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The best upgrade I ever made!

On 12-23 I read a thread here about wiring. One poster(E&lssr) suggested using a isolation transformer and posted the link. I checked it out as my local high end dealer has a quieting transformer hooked up to his ac for his high end room and it sounds incredible. To make a long story short, I ordered one from C & H sales in Pasadena. I hooked it up and was blown away by the amount of improvement. I already have a dedicated ac line to my hifi and that made a nice improvement in detail. The ultra isolator transformer has taken my system to a level such that I can't get away from it for very long! The musicality and naturalism as well as increased detail that is now present has raised my emotional involvement in the music to a level I never thought possible. Every other tweak or upgrade I have ever done has produced only a small fraction of the improvement of the ultra isolator. I will leave the link and name and phone number of the dealer so everyone can check it out. If you go to their site, from the home page go to search. Enter in isolator and then click on any model to view. All of them will come up. I chose the str2001 5k watt 42 amp model. It is 110/120 volt in and out so wiring is a snap: Three wires(hot, neutral, ground) in and out. If you have 40 amps going in the transformer, you will need to have a sub box wired in after the transformer to take the amperage down to a reasonable level for your wiring and outlets(20 amp circuits for example). By the way, it was cheap too... $300 plus shipping. The dealer is C and H Sales, 2176 e. Pasadena, Ca 91107 ph 626-325-9465 or 800-325-9465. Web address www.candhsales.com. ***DISCLAIMER*** If you are not confident in doing this kind of wiring, please have an electrician do it(but don't ask them if this makes a difference as most will say no!). Also, I am not affiliated with the isolator manufacturer or the dealer..........I am just very enthusiastic about this and thought everyone should know. Cds that were bright are now very listenable, cds that were good are now great and cds that I thought were great are now unbelievable!!! WOWWWWW!! Tim
tkmetz
sean
6,231 posts
 
C & H might have some smaller units. You might want to check their website. Tripp Mfg. in Chicago also offers items of this ilk along with tons of other companies. I can't think of any "supplier" right off of the top of my head. If you are into "tinkering", you might want to pick up a magazine called "Nuts & Volts". This mag deals with all forms of electronics, kits, DIY projects, etc... and is a wealth of suppliers for surplus and budget electronic parts. As to shielding, Lead is the BEST shield from magnetic fields but as you know, it too has its own "health baggage" to deal with. Most of these type of products (isolation transformers, etc..) have metal cases as they have to have support for the plug in sockets to accept power cords. In other words, they are encased and not just "raw" transformers. Hope this helps. Sean .
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,688 posts
 
Thanks GM and Sean. I am not a tech type when it comes to things that can kill me. For example I am taking our computer to a shop to have the fan replaced because it is contained "inside" the power supply housing. I have been shocked in the past by gear and TV's that have been unplugged for days. C & H has what seem to be smaller units listed at their site. If they are open (in person) to the public I will just go over there to see if they have something that is plug and play. I purchased a larger TV (20") a couple of years ago to place it further from the sofa due to what you speak of and use sand instead of lead shot in my stands. I am not a health fanatic but am concerned with my wife's wellfare and try to do what I can. I have the hifi electronics placed in a low traffic, non sit area as well. I am very excited about the possiblity of a low cost tweak for crappy LA power. PS Audio and the other high ticket conditioners are a stretch for me at this time though I just spent more than they cost for a "toy" SET, so perhaps it is my priorities that need attention as well as the power.
mes
393 posts
 
Dekay-Possibly not applicable or new to you, but I partially solved the problem of crappy power on the advice of an audionut/speaker builder friend who suggested something he and his friends came upon quite by accident and thought was great-APC power conditioners. I tried it, and liked it, it replaced a Bybee PC I was using, I thought it sounded better. I used a LR 1250 (actually 2 of em,they're so cheap)- $120 from a distributer named Insight. They're made for computers, but frankly sounded better than the $2000 Bybee unit I was using. Go figure. Well made with heavy transformers, just a thought for a quick fix. Sincerely, Mark
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,688 posts
 
Thanks Mes: I have added it to the list of possibilities. The APC website is down right now and I will check on it later. I have heard general statements that computer stuff is not good for Hifi (something to do with what it does to sine waves or something like that) but as always it would depend on the design. Applicable computer stuff that does work well (for our uses) would probably not be excessively marked up, I would assume, and could be very good indeed at that price. Just a hunch as to why it worked so well for so little money in your case.
mes
393 posts
 
Dekay- I got mine through Insight-1-800-467-4448. Don't know why or how, but it worked quite well, I used it on some pretty high end gear and it honestly sounded better than the Bybee I was using. I've subsequently purchased a PS Audio, but for $120 the APC was fabulous.
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