Checking the quality of your AC

Depends on how serious you want to get. There are devices that allow you to monitor your incoming AC with an oscilloscope. This allows you to check your noise along the various "legs" on the circuit, sometimes simultaneously. While doing this, you can have a meter that measures the average line voltage. You can also have a digital meter that captures and stores the peak voltage. You can also have a device that allows you to listen to the noise on the line. The simplest and easiest to use would be the last device, which can be purchased from Audioprism and it is called an "AC Noise Sniffer". Like i said, how far do you want to go ??? : ) Sean
>

Farther than an analog multimeter, short of an oscilloscope(those are expensive are they not?).

The premise to the question was a high end sales rep answers to my questions. I was basically asking about some quirks/lockups and his answer was noise on the ac line. I would like some baseline to rule this in or out.

I tried one of the Audioprism's line sniffer. In the wall it made noise, through a PS OU it made noise, through a PS ou and Richard Grey it made noise, through the dealers Tara labs it made no noise. OK, neat trick, the Taralabs power conditioner did not sound any better so that was that. At the time I was not really paying attention to the quirks, and cannot recall if they happened with the Taralabs PC.

Something just seems not right, and I am running out of ideas. The quality of AC has always been in the back of my mind, I just can not come up with a way to "test" it. What defines quality? Noise on the line or can their be huge fluxes current availability and other factors?

I guess in the end it might come down to trial and error with PC's. I just what a little info on the "why's".

Thanks
Marty

That's interesting that you want to see if you have a problem with your AC. I think the power conditioner manufacturers just want you to assume that you do. And also assume that all of your audio equipment can really sound better if you use their power conditioner. If you could borrow an oscilloscope for a couple of days, that would be a good way to check it out. That reminds me of one time when I was hooking an oscilloscope probe up to a wall outlet and I connected the probe ground to the positive terminal of the outlet. Poof, flames in my face. Be careful making measurments on wall outlets!

I keep an old-fashioned anaolg voltmeter with a dedicated standard two-prong plug connected to my system's AC duplex all the time. Other than when I first turn on my high-powered tube monoblocks, or when the air conditioning kicks in, I never see any significant sags, and no surges. Sometimes the overall level dips a few volts in the summer when demad is heavy, but most of the time the meter registers about 118v - 120v with the needle being virturally totally steady, including when I am playing the system loud. OTOH, the PLC manufacturers seem to imply that everyone's wall power could be flucuating wildly. Is this meter really telling me something of value?

Lockups &/or strange things happening are definitely a sign that line transients are occasionally present. Unless you want to lease a Dranetz line monitor analyzer for a week to 30 days, just buy a basic used line conditioner right here & try it. Resell if you do not achieve the desired results; you'll lose a little $ on shippings but will save much time & expense vs. doing it with an analyzer. Filtered AC cord(s) are another possible approach. A suitably spec'd MOV installed across your utility outlet may help as well, but unless you already know what that is, you may not be technically equipped to spec out the required model. Sorry but I won't go into further detail on that here, for basic liability reasons.