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Keep noise creators outside your clean power zone

Hi Everyone,

Just a tip for those of you who have invested in power conditioners:

Keep things which generate noise outside of your clean zone.

Power conditioners, unless fully active, are just filters. They are not magic blessing devices. What I mean is that the power that comes in gets filtered, and sent out, but it can be contaminated again! It’s just like your water supply. Makes no sense to use fancy water filters, and storing it in a dirty bucket.

If you can, avoid using wall warts, and network devices like Wifi routers, switches, video streamers etc. on the clean side of your conditioner because they will contaminate the already filtered power. If you have a conditioner with multiple zones, put all your noisy neighbors on the same dirty zone.

I try to solve this by using a less expensive but still very good power strip to create a "de-militarized zone." DMZ for short. The Furman PST-8 is a great way to do this, because it does include really good filtering which goes down to about 3 kHz.

Plug it directly into the wall, not into your conditioner. This will give you the most number of filters between your wall warts and your audio. Of course, other alternatives are to use linear power supplies exclusively, but even then, anything with a network or CPU in it can generate noise that makes it through the power supply.

Lots of other conditioners will work, of course, the Furman with SMP just has great noise handling and ~ $120 is much more affordable than alternatives.

Whatever you do, keep your noisy neighbors outside your clean zone.

Best,

E
erik_squires
helomech
1,738 posts
 
Yeah, no, it doesn’t work like that. Not even close.

First, because there is no "zone". Look at my system for example. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 Where is the "clean power zone"? Can you show me? Is it after the power conditioner? Or is it after the step down transformer? Maybe its after the breaker panel? No? Maybe its the electric meter? Because I have tracked the thing back to the point of using tweaks on the meter box and it works just as well there as everywhere else along the entire power path from that point on. Which is to say all of it. So where exactly is this imaginary zone then?

Second way its nothing like you say, I can disconnect or turn off breakers going to other rooms and hear an improvement. I can put contact enhancers and outlet plugs on stuff in another room clear across the house and still hear the same improvement as when they are used right in the room or even on unused outlets right on my conditioner. So that ones bunk too.

And finally, no wall warts after the conditioner? Have you looked at my system? Have you looked at ANY SYSTEM?! We're gonna get real basic now. Because what is a wall wart, anyway? Did you ever stop to ask yourself that question? A wall wart is nothing but a very simple power supply. Its a transformer, couple diodes, maybe a cap or two. That’s it.

Now please do not take my word for it. Open one up and have a look for yourself. Then do the same with ANY component in your system. Because if you look at ANY COMPONENT in ANY SYSTEM you will find EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has a transformer, diodes, and caps.

Still, in fairness, don’t only knock, also be positive. Point out the stuff the guy got right. DMZ is indeed short for de-militarized zone. Well done.
Yeah, actually it can work like that.

Not long ago I had the exact problem Eric was referencing, with a streaming device's wall-wart smps causing noise that bled into my phono preamp. Some wall warts (the heavy ones) are indeed just a linear PS in a plastic case, others are SMPS and usually the culprit of circuit pollution. 


bob540
416 posts
 
This makes me think of the guy who commented here, after seeing my set-up, that I had too much cluttered together.  I took that as meaning the clutter was visually unsettling, but having read Erik’s comment, I’m thinking now that he might have been referring to noise being generated by the proximity of several pieces of electronic equipment (though I guess he might also have been referring to reflections?).  

I have two Furman’s below on that same table, each plugged into the same wall outlet.  One has all 8 outlets (4 are filtered and 4 unfiltered) with all 8 having something plugged into it; the other has 2 devices plugged into its 6 outlets (so far).  I hadn’t even thought if this whole arrangement I have might be introducing noise — but I’m not sure what I do about it if it is (that being the only nearby outlet).  Interesting topic.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 

bob540
This makes me think of the guy who commented here, after seeing my set-up, that I had too much cluttered together. I took that as meaning the clutter was visually unsettling, but having read Erik’s comment, I’m thinking now that he might have been referring to noise being generated by the proximity of several pieces of electronic equipment (though I guess he might also have been referring to reflections?).

>>>>>There is a third and more mysterious reason, gentle readers, why clutter is bad for the sound. I don’t wish to appear messianic or overly mysterious but think of it like Feng Shui. Having an organized and uncluttered space is good for everything, you can also think of it as minimizing entropy. Especially bad for sound - and I’d don’t mean to be ironic here - are CDs, magazines, books, newspapers, LPs, videos, and extra unused electronics and cables you might have lying around. Even musical instruments. How’s that for irony?
thecarpathian's avatar
thecarpathian
4,879 posts
 
Geoff, I see you've stopped dying your hair. Or did you start dying your hair?
Either way, much like your posts, tres avant garde......
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
It’s a Sonny Bono wig. 
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