amplifier power consumption

Face: Well, the situation is this: I used to own a pretty good setup (unison unico, rotel transport w/ msb link dac III with half nelson upgrade, variety of speakers including Neat mystiques, StudioLab Ref 1, NHT 2.5i). This setup sounded great w/ all speakers mentioned at my former residence.

Upon setting up in my new condo, the sound collapsed. Flat, undynamic, lacking in clarity, no real depth, thin/hard, lacking air. Further, every time i plugged in my Blue Circle Power Line Pillows, the breaker would trip, which raised a red flag right off the bat. However, since the condo was brand new, i simply assumed it CAN"T be a problem with the power.

I was told that, unfortunately, the wiring in newly built condos is done SOOO cheaply and in a shoddy way that i'm likely picking up all kinds of interference, not to mention experiencing power fluctuations. Further, I never had any buzzing coming out of my woofers at my former residence, then suddenly, out of the blue - buzzing out of the woofer cones at the new residence.

My tech said that these issues w/ my system could be the direct result of the power in my building, which is why he suggested essentially stabilizing the power flow by using a UPS. This was also suggested to me by a high level electrical engineer at my office building.

Regarding line conditioning, from what i've read, for the most part, line conditioning deadens the musical experience - and i'm trying to go in the other direction! What was suggested by both techies is that a UPS would be more effective...

At this point, i'm almost ready to bail on the system entirely and take up basket weaving, so i wouldn't have to worry about power, acoustics and setup.

It sounds to me like what you need is not a ups per se, but a power regenerator.

As was said earlier, some higher-end ups's will provide that function, by converting the incoming ac to dc, and then converting the dc to a clean 60Hz sine wave.

Something like the PS Audio Power Plant Premier will also do that, without providing the battery backup function. But a cheapo ups will not do that, as has been said, and also creates a risk of damaging your equipment if the ac drops out.

Also, I'm wondering if the buzzing might be due to a ground-loop issue, or to rfi pickup that is specific to your new location. Are you using the same interconnect cables as at your former location? If they are unbalanced (rca) cables, and if they are either significantly longer than the ones you had been using, or if they are a different make or model, that might have increased the likelihood of ground loop issues.

And if there are any nearby dimmer switches, try turning them off as they can introduce distortion on the power lines as well as rfi.

Regards,
-- Al

Hi again, Al

No, no new cables... cables are routed cleanly... standard cable with rca ends... no dimmers...

yes, i was under the impression that both these people were talking about a power regenerator built into a ups (or that all ups' were power generators, more specifically).

I also make a point to turn off everything - even shut off my fridge at the fuse box - just to to get the best sound...which ends up still being mediocre at best anyway.

Are you sure the buzzing is not due to a ground loop issue? The way to check it is with a ground isolator plug adapter (isolates the third prong). Your condo electrical system may not be wired or grounded properly.

Tonywise -

funny you should mention that. I was sitting around, trying to 'enjoy' some tunes the other night..fiddled around w/ the wiring a bit...Turned the amp off for a few moments and when it was turned back on, the left channel began crackling. Upon touching the volume knob to turn it down, there was a static discharge that made the left channel cut back in.

I talked about this with both an audiophile friend and an electrician; the audiophile mentioned the possibility of ground look, so i'm going to go grab a cheater plug and check things out. Beyond that, the electrician suggested lack of grounding in the condo and offered to check it out for me.

Something is definitely amiss and, after all your comments and my further observations, it seems as though i was originally barking up the wrong tree.

This is definitely an exercise of my patience. At least I have something to work with at this point.