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Tweak your AC mains for better performance, free

If you haven't done this before or recently, try it. It will improve the performance of your audio system, particularly if you have an older circuit panel in your home. Go to the AC circuit panel. You'll have a main breaker that runs power to all the circuit breakers in your home: turn that breaker off and back on. This will shut off all the power to your home, momentarily. Then turn all the breakers on your panel off and on. By the way, electricians recommend doing this once a year. I hadn't done this in several years (I always forget) but, I happen to remember it because one of my breakers had shut off. Anyway, after I performed this simple on/off task, the next time I turned on my audio system, the sonics really improved. The soundstage had opened up with more width and depth, fullness was improved, and so was the overall resolution and presence of the system. I noticed it immediately, and then remembered that earlier I had flipped all the breakers on the panel. I don't have a dedicated line yet, or any fancy custom audiophile breaker panels, but the results of this simple task proved once again the dramatic affect AC delivery has on what you hear from your sytstem. I can only imagine what one can hear with dedicated lines, custom breaker panels, and audio grade outlets. For me, the best I can do now is a power regenerator that I just ordered a conditioner and a few good outlets. My system: LSA DK Signature Integrated, Modwright Sony 999ES (tube rectified PS 9.0), Acoustic Zen Reference Matrix II IC's, Jolida JD 100, Acoustic Zen Satori Speaker Cable, Shunyata Hydra 4 PLC, various aftermarket PC's, FIM 880 outlets.
foster_9
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Jsawhitlock...FWIW, when lightning struck a tree about 30 feet from my house, and traveled underground to my house, almost every fuse blew, but not a single breaker opened. Fuses provide better protection than breakers, but insurance companies don't like them because they are too easy to bypass with a penny.
jsawhitlock
302 posts
 
Eldartford, Both fuses and breakers can be troublesome and it appears the fuses did there job for you. I'm in a non lightning area so fuses vs breakers isn't really a concern just earthquakes! Happy Listening
regalma1
72 posts
 
Foster_9 Did you check the voltage with an meter that reads RMS? If you know what that means then I don't have to say anything more, if not, RMS is the true voltage. Most inexpensive meters measure only an approximation of that. Rather than reading absolute value of the voltage the best thing to do is to measure the drop between the input to box and receptacle. Measure it with the system playing. If your system is off there won't be a drop, Ohms law and all that. Or measure it at the receptacle with the system unplugged and again with the system cranking. Of course taking those measurements should only be done by someone with some knowledge. There is risk if it is done wrong.

BTW I think the idea of switching the breakers on and off is a good idea. It's free and it might make a difference. Of course you then have to reset your clocks.
foster_9 OP
1,638 posts
 
Regalma1, I Don't know what rms is. I have a power regenerator now that does a steady 120 at 60 cycles so the mains voltage is solid.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
AC voltage measurement can be a can of worms! Most meters read peak (maximum) voltage which is rescaled to RMS assuming the signal is a sine wave. But what is peak? Actually you need to measure average voltage over a short time interval around the peak, and different meters use different intervals, and will respond differently to non-sinusoidal waveforms. A "True RMS" meter measures the heating effect of the signal, and such meters do exist, but are few and far between.

If you have a signal that is not a pure sine wave and you measure it with a dozen different meters you will probably get a dozen different answers. In the military electronics program that I worked on we completely abandoned rms data and measured everything as peak. Of course the peak was actually an average over a very short sample time interval. By doing this we were able to get data collected on different test equipments to agree.

But this is all overkill for measuring your domestic AC power voltage, where the usual peak-reading-rms-calibrated meter is perfectly acceptable.
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