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  3. 1089033183

Power & line conditioners - One size fits all?

New house. 4 dedicated lines. Apparent ground loop issue. Looking for the least expensive way to fix it all. (ain't we all?)

My thinking is to install a 5 - 7 KVA, isolation transformer at the breaker box, and redirect the ded ckts from a sub panel, if I can shoehorn it into the wall, that is. (it's like 90 lbs.)

OF all the listed issues, the most irritation comes from a harshness in the mids. sometimes Vocals have an edge I just can't stand, mostly female. Music, no problem. Female singers, poor recordings, problem. All my gear is less than two years old. Anthem, Krell, B&W, Velodyne, etc.
I'm thinking all I'll need then is line conditioning for the front end. Right? That being said, which way do I go from here to achieve above average performance? Which "one" LC will do it all? Or is there just one?

No experience in the line conditioning deal. Not a lot of faith in it either, but after seeing all the rhetoric from people online & reviews, if indeed a gain in sonic quality is to be achieved, I'm all for it . . . eventually.

I'm looking for a slam dunk here. . . hopefully.
blindjim
cytocycle
1,043 posts
 
Disconnect you Cable (coax) and listen again and see if you system still hums... There are solutions for this... Line Conditions won't get rid of the ground hum.... Do a search for Ground Loops.
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
My understanding is that ground loop produces a hum. Harshness of mid-range vocals, especially female vocals IS NOT A GROUND LOOP ISSUE, but one of audio equipment selection. A line conditioner is always a good idea. However, what you are describing sounds like the worst case scenario, digital glare combined with a solid state amp
blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 
Thanks,

i do know what a 60 cycle hum is, and understand the idea behind it. Once the ground is lifted from the amp, it diminishes by 95%. Even when the volume is up, you hear no apparent buzz. I'm just thinking it has to be contributory. Up until the past few months, I was using DIRECT TV, not Cable. Am now, I'll try undoing the ground on it as well now.

I'll try the "search". I suppose you mean to individually disconnect all the items using a ground in their path; washer, dryer, fridge, etc.,. right?

Maybe I'm pointing at a spot in the frequency range that is not altogether exact. A better term could be "it's like the treble is just up to high". Thought about it after reading the responses. In any case, it is persistent. Regarless of equipment, although I have not tried tubes. (Actually, can't afford tubes) Different receivers, amps, (yeah, all solid)AND AS THE QUALITY GOES UP AT FIRST THEY ARE GREAT, THEN AFTER A DAY OR SO. . . THE EDG/GLARE IS BACK. Changed SPEAKER CABLES, from Monster bi's to some I had made up, #10 AWG, that helped some. Been through the interconnects thing, cheap, to in my opinion, expensive, $100 each. Went with moderately priced XLR's to cheap XLR'S & bakc again. same old stuff, eventually.

After all the changes, I am hard pressed to believe it to be something other than what they all have in common. POWER. What works best? Unlplugging the equipment for a spell, overnight, or so. Or aftrer a good rain, and late in the evening. Those are the conditions wherein the sound is best. Being blind my friends tell me I hear too much, as at first they don't notice anything out of the ordinary. Once it is pointed out, they do. The only thing I have yet to try in interconnects, is coaxial. Using optics currently.

I really do appreciate your inputs and thank you for them, as well as any other suggestions or thoughtts that might arise.
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