Every Little Thing… Power Distribution

[James Edward]

Afternoon All,
I’m a firm believer in less is more when it comes to our power strips/blocks, etc. I had been using the Wiremold L10320- https://us.rs-online.com/product/wiremold/l10320/70091760/
It has no LED, switch, surge protection, or circuit breaker. I figure all of these could possibly muck up the power and therefore the sound. LED lights are notorious RFI emitters.

I recently purchased what I figured might be a slightly better alternative- Audio Sensibility power box-
 https://audiosensibility.com/blog/products-2/power-distribution/#!/Impact-SE-Power-Distribution-4-plex/p/49910224/category=2595838
Same idea as the Wiremold, but with better outlets, an ‘audiophile’ power cord, heavier gauge wire, star grounding, and Stillpoints ERS (an RFI/EMI shielding material).
Well I’ll be damned, I believe I got the incremental improvement I was looking for. Just a hair more ‘there’ there. A similar improvement as when I added PI Audio’s UberPuerto duplex outlet. If I had to nail down the most salient difference, I’d go with more detail at low volume listening.
A relatively inexpensive tweak to try at about $US 230.00 for the four outlet model, a six outlet model is available for a little more.

I’m not shilling this particular brand, as a few others make a similar product. But I just wanted to put it out there that these can make a difference. Not a ‘sparks shot out of my butt’ difference, but worth pursuing if you already are content and just want to tweak around the edges.

[Nick B]

The improvement you’re describing certainly appears to have been worth the investment. Audio Sensability has a good reputation. I usually don’t hang on to extra cables etc, but I kinda wish I still had that Audio Sensability digital coax I sold a few years ago. The number one enemy for me is noise… Tame that beast and then I’ll be able to make better decisions. That’s why I like Dave’s stuff and then the very low noise equipment that I currently have.

[satfrat]

I've been using a couple of this well known power strip for years in conjunction with my UberBuss and BPT Balance Power Conditioner. Much thanks for stirring my fading memory banks. 

Cheers,
Robin

[HAL]

Now that I am putting the audio room back together, getting the PI Audio Groups BlunderBUSS setup for the system.

Dave did a 24 outlet version for me to run the entire system with multiple amps for a 10 PA system for a line array.  Went to CAF2023 to power that system. 

Also have a DigiBUSS for the front end since all my components are a PC and DSP processor.  Even the Phono section is DSP.

 

[P.I.]

Aw, shucks guys! 

Noise is the enemy.  Ask any schizophrenic.

[GDHAL]

Aw, shucks guys! 

Noise is the enemy.  Ask any schizophrenic.

I was going to stay away from this thread but have decided otherwise 

1) I have a Dedicated 20A Breaker > Emotiva CMX-2 > Panamax MR4300 and Emotiva CMX-6 setup and you can put it on an oscilloscope (and I have) to see the difference (for the better).

2) I have a Littmann CORE stethoscope. It has 40x amplification. Put it in your ears, listen to any component (amp, speakers, whatever) and you hear silence. 

3) I've tried balanced power. There is an obvious difference. Can hear it in a blind test 100 percent of the time. It boils down to preference. All of my gear manufacturers tell me if I use it it will void the warranty (which I'm out of anyway). I've opted to avoid balanced.

Happy listening and Happy New Year to all. 

[James Edward]

All I have is this but I like what I’m hearing…
 https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/children-playing-with-a-toy-stethoscope-lea-patersonscience-photo-library.jpg
As we often find in this hobby, not everything can be measured, or what we measure is not what we hear, and what measures perfectly can sound shitty. I know there are a hundred other observations on measurements vs what we like to hear…

[P.I.]

All I have is this but I like what I’m hearing…
 https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/children-playing-with-a-toy-stethoscope-lea-patersonscience-photo-library.jpg
As we often find in this hobby, not everything can be measured, or what we measure is not what we hear, and what measures perfectly can sound shitty. I know there are a hundred other observations on measurements vs what we like to hear…

Joni Mitchell was right:  You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone...

Noise in audio is a multi-headed beast.

We have 60 cycle (120Hz component) and it is easily measurable at every multiple

We have:

intermodulation distortion
Transient intermodulation distortion
Comb filtering
Heterodyning
EMI distortion
RFI distortion
Back EMF from other gear, especially digital sources
Current limiting
Dynamic compression
Dielectric absorption induced ringing
Dissipation factor time smear
VoP issues
Shitty wire
Brown outs
...

And on and on...

All I know is that when any or all of these are in play, music suffers.

TMSAISTI

[Nick B]

All I have is this but I like what I’m hearing…
 https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/children-playing-with-a-toy-stethoscope-lea-patersonscience-photo-library.jpg
As we often find in this hobby, not everything can be measured, or what we measure is not what we hear, and what measures perfectly can sound shitty. I know there are a hundred other observations on measurements vs what we like to hear…

Joni Mitchell was right:  You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone...

Noise in audio is a multi-headed beast.

We have 60 cycle (120Hz component) and it is easily measurable at every multiple

We have:

intermodulation distortion
Transient intermodulation distortion
Comb filtering
Heterodyning
EMI distortion
RFI distortion
Back EMF from other gear, especially digital sources
Current limiting
Dynamic compression
Dielectric absorption induced ringing
Dissipation factor time smear
VoP issues
Shitty wire
Brown outs
...

And on and on...

All I know is that when any or all of these are in play, music suffers.

TMSAISTI

Whew….thank goodness it’s not a complicated issue… 😵‍💫