Advice needed on power cables, wall warts, conditioning, electrical outlet


Hi everyone,

I would appreciate any advice on power cables, wall warts, power conditioning, better electrical outlet,  etc. 

If I have a power conditioner, with all of my equipment plugged into it with their stock cables, would upgrading the individual components’ power cable, wall wart etc. really help to improve the sound quality?  If yes, in what order of priority would you suggest?  Looking to make some low/moderate cost "tweaks" where it makes sense.

FWIW, here’s my setup:

  • 15 amp dedicated electrical circuit with standard home grade grounded electrical outlet.
  • Furman PL Plus-C power conditioner (repurposed from my music equipment studio rack) plugged into this AC outlet.  (Furman has a hardwired power cable, so I cannot easily swap it out)
  • All of my audio equipment plugs into the Furman: e.g. integrated tube amp, DAC, Sound Expander, ethernet to optical converter, Sonore Optical Rendu (feeds the DAC via USB), and Small Green Computer Roon server.
  • All components have their respective manufacturers’ standard issue power cord or wall wart.  (Sonore Optical Rendu with their Small Green Computer standard LPS).
  • TrendNet ethernet switch, not on the conditioner and uses wall wart.  CAT 8 to upstairs to my Asus router also wall wart and not on conditioner.
  • Asus router to Verizon FIOS ONT via CAT 8 ethernet.

Any advice and comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

bogbeat

Plitron medical isolation transformers are what I use.

Words of caution: isolation transformers tend to hum when they are doing their job, so you want to site these in a utility room. Installation is not hard, but unless you have some experience with home wiring, get it done by a pro. Think of it this way: behind every wall is a large elephant, ever vigilant, straining to get loose and destroy everything. That's the power lurking in the modern home electrical system. When the installation is complete, you will need to involve the electrical inspector, who may want to inspect it. This is essential if you do a permanent installation, because no inspector means no insurance.

Don't worry too much about the length of wire from transformer to outlet. Use oversise Romex for this (for 15 amps, code says AWG14, so use AWG12). Use any hospital grade outlets, which are not the most expensive, just the best, available at your electrical supply store, or from Parts Connexion. Pay no more than about $20 each unless you live in a hot, humid environment, in which case you may need corrosion resistant connection points.

To specify what you need,

Step 1: You will want to put all the electronics on one transformer, everything with a motor on another. To do this, total up the maximum load of each device you will be connecting, usually found on the back of the case or the user's manual. Allow for the future, so add 25% more. Then double the total for technical transformer-thing reasons, and that's the capacity of the transformer that you need. Once you have calculated the capacity of the transformer for your electronics, do the same for the transformer which will run your motors.

Step 2: Torroidal or conventional? Torroidal is better, but can be hard to find. Plitron is toroidal, and used to sell to the public direct from the factory. Maybe they still do.

Step 3: Permanent or portable? Permanent is cheaper to buy, but more expensive to install. For permanent, buy a raw transformer with wires sticking out of it and site it in an electrical box (electrical supply) and feed it with it's own circuit, fed by an oversize cable from the box.

You may have noticed that this involves a bit more than swapping out power cords. It was a bit of a stretch for me to do the whole thing, but it's a hobby, and for me, it's worth it. YMMV

Good luck!

Toroidal transformers are the worst for amplifier power supply.

I thing for isolation transformers should be the same. 

A last note: when the electrical inspector came to inspect my installation, he said it was the cleanest power he had ever seen, comparable to the electrical generating station where he used to work. It may not be as flashy as the Koetsu, but it's just as important.

Why do you say that, @alexberger ? Stray fields are smallest, efficiency highest. Please share - I do hate persisting in error.

Hi @terry9 ,

At least for tube amplifiers all best producers:

Tango, Tamura, Kondo, Audio Note, Hashimoto, Lundahl

don't make toroidal power transformers. In the tubes world toroidal power transformers are for cheap solutions.

I don't familiar what transistor amplifier producers do. Probably they use toroidal power transformers more often . 

Regards,

Alex