Adventures in amplification

[Diapason]

All well again this morning. Starting to think it really is a question of local electricity use. Might have to explain to the neighbours that they're not allowed the electricity supply at all during 6 and 11pm.

[Fran]

Could well be - low line voltage etc etc. Could even be just your house, so maybe you need to move the man cave into a neighbours house.....

[Ivor]

All well again this morning. Starting to think it really is a question of local electricity use. Might have to explain to the neighbours that they're not allowed the electricity supply at all during 6 and 11pm.

there are quite a few small (but classy) industrial estates around you and a Fire Station. Would the high use during the day cause a dip in the voltage in the evening? I don't know the answer to that but I do know guys that have been near factories, hospitals or other heavy users and it really messed up their sound. Would transformers help? A DC feed instead of AC?

[Diapason]

Yes indeed, Ivor, there's the fire station, a school, a college, various industrial establishments and a plethora of houses. I've been trying to read around this issue a bit, and while there's the usual denial that dips in voltage could make any difference, there's the occasional report that it could cause sonic issues. Interestingly, I saw somewhere that regular voltage sags can play havoc with LCD displays on appliances. Both our microwave and our oven have displays that no longer work after about a year, so maybe there's something in that.

I've been reading up a bit about online UPS boxes that actually regenerate the waveform, so if I can prove that this is the problem, I could look at going down that road. As usual, it's all money.

[Fran]

Marginally low voltage won't affect the sound much, but if it was dropping to 180-190V or something like that it might. Stuff like other spuriae on the line might also be an issue, but won't be so easy to fix I would think. You need a multimeter and be regularly checking the line voltage....... its probably the only way to convince the ESB to come out and put a chart recorder on your supply for an extended period.

That might not be the problem of course!!!

[Claus]

After my experiences with PC and electric heater influencing the sound in our apartment years ago, I am convinced all these things influence the sound. In particular if your equipment is very revealing. I know the non-believers argue that all this is filtered away in the units, but I have heard it on home audio as well as pro audio equipment, when playing gigs and even in rehearsal studios. I have a subjective theory that valve amps are more susceptible than transistor amps, but I have no evidence to prove this... Hope you find a solution Si. I would love to be able to listen and see if I could tell the difference ;) Maybe try to make a recording of both sounds if you can?

[PeterK]

Hi Simon, I suspect the recordings you are using are the problem to a degree. I also think taste plays a part ( a hankering after a particular sound ) and that terrible sensation of never being satisfied with our systems. We hifi nuts I think are always chasing down that extra bit of resolution and perfection that is always out of sight.

[Diapason]

Hi Peter, welcome back!

Certainly, I'm guilty of all of those things (the hankering after a particular sound, the constant dissatisfaction), but in this case I'm homing in on what I now believe is a genuine, external issue. I'm becoming more and more confident that it's not simply (as I read elsewhere) a short-circuit between the ears. In any case, I'm enjoying listening a lot more after this recent upgrade, and the system has seen more action in the last few weeks than in the previous six months. DaveF can probably identify with your comments too, I know he's on the same maddening merry-go-round.

Claus, I'm 99.99% sure you'd be able to hear the difference, because I'm 99.99% sure ANYBODY would be able to hear the difference between the extreme "good" moments and the extreme "bad" moments (the in-betweens are a bit more difficult!) I wish I had a way of recording it. Maybe I'll try to use my phone or something to see if I can capture it as clearly as I hear it.

[PeterK]

Hi Diapason, I am absolutely convinced that electrical mains can have a seriously negative impact, and to be frank I really am convinced that is your real problem. Given the fact that you experiencing highs and lows, I would put a lot of money on this being the source, however as to a cure, I could only suggest a separate mains and earth which may be impractical or too costly.

I also love it when one gets a new piece of equipment that makes you want to hear everything again. And it really good to be back here!!!

[DaveF]

I suspect the recordings you are using are the problem to a degree.

It's certainly one of the issues for me alright. Some recordings sound glorious and others tend to have some sort of treble issue. My episode has certainly made me realise that ultra transparency or ultra revealing is not necessarily a good thing. Still though I think I'm pretty sure at this stage is that I need a source that is considered to be on the safe or polite side. The amp and speakers are open and dynamic enough to do the rest.

Certainly moving from a Wadia to an Opus21 has brought me closer and while not there yet, the Opus21 is no doubt a nicer listen than the Wadia was, at least in my system anyway. In coming weeks I plan to get a Meridian G08.2 in......and off I go again. Cue some circus music.

One thing that has changed though is my view on the whole cable debate. I think I'm now firmly in the camp that cables make extremely small or f*ck all differences. I tried a whole lot of cables of all types and budgets and not ONE of them changed anything. But lets not go there. :-)