Have you customized or enhanced the AC power going into your sound room? How did you do it? What were the results?

Reader Sean Stewart reports that every time he goes to Hudson's in Albuquerque and watches their lights flicker while driving their Nautilus 801s, he wonders about what audiophiles do to customize their AC supplies to improve performance.

Have you customized or enhanced the AC power going into your sound room? How did you do it? What were the results?
Yes, I've extensively modified it
22% (39 votes)
I've done minor mods
15% (27 votes)
I use off-the-shelf AC enhancers
34% (59 votes)
Haven't done anything
29% (51 votes)
Total votes: 176

COMMENTS
Tom's picture

I bought a Lightspeed power conditioner after blowing out two power amps and my TV, all in the period of a year (this is in a new apartment I moved into a year and a half ago). I'd say the sound is improved across the board, as well as no more blowouts so far.

Frosty Clark's picture

qNothing other than a surge suppressor.

Arron Audiophile, Perth, WA's picture

First, replace all wiring with decent stuff (3-phase by 240V/100 amp is fine) from the lamppost to the house switchboard. Rough-filter all power at the switchboard using high-capacity (50+ amp) gear. Run a separate circuit from switchboard to an audio-gear subboard with high-speed, high-capacity circuit breakers (not fuses). Then use 50+ amp filtering on each audio output section of the subboard. The difference in dynamic range is startling. Funny, it now works! Also, leaving all solid-state plus power amps on helps

Martin Bruczkowski's picture

I'm generating my own power with PS Audio Power Plant. It's perfectly clean and completely isolates my hi-fi from what other devices in my household are doing to the AC mains supply.

Bicek Bruno,Slovenia's picture

All equipment has stabilised power supplies and power amplifiers has huge blocks of capacitors.

PRITHVIRAJ M.  VEDPATHAK's picture

It sounds much better with a dedicated AC line conditioner, rather than pluging the system directly inot the mains

Athanasios Moraitis's picture

Two power lines with 20A @ 220V each, from the distribution box, terminated at 1kVA and 0.5kVA isolation transformers, and from then on to three power strips (two for the low-power electronics

JIM's picture

DEDICATED 20AMP SERVICE AND MONSTER CABLE 2500. WOW TO THE FIRST AND SO SO FOR THE SECOND. CLEAN UP YOUR POWER, WELL WORTH THE MONEY

Thomas W.  Mallin's picture

I built my home with 400-amp electrical service, which is split into two 200-amp panels just past the service entry. The exclusive job of one of these 200-amp panels is to feed 10 dedicated circuits in the listening room. All wiring is 10-gauge solid copper. The wiring for each circuit is separately conduited from the service panel to a single quad of outlets. The outlets are Archer-Hart hospital-grade 20-amp outlets and all circuit breakers are 30-amp rated. I use up to five of the available 10 circuits. All grounding and neutral wires for these five circuits are star-grounded back to the same post in the service box, which holds the incoming ground wiring: there is direct copper-to-copper connection between all the grounds used by the system and the incoming ground wire. The grounds are referenced to an 8' solid-copper post driven into the ground just outside the service entrance. All other unused ground wires are disconnected and insulated from the service entrance and the circuit breakers for the unused circuits are open. The up to five circuits used are all attached to the same phase of the incoming electrical service. As much as possible of the electrical equipment in the rest of the house that experience has shown can cause electrical interference with audio (e.g., water softener, sump and ejector pump, furnace fan, other audio and video equipment, sprinkler and alarm systems, the lights in the listening room) is connected to circuits that are powered from the other phase of the incoming electrical service, the phase not used by the dedicated outlets in the listening room. For serious listening, I unplug many electronic items not in the listening room, such as all other stereo systems, my computer, and any item powered by a "wall wart" AC transformer; I also "de-tune" all TV, satellite, and AM and FM radio receivers so that all that is received by these is random noise. Thank you, Enid Lumley, for these suggestions you made years ago. Despite these extreme measures, and despite how much better this type of electrical system sounds than a single shared circuit, I got a major improvement in most aspects of the sound by recently installing a PS Audio P600 with Multiwave to power everything but my amplifiers. (Even the P600 won't handle my four Bryston 7Bs). Prior to the PS device, I was not using any audiophile power enhancers, having found API Power Wedge and MIT Z-Stabilzers to be a hindrance, not a help, with this electrical system. I have not yet tried the PS Audio Power Plant devices. I have not yet experimented with audiophile power cords.

