2. misc-audio
  3. 184463-71961

"But it sounds better at night...."

A well-traveled topic that I raise yet again.  On the "are power regenerators snake oil" question, the response that has made most sense to me is: No, if you have some material issue with the power supply coming into your home.  If you live in an area with what I will call normal modern power infrastructure, and have quality components, you will probably not notice a difference.

But I live in a city, do not suspect any power problems, and feel with a pretty high degree of certainty that my system sounds better at night.  This is a common sentiment, attributed to more activity on the electrical grid during the day.  Can these two positions be reconciled?  Why DOES the system sound better at night to me and many others?


Is our perception straight-up wrong, and the result of some bias or non-auditory reason why listening at night is a better experience?

Maybe when listening at night, one average for most people, the system will have been on longer, and therefore be more warmed up?

Is our perception real, and supports the proposition that baseline electrical system usage does materially affect many systems, and you don't need a clear power "problem" to benefit from a regenerator? 

Let's rehash it all again gentlemen!
 

mathiasmingus
labguy's avatar
labguy
82 posts
 

Mind too, sounds better at night. The weird thing is, my system is entry level at best. Perhaps it just the lower noise floor of the world because everyone is asleep and there's less commotion and noise pollution in general. When the world quiets down at night I get a blacker / quieter noise floor Without even taking the electricity in the consideration. Perhaps it sounds better at night simply because of less society generated noise pollution. Oh, I live in a city too. [Shrug]

ghdprentice
7,022 posts
 

High end audio is so much about power supply. The more expensive the piece of gear the more effort, cost and weight goes into regulating and isolating the power. Note most high end components are two box with one dedicated to power. No major problem in your power is required to have power conditioning or regeneration. Most, by far, but not all systems sound is improved by these devices.
 

I have observed quieter at night for at least thirty years. It is real. It is most likely to be due to a quieter power grid, at home and locally, the Bliss stuff above and micro vibrations. 
 

I am going to order a seismometer this year and verify what I have suspected for a long time, that it is seismically far less active at night… particularly late Sunday night… the quietest of times. I suspect the traffic, probably within a mile is a contributing factor. I am looking forward to seeing if this verifies what I hear (as a contributing factor).

 

 

 

I would imagine 

christianb5s4
237 posts
 

Another consideration I was thinking about is at night, I personally have a chance to listen for longer periods of time so there could be a factor of your ears settling in / adjusting during a longer listening session. 

 

But I do concur, I do feel there's a difference listening at night even if it's just a perception.

carlsbad2's avatar
carlsbad2
1,623 posts
 

alcohol.

knotscott
931 posts
 

alcohol.

I was just about to type that I’m far more likely to have a beer at night, and looked up and saw your reply! It’s the best $5 improvement you can make. 😁

I also wonder if a darker room can contribute....the system usually sounds better when I close my eyes, as it helps me focus on the sound rather than the birds flying by.

 

More to discover