Ah, we all just try to tune out the noise from HVAC systems, but I was taken aback last year when I tried some noise cancelling Sony Bluetooth headphones a friend had brought to work. Wow, such a calming reduction in ambient noise was amazing.
Hearing all this noise all day long working in an office adds to stress and yes, affects our perception of how "good" music sounds. While I never bought any noise cancelling headphones, at least I know they can be a benefit. I just didn’t want to pop $349 for them.
I live in NC. Fortunately, there are about four months out of the year that no HVAC running is needed for heating or cooling at home. Ah, peace and quiet.
Those magical days when the HVAC is off
I'm reminded these last few days when after 90 days straight with the AC running, the weather broke and the temps dropped, and with no AC running (or likewise in winter when no heat is cranking) my rig sounds easily 20% better - like I had added a new component- more clarity, overtones/timbre, sparkle - the standard sonic improvement adjectives - so how does one accomplish this year 'round? Which power related component is the one that allows your audio rig to operate unimpeded by air conditioning, the furnace, an overloaded electrical grid? I have separate dedicated lines to my components, but my rig really flows in a magical way when these climate conditioning appliances are not running. Is it power conditioning, or power regeneration that could possibly allow me to enjoy this increased audio performance more frequently or permanently? Any personal experiences of successfully solving this dilemma would be welcomed. Cheers, and thank you in advance.
- ...
- 45 posts total
Everything that is plugged into an electrical wall outlet,is drawing electrical power....whether it's turn on or not...it's drawing power,check you elect bill...then start unplugging devices.People have,coffeemaker, toasters,blenders,Stereos Receivers ,amps,turn tables,cd players,vcrs,cassette decks,all your audio equipment, TVs,Microwaves,they have clocks in every rooms Unplugging will reduce your electric bill by alot.Also reduce watts used. |
@moonwatcher I lived in Durham and only needed heater few times in the winter. Luckily my neighbor on the floor bellow was extremely warm loving so he'd run heater that would heat my floor sometimes to the point that I had to open windows even in January. Other than that, I'm perfectly fine if the temperature inside my home drops to 58. |
"Power Conditioning" is a catchall term that can mean just about anything. Many will disagree with me, but they are the same people I see arguing because they mean one thing by the term and the other person means something else. I think of power conditioning as an attempt to filter our the noise and leave the 60hz sine wave intact--a fools errand. Power regeneration is the process of rectifying the incoming AC to DC, then inverting it back to a perfect AC 60hz sine wave using a very high quality inverter. However, they aren't always called that. PA Audio calls them "power plants" for example. So a regenerator is what you need and what I use. that said, not all components benefit from the regenerated power. I have very damaged power waveform coming into my home, usually running 2 to 4 % THD. This isn't caused by my own load, or the load of my neighbors, but by the combined load on the neighborhood 12Kv circuit and perhaps even on the higher voltage transmission line. The output of my regenertor has 0.1% THD. That said, some components seem to sound the same on wall power or regenerated power, because they have an excellent power supply that deals with the imperfect power. My main complaint about air conditioning is the ambient noise. Frankly, I think the widespread belief that stereo sounds better at night because the power is cleaner is a myth. I've checked my power many times in the middle of the night and it is just as dirty (3-4% THD) as in the day time. Jerry |
- 45 posts total