assuming you are refering to the cable from the mains supply to the power supply and not the cables from the power supply to the phono stage?

I think you would probably be OK with a 16 gauge power cable.

As to whether shielding is required or not is very dependent on your environment and how noisy it is.

Most home audio is in a releativeliy noise free environment provided the cables are well spaced and are not parallel to other cables.

Granted there are lots of radio devices all around us these days, but in the case of a power cables the impact of RFI/EFI from radio devices is negligable - at least in my house

I think that in most cases the impact of a sheild (i.e. the additional capacitance and internal noise propogation, etc...) outways the beneficial effect of a sheild handling external RFI/EFI.

In a studio environment or on stage, where all cables are run all over the place and often run in parallel in some kind of conduit, then sheilded cables provide many benefits.

I have conducted test on my own cables in my system and found that having a space of approx 3cm between all cables will generally negate the effect of RFI/EMi between cables

I’m a long time DIYer and make my own cables from scratch using an advanced Helix spiral geometry that provides many benefits not attainable by using commercial bulk cable products or even some the best commercially available products.

If you are interested take a look at...
  • http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-power-cable.html
  • They look complex to build but after winding the first helix it becomes quite easy :-)
  • They are very effective at rejecting noise and and additional benefit is that HELIX cables can be placed in parallel very close to each other without any RFI/EMI impact
  • e.g. - I recently held the Helix interconnect connecting the turntable to the phono stage, in parallel to a power cable (i.e. they were clenched in my fist) with the amp at full power and there was no additional noise introduced.
  • You could start by making a cable out of household Romex, just to gauge their effectvieness and then progress to the more expensive wires like Duelund or the Silver PLated Mil-spec, detailed on my site.
  • PLEASE NOTE: I warn against the continued used of solid conductors for power cables - since they are prone to breaking and can become a fire risk.
If you have any further questions - ask away :-)

Regards - Steve

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knownothing OP
1,575 posts
 
@williwonka

Thanks for the comments and insights on shielded versus non-shielded wire.  Great wire building instructions.  Nice system too.



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