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Low AC Line Voltage

Hello all.

I had something very strange happen the other night. My system hasn't been sounding quite right so I decided to try some power cords. I tried 3 Cardas Cross power cables. One on my power amp, one on my preamp and one on my Oppo CD player. I connected them all to an outlet box I had assembled using hospital-grade hardware. I turned everything on and let it warm up for a bit and the sound was totally unbelievable. Big wide open warm detailed spacious deep everything you could possibly ask for. I was totally amazed. The next morning I turned everything back on and tried it again and all of that wonderful sound was gone. It was almost like I had dreamed it. The system was back to sounding harsh and just not fun again. I couldn't figure out what happened. It was that way for several days. I bought a plug-in voltage meter. The voltage is always about a hundred 116 volts or so. This morning it was 123 volts and that wonderful sound was back. Am I crazy or could this possibly be caused from voltage?

Thanks in advance.

Ben

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honashagen
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,596 posts
 
You hear better at night. 

twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
Besides simple voltage fluctuation, there's different amounts of crap on the line at different times of day, different days of the week, and when the weather is different (HVAC in use or not).  The width of the variation will depend on the neighborhood where you live.
honashagen OP
137 posts
 
Back down to 116. Which piece of Furman gear do I need?
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 

One of these

http://www.furmanpower.com/products/all/component-power/reference-series

honashagen OP
137 posts
 
It happened again last night. I recently got some Totem Hawk speakers that I have not been able to get to sound right. Very bright and shrill. I jacked around for 4 days trying placement, interconnects, speaker cables, amplifiers and nothing helped. I decided to put them away to sell. Then last night I decided to get them out again and give them another chance. I placed them in the room where my Revel F208s were. Another miracle happened! They sounded fantastic! Ton's of bass. Almost too much. Smooth and warm. I even made my wife to come down to listen. She agreed they sounded great. Everything I threw at them was awesome! Went down to listen this morning and the magic was gone. That warm sound was missing. There was less bass. What the hell? I'm confused. Going to try again when I get home. Any ideas? Ben
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