Tír Na HiFi

hello all
over the last few months I have been getting a lot of interference through the mains, a few more learned souls than I have suggested the use of some sort of power conditioner to clean up the mains supply. At present I live in an apartment over my place of business .The whole wiring grid is run from one meter shop/house, Flourecent lights heaters etc, any advice ,suggestions would be helpful. System Clearaudio Master Solution unify arm maestro cart . /opus 21 CD /Jadis orchestra Amp/ Castle Howard S2 Speakers/ ..Can't at the mo remember the speaker cable.

Oh Dear,

Sounds like you have a real problem on your hands there. Firstly I don't think there is anything wrong with your hi fi set up. You have a really nice quality set up.

Definetly seems to be a problem with your supply. I would suggest getting the supply checked out by a competent electrician, in fact I believe you could call in the ESB to investigate the quality of the electricity in the apartment. They should have a multimeter with a graphical display, this can show a graph of the AC wave on a computer screen, allowing closer inspection of the curve of the wave. Spiking on the graph shows pollution of the AC wave, usually caused by something switching on and off, perhaps a Neon sign etc.

If the supply into the shop / building is poor then there is very little one can do about it. If there is a fault in the apartment then you should be able to track it down and have it fixed. On the other hand if you are able to identify the fault you may be able to approach the landlord / shop owner and ask for something to be done about the quality issue.

I suspect your only option would be to invest in a mains conditioner, I don't have any experience of these, there are different types, so you may be able to borrow one from somebody else and try it out.

Is the problem present 24hrs or just at night, certain times of the day etc?

It would be good if you could identify when the problem is at its worst, then get a loan from somebody of a conditioner and try it out then before you splash the cash.

Alternatively you might have to move house!!

Adrian wrote:... I would suggest getting the supply checked out by a competent electrician, in fact I believe you could call in the ESB to investigate the quality of the electricity in the apartment. They should have a multimeter with a graphical display, this can show a graph of the AC wave on a computer screen, allowing closer inspection of the curve of the wave. Spiking on the graph shows pollution of the AC wave, usually caused by something switching on and off, perhaps a Neon sign etc.

Spot on, get the supply checked before investing.

Does the system sound significantly better late at night? It might be that daytime activity on your street is causing some drop in mains quality. You can try a cheap enough mains conditioner from somewhere like Maplins but some conditioners can run to thousands. Frankly at that sort of money I'd get an electrician to install a clean high quality run from the fuse box just for your hifi.

Thanks men,
I actually own the place so before I invest I might just see about having the electricity checked out, and then a seperate spur might be the solution . I do notice a marked improvement in sound quality late at night , as night time is the only time I can Really listen ,( then again that may be the Bordeaux). I will keep you all posted on progress

billbarrett wrote:Thanks men,
I actually own the place so before I invest I might just see about having the electricity checked out, and then a seperate spur might be the solution . I do notice a marked improvement in sound quality late at night , as night time is the only time I can Really listen ,( then again that may be the Bordeaux). I will keep you all posted on progress

for many years my suggestion has been falling on deaf ears... that once you have a quality hifi setup, your best value route for sonic upgrade is quality red wine and a comfy chair!! in my case I'd go for a brunello or a barolo over a bordeaux (better bass definition I find!) and an eames chair!!

[
I'd go for a brunello or a barolo over a bordeaux (better bass definition I find!) and an eames chair!![/quote]
I have no prob with my bass definition but I find A Good bordeaux improves mid range quite considerably. Very system dependent tho

I would specifically recommend the 2005 Chiani Classico in Tesco for €7.99. (was €11). It makes everything* sound better.



* ok almost everything

Would it make me look better to the missus?

Fran wrote:Would it make me look better to the missus?

if the missus drank enough of it.

My favourite chat up line... "Does this smell like chloroform to you?"

Off to tesco so!!