David L.  Wyatt, Jr.'s picture

I am an electrician, and I haven't done a thing, except add a dedicated audio circuit while completing a whole-house rewire. Oh, if I need more circuits, I'll add more. To put it simply, get a properly installed service of adequate size and good grounded branch circuits. Do that and your problems are solved, until you can afford that Krell/Wilson/Wadia system.

rball@mpcdt.com's picture

it works

Davis's picture

Panamax 1000

Luis's picture

Changed standard power cords, wall plates, plugs dedicated lines grounding enhancements, breakers Filters, I'm a true believer on taking care about what you feed your equipment with

Barry Willis's picture

I have all my line-level gear and digital processors fed by a Power Plant 300, and the power amps and transport powered by an AudioPrism Foundation III. Excellent results. I would install a 30 amp dedicated line if the outlet near the equipment rack weren't so inaccessible.

Alan B.  Cook's picture

I use an Adcom ACE-515 power conditioner in my modest system. It works well with my amp, an Adcom GFA-5802. I've also replaced the cheap outlets that the builders used with eagle brand hospital grade outlets. The Adcom power conditioner really lowers the noise floor. It allows the equipment to display deeper and more detailed bass information. The system also sounds more transparent in general. As for the hospital grade outlets they help the music to sound more focused and allow the system to display quite a bit more soundstaging depth, as well as a more detailed mid range. The outlets that most builders use cost like $0.38 a piece at a hardware store, hospital grade outlets cost $12-14. You do the math. It saves builders a lot of money, but it robs us audiophiles of some sound. Best of all it's simple, you shouldn't have to call an professional to tackle this job.

Kurt Christie's picture

There is more I would like to do, but so far I have * put in a dedicated 12awg line to the equipment * added an isolation transformer * inserted RFI suppression

Robert McIntyre's picture

Everything in audio makes a difference, so why not the power line? It's been known for years that orientation of the power plug greatly affects the sound, but because simple mods like this are not very glamorous, they remain mainly untried. Pity. Some of the most effective improvements are free, or nearly free.

Peter Klucken, Germany's picture

Enhanced power is no pure power, therefore the AC power must go directly in the HIFI components.

Joseph Lee, Toronto, Canada's picture

During the recent finishing of my audio room and home theater in the basement, dedicated lines to both rooms were used, totally separated from other light sources. I have used two Cinepro PowerPro 30 balanced AC line conditioners, one for each room, each unit placed on a shelf within the equipment rack. So far, the results have been excellent.

David S.  Dodd, ddodd@aug.com's picture

I had a dedicated 60-amp line routed into my room. The total cost was less than $400 and the result, despite no other mains treatments: no hum, no "hash," no noise whatsoever. Money very, very, well spent. Highly recommended.

Vance C.'s picture

No, I should... one of these days.

thomasj's picture

I use NBS power cables, formerly Shunyata, and Richard Gray power conditioners. They make a great deal of difference, yielding clear, continuous power whenever needed!

Ted Betley's picture

I use a string of MOV's in series to take care of voltage spikes. I also use a Power Wedge into a Promethian(everything is series). I star ground my front end. I plug my amp & ML Stats into the Wedge /MOV's ; plug the Promethian into the Wedge & the fron end into the Promethian. Results are very good. Tried putting a PS Audio P300 on top of all this for the front end only--had mixed reaction--sometimes good, sometimes less good over a 3 day trial . A friend did extensive testing of the P300 over 2 weeks--bottom line: different not necessarily better & certainly not worth $1K. PS 300 used was w/o Multiwave.

Andrew's picture

Monster Power HTS-2000, very cost effective

Paul LaNoue's picture

I have used one of the popular boxes with transformers. Don't like them.Affect the sound. Have listened to many different kinds, they all change the sound. Use first rate power chords for the best result.

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