Changing hifi sound (aka "Am I crazy?")

[DaveF]

Thanks for that Pearse.
Have you noticed any more 'bad' days since installing the unit?
Certainly the price of that unit is attractive and if it does the same job as the more pricey hifi-badged PSaudio then it has got to be a no brainer.

[Sligolad]

No bad days since Dave and I have been on holidays for the past 3 weeks with lots of listening time.
The past 2 weeks I have been upgrading so do not read too much into the above as I have made good improvements at considerable expense.
For the month or more I had it prior to upgrades I enjoyed the sound and never had a day of bad sound that I can remember.
Have a read through the Wam posts for more info as these guys tend to be against any such improvements in power or cable treatment.

[DaveF]

No bad days since Dave and I have been on holidays for the past 3 weeks with lots of listening time.
The past 2 weeks I have been upgrading so do not read too much into the above as I have made good improvements at considerable expense.
For the month or more I had it prior to upgrades I enjoyed the sound and never had a day of bad sound that I can remember.
Have a read through the Wam posts for more info as these guys tend to be against any such improvements in power or cable treatment.

I've had a read through the Wam posts and most people there are of the opinion that it has brought improvements to their systems. I dont see any mention of THD% figures though. I know that the unit generates a 230v output but does the unit give any readings on what the input THD vs output THD?

[Sligolad]

Took this from the website, is this what you are looking for?
Sine Wave <3%THD linear load <2% typ

[Sligolad]

This page seems to indicate input harmonics have no impact on output harmonics based on the technology used.
http://www.powerinspired.com/uninterrup ... echnology/

[Adrian]

Yeah, if you rectify AC to DC, smooth out the DC and then invert back to AC the harmonics will be decoupled.

However harmonics will still be present in the new AC due to the switching process of the IGBT's, but if designed correctly the harmonics should be within limits.

[Diapason]

Well, this effect is back with a vengeance, and once again I'm being driven demented. Worse in the winter? Who knows, but all last week the sound was so disappointing that I was once again starting to think I imagined it ever sounding good. Then I had a magical late-night session that reminded me of what the system can do when it's feeling generous.

So, so frustrating. Obviously I've done nothing to attempt to address the problem but ranting here helps my sanity!

[DaveF]

How regular is it occuring Simon? Obviously AC regen would seem to be the likely solution but whether to go for a UPS type unit or hifi-badged unit is the big question.

[Diapason]

Well for the last several weeks any time I've been in a position to listen it's been bad, basically.That means evening time at around 7pm, and weekend afternoons. There's a continuum from bad to good obviously, but I'm "enjoying" some of the worst sounds I've heard in MONTHS over the last few weeks. It's hard to find a "good" time at the moment, although the usual late at night would seem to be okay from the limited opportunities I've had to listen at that stage. It's not good enough, though, because I'm so limited by volume at that time that I can't listen to anything with any kind of dynamic range.

I'm afraid to spend money on the problem in case it doesn't fix it, but to be honest I don't have any budget for hifi-related stuff at the moment anyway.

[tony]

Well for the last several weeks any time I've been in a position to listen it's been bad, basically.That means evening time at around 7pm, and weekend afternoons. There's a continuum from bad to good obviously, but I'm "enjoying" some of the worst sounds I've heard in MONTHS over the last few weeks. It's hard to find a "good" time at the moment, although the usual late at night would seem to be okay from the limited opportunities I've had to listen at that stage. It's not good enough, though, because I'm so limited by volume at that time that I can't listen to anything with any kind of dynamic range.

I'm afraid to spend money on the problem in case it doesn't fix it, but to be honest I don't have any budget for hifi-related stuff at the moment anyway.

That's a pity Simon. See link here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/500W-AC-ReGen ... 3a700956dc that is the cheapest one. Pearse got in early before they realised the hifi loonies would buy this type of stuff so prices have gone up and he has the larger one which is priced at £599 sterling. There was one cheap on wigwam €100 odd but this was a massive yoke with noisy fans. Fixable fairly cheaply but would have been a way of verifying if that would work.