2. misc-audio
  3. 165137-10259

Backup Generator transfer switch

In the past two issues of Stereophile, Michael Fremer has been discussing the disastrous results to the sound of his system after having a backup generator installed at his home. The system is not running on the generator, but he believes it has to do with the transfer switch that gets installed on the AC signal path.  He describes a pre-generator experience as "intense and emotionally elevating" afterwards "everything good was gone, two large ill-focused boomboxes had replaced absolute magic".  I recently moved and had been listening to my system prior to and after the installation of a Generac whole house generator, I did not notice any change in the sound, I can still sit and enjoy the music for hours with no sense of fatigue.  Perhaps my ears are shot or my equipment is not expensive enough.  Anyone here have any experiences with generator transfer switches?

Thanks
Ag insider logo xs@2xdeadlift
audiobill1
51 posts
 
I have a manual transfer switch and a Honda generator. I have a dedicated line for my system, but it doesn't run through the switch. I added another grounding rod which may have quieted things down a little. Electrical components should be robust. There's a big difference between a 79 cent plug and a 5 dollar one. Some panels have thicker bus bars with more copper. About once a year, I tighten all the breakers in my panel. 
subaruguynj
3 posts
 
I would never run any delicate and or expensive Electronics on generator power!!!!
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jimrobie
44 posts
 
I am an audiophile who sells and installs generators.  absolutely no reason that an ATF should impact anything.  it is closed contact.  electricity travels through it just like your main breaker.  
spatialking's avatar
spatialking
610 posts
 
It is possible the main transformer down his street shorted a winding about the time of the installation and that is the reason he is having sound quality problems.   There isn't anything in the ATS that can clip a 120VAC sine wave but if he really has a clipped sine wave, it would have to be the transformer at fault.   He wasn't running from the generator at the time, so that is not the problem.

Or, as I said before, it could just be all the EMI in the ATS is flowing into his system.....
desktopguy
334 posts
 
I’ve been reading Fremer’s articles with interest (and horror). It seems like an audiophile’s worst nightmare.

I had a 20 KW Generac whole house generator (propane-fired) + ATS installed ~12 years ago. I was running a lot of billing through my home office, also had multiple deadlines per day (freelance medical writer), so I couldn’t afford the usual 2 hrs to 2 days outages we get here in the winter. The generator auto-starts once a week to exercise the rotor (but is not inline powering anything at that time). Other than that, it operates flawlessly during occasional outages (we ran on generator as long as 48 hours once...2 hrs just last month).

I had then, and still have a fairly complicated desktop audio system and have used it during occasional outages when running on generator. I have not noticed anything remotely like what Fremer reports (then again, my gear is not on the level of his system). Perhaps I notice no difference because I've always run most of the electronics off a 1500 VA UPS on the desktop Just conjecture, though--I simply don’t know.
More to discover