Supplying Power and Working Miracles
This week I had an eye-opening and *ear-splitting* audio experience. Let me not misguide you, the title tells all: this story ain't audio headlines. Just an incredible experience for me.
I'm still under a spell and I feel the need to share it with whoever is out there...
Here goes (the rambling).
I was cajoled into installing a 35Amp** direct power supply line for my system, running from the house's main supply to a *proxy* board in my listening room. Professional grade plugs are hard-wired onto the proxy.
Needless to say, the technician who did the job thought I was a bit on the loony side (he told me so)... but, "the client is king" as the saying goes, and he ploughed away on the job.
I kept the system running during the installation process. When it was ready, and the system connected to the new supply, we sat down with the electrician for an audition. He, genuinely interested; I, playing it cool. The power supply *would* make SOME difference, but I'd seen it all before... I was wrong.
In a mere 10 mins, the difference in sound quality was staggering. I won't bore you with adjectives -- add lib freely.
The electrician's jaw virtually dropped: "miracle" is HIS word...
Let me add that bikes are his hobby; No golden ear here.
My friend walked into the room; she thought I had upgraded, and was appropriately ready to hang me for denting our budget yet again.
Tapestry is her hobby; so, no golden ear there, either (although females do you have sharp hearing, I find).
Ofcourse, we went through the change-back routine, triple-checking the house's normal electrical installation, etc. Just to check our ears and our *impressionability*.
Ofcourse, again, the sound got better with time, the system takes about 72hrs to reach peak operation from cold.
What more can I say...
In the magnificent, absurdly-priced, and fascinatingly alchemist world of hi-end audio, this must be my most miraculous upgrade to-date! Not least, it is by far the cheapest.
If you've reached this far, thanks for your time. I wish you all a great W-E. I know mine will be.
**I live in Athens, Greece, where voltage is EU standard 230 /50 Hz, and corresponding amperage is, I beleive, lower than in the US -- so 35A is considered very high, enough to power a whole house. Also true, the voltage in my area is poor, playing between 220-230: this doesn't help my 230V active equipment. My system consists of TT (Zarathustra), Symphonic Line CD, pre + power combo, (Genesis V) servo amp, and Gen V speakers.
