chowkwan%priam.usc.edu@usc.edu (Raymond Chowkwanyun) (03/09/91)
This is in response to the person from England who asked about mains conditioners. (Translation: mains = power line). Sorry, forgot your name. I've used a Tripplite 1800 to condition the line to my CD player. I had the Tripplite on 30 day trial so I think I was able to be objective (i.e. no feeling of "I've bought the thing, I better like it"). The Tripplite has an LED display which indicates changes in the mains voltage. First I used the CD player without the Tripplite so the Tripplite acted only as an expensive voltage meter. When the voltage was down, the CD sounded thin (thinner than usual that is) and hashy. Plugging into the Tripplite provided welcome relief. On the other hand the Tripplite did not degrade the sound when voltage was normal. CD's are very sensitive to mains voltage. I think this is a worthwhile application for a conditioner and doesn't have to be heinously expensive. The Tripplite was $300. It had been modified for the audio application. (CD player was Sony C7ESD). OK, appetite whetted, I graduated to the big leagues. Dedicated Tice Power Block/Titan for each of my VTL Ichibans. The Power Block is a line conditioner. The Titan plugs into the Power Block and stores energy. (The Titan is actually just a huge transformer coil inside). With the Power Block/Titan the Ichibans offer much greater dynamic range. The difference is not subtle. Without the Tice, the Ichibans sound constricted. There is a real bloom to the sound when the Tice is plugged in. I have one more Power Block/Titan pair with a Micro Block plugged into it for my front end. I tried hard to find a reason not to buy this lot (again on 30 day trial). But the Micro Block adds body to the music. Without it, the instruments sounded thinner and reedier. At this point I was using Concord Jazz LP's with Audioquest 7000/SME V/TNT turntable and MFA Luminesence front end. These LP's are very naturally recorded and have a lot of ambience to them. $10 eaches. Yum. I couldn't tell you why all this stuff works. Maybe if you think of your electronics as a very sophisticated power regulator. Clean power in, clean power out. I will say the Tice stuff is heinously expensive. $2K for the Power Block/Titan. There are other tweaks you can do that cost less and will have more improvement on your sound. A record cleaning machine would be top of my list. (Torumat record cleaning fluid contains no plasticizer leaching alcohol). I assume you have good wires. Then there are various mechanical isolation devices to be investigated like the Brassfield plate, Goldmund Cones, Navcom silencers, Arcici Super Spikes. -- ray
konar@lennon.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Mithat F Konar) (03/11/91)
In article <10064@uwm.edu> chowkwan%priam.usc.edu@usc.edu (Raymond Chowkwanyun) writes: > >CD's are very sensitive to mains voltage. I think >this is a worthwhile application for a conditioner >and doesn't have to be heinously expensive. The >Tripplite was $300. It had been modified for >the audio application. (CD player was Sony C7ESD). Not to seem too anal about this, but I believe you are drawing a conclusion on an "n" of 1. Given what you've told us so far, I think the true statement is, "My particular model (Sony C7ESD) is very sensitive to mains voltage." If it is in fact true that your CD player is that sensitive to variations in your line voltage, then I think either your power company is doing something very wrong (not very likely) or Sony has poorly designed the power supply in your CD player (not unlikely). If they messed up the power supply, it seems that an attempt to regulate the line voltage in this way is a pretty kludgey solution to the problem. Always a cynic, Mithat Konar
Mike.Reaper@f421.n109.z1.Fidonet.Org (Mike Reaper) (03/11/91)
[] Doesn't it seem like a magnetic coil, storing energy in a magnetic field, and refusing to change voltage quickly, preferring instead to keep a constant current, would shave off or otherwise distort the uppermost frequencies? Could it be that this large, energy storing inductor is doing nothing more than wiping out the high frequencies (by delaying them), by not allowing the equipment power as it needs it? Isn't a fundamental rule of common sense NOT to put a series inductor in an audio power supply? I mean, isn't a constant voltage more important than a constant current? MIKE.REAPER@F421.N109.Z1.FIDONET.ORG * Origin: Twilight Clone: Macintosh - 301-946-8677 - 10 lines (1:109/421)
jgk@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Joe Keane) (03/18/91)
In article <10126@uwm.edu> Mike.Reaper@f421.n109.z1.Fidonet.Org writes: >[] Doesn't it seem like a magnetic coil, storing energy in a magnetic > field, and refusing to change voltage quickly, preferring instead > to keep a constant current, would shave off or otherwise distort the > uppermost frequencies? You mean ``refuse to change current quickly'', right? It is important to ensure that the amplifier can get high-frequency power. The power supply output should have a very low impedence at all frequencies. Or in other words, it should be a good voltage source. But you don't get this high-frequency power from the mains. In fact, you can't; what if the instantaneous mains voltage is zero when you want your power? The amount of power drawn from the mains should only change slowly. So how does the power supply respond to quick changes in the amount of power drawn by the amplifier? The answer is capacitors, and lots of them. The last thing in a power supply should be a capacitor, or actually a number of different capacitors in parallel, since each kind is better at supplying different frequencies. These are what keep the constant voltage you want. Now if you had a series inductor after those capacitors, then that'd be a mistake. But i hope no one does this. > Could it be that this large, energy storing inductor is doing >nothing more than wiping out the high frequencies (by delaying them), >by not allowing the equipment power as it needs it? I won't go into why it's a good idea to have chokes in various places; i'm sure this is covered in books. Basically, i'd say that if you see a power supply which doesn't have any coils, it's cheap and you shouldn't buy it. > Isn't a fundamental rule of common sense NOT to put a series >inductor in an audio power supply? No. -- Joe Keane, amateur mathematician