tonyb@juliet.ll.mit.edu (06/26/91)
Mike Ranta (miker@polari.uucp) makes a sound argument against the use of power stabilizers, especially inexpensive ones. I have to agree with him on that point. On the subject of whether a 2-prong outlet is likely to be suitable for audiophile use, however, I have a very different opinion. Houses have had grounded outlets installed as a matter of course for quite a few years. If a wiring system is of a vintage such that it relies on the center screw for ground, it's quite likely that the wiring is old, undersized, and overloaded. People didn't anticipate the growth in the use of electric appliances when they installed wiring back then, and much of it is woefully inadequate for today's needs. The original poster mentioned that his refrigerator coughs when his amps are turned on. This is a sure indication that either A) The poster's living room is wired on the same cicuit as the kitchen, or B) That the house's main service connection has a high-resistance connection somewhere in it. The first situation is not considered good practice (the 'fridge should be on its own circuit, for the food's sake if not the audio system's), and the second situation is an energy-wasting fire hazard potential that will rob the Bryston's of much-needed current as well. As the current owner of both an old house and a large stack of amplifiers, I can attest to the fact that the line droop that occurs under my idea of normal listening conditions can be *far* greater than any sanely designed regulated power supply could handle. I've rewired my entire house, but prior to that I regularly observed sustained drops of up to 40 volts on some circuits! Considering the lengths (and expense) that some people go to to eliminate incredibly subtle "flaws" in their systems, it would seem to me to be a very prudent (and affordable) upgrade to add a dedicated circuit for a large audio system. My own system is connected to a dedicated-ground outlet wired with an uninterrupted run of 10-gauge wire. There is no noticable impact on any lamp or appliance when I power the system up or when I'm listening to it. Even though the 4-way amplification configuration that I use masks low-frequency amplification problems to some extent, I have no difficulty detecting the the increased output and cleanliness available from the system, all the way up through the midrange. One piece of advice: if you don't want to do the work yourself, be very firm about what you want when talking to an electrician. Unless he's an auidiophile too, he might think you're nuts. But then again, what would he think if you told him what your amplifiers cost? Happy listening, Tony Berke