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it's the ac.....

i spoke to kyle of Reference Audio Mods and suggested that i could assemble a stereo system from 1967 which would be superior to any current production stereo system.

as we discussed this issue, he made an interesting point.

kyle believes that there is a problem with the source of electricity and that battery power for all components can make such an important difference that independence from the electric company may solve a lot of the problems that one often hears from audiophiles who complain of sonic deficiencies.

this is just a thought but an important one, i think.

unfortunately, kyle believes it would be difficult to construct a battery power supply for a tube component.

i suggested that a tube amp, properly designed would be preferred to any solid state amp which is battery driven.

of course, it's just my opinion, but it is hard to believe that some of the euphonic colorations of tube gear can be emulated by a solid state electronics.

what do you think ?
mrtennis
7 responses Add your response
tobias
1,534 posts
 
I think Kyle's point is very interesting, possibly true, but I can also say that even back in 1974 the Metro Toronto AC line was not what the specs would lead you to expect. Voltage varied with time of day, there were spikes and dips, and there was a lot of hash on the 60 Hz wave.

Today it may well be far worse, and certainly good AC treatment makes a huge difference today to both tubes and ss.
arni
313 posts
 
Mr. Tennis, sound like Red Wine Audio might fit your ticket.. no it is not tubes, but it isn´t solid state either, and yes, it sure is battery powered amp... check out this one here on Audiogon...http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1172540174
gregm
3,405 posts
 
Yes, many of the deficiencies connected to system noise floor come fm the mains (i.e., see "dynamics", "detail", etc).

t's not difficult "to construct a battery power supply for a tube component" for the simple reason that you can purchase one. It will supply *adequate* dc to wherever necessary.

Submarines, for example, use these.

Small snag: they are stratospherically expensive, outrageously large & massive, and very dangerous (I mean, where do you safely place such a thing?? On your balcony??)

Of course we're talking about serious PS -- not the dainty designer versions found in some "hi-end" equip.

Cheers
pardales
652 posts
 
I think there is definitely something to this. The only component of my system that is not battery powered is my hard drive. The rest runs of battery power and sounds fantastic.
jfz
570 posts
 
I'm in agreement with regard to the value of battery power. I disagree, though, that anyone could assemble a system from 1967 that would be superior to *any* current production system. The advances in speakers and vinyl front-ends themselves are way beyond what was available 40 years ago (speakers and front-ends being generally the most colored components, IMHO).
ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
Under load, batteries aren't completely quiet either, although the noise is higher frequency. I would still recommend filtering caps. I lost some links on the last computer crash but I read somewhere that one of those "super regulators" combined with an IE-core tranny outperformed a typical sealed battery for noise. Batteries do have the advantage of nearly instant speed and huge current to handle transients.

Tube amps typically have over 90 volt rails so many batteries would have to be in serial.
pardales
652 posts
 
The fact the an entire industry around power modification devices (cords, conditioners, etc., etc.) has arisen is suggestive that "power" and "power supply" issues play an critical role in the sound of stereo components. This would further lend support to arguments for the sonic superiority of properly designed, battery powered devices as they avoid most of the problems addressed by this industry.

Now that I have a system that is battery powered, that I love, I am hesitant to even consider components than need to be plugged in, because then I have to start thinking about power supply design, power conditioning, power cords..............................
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