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Advice needed on power cables, wall warts, conditioning, electrical outlet

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate any advice on power cables, wall warts, power conditioning, better electrical outlet,  etc. 

If I have a power conditioner, with all of my equipment plugged into it with their stock cables, would upgrading the individual components’ power cable, wall wart etc. really help to improve the sound quality?  If yes, in what order of priority would you suggest?  Looking to make some low/moderate cost "tweaks" where it makes sense.

FWIW, here’s my setup:

  • 15 amp dedicated electrical circuit with standard home grade grounded electrical outlet.
  • Furman PL Plus-C power conditioner (repurposed from my music equipment studio rack) plugged into this AC outlet.  (Furman has a hardwired power cable, so I cannot easily swap it out)
  • All of my audio equipment plugs into the Furman: e.g. integrated tube amp, DAC, Sound Expander, ethernet to optical converter, Sonore Optical Rendu (feeds the DAC via USB), and Small Green Computer Roon server.
  • All components have their respective manufacturers’ standard issue power cord or wall wart.  (Sonore Optical Rendu with their Small Green Computer standard LPS).
  • TrendNet ethernet switch, not on the conditioner and uses wall wart.  CAT 8 to upstairs to my Asus router also wall wart and not on conditioner.
  • Asus router to Verizon FIOS ONT via CAT 8 ethernet.

Any advice and comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

bogbeat
terry9
2,209 posts
 

Why do you say that, @alexberger ? Stray fields are smallest, efficiency highest. Please share - I do hate persisting in error.

alexberger
852 posts
 

Hi @terry9 ,

At least for tube amplifiers all best producers:

Tango, Tamura, Kondo, Audio Note, Hashimoto, Lundahl

don't make toroidal power transformers. In the tubes world toroidal power transformers are for cheap solutions.

I don't familiar what transistor amplifier producers do. Probably they use toroidal power transformers more often . 

Regards,

Alex

acman3
4,114 posts
 

Just Fyi,

 

https://www.toruspower.com/news/torus-power-spins-off-from-plitron-manufacturing/

oldschool1948's avatar
oldschool1948
487 posts
 

@terry9 Thanks for the thoughtful response to my question. I was hoping the isolator installation would be a bit more “plug and play” 😊.  Next steps, talk to my electrician.  Thanks again.

terry9
2,209 posts
 

@alexberger Well, toroidal cores are harder to make and much harder to wind. Hence torroids are more expensive. For all I know, it may be prohibitive to shape exotic core materials into toroids.

Certainly my Lundahl silver phono SUT’s sound great, and they’re not toroids - but so do my VanderVeen designed ESL SUT’s sound great - and they are toroids. By the way, I did test my Quad 2905 ESL’s with a Plitron-made VdV toroidal SUT against a stock Quad 2905 with matched conventional transformers, in my own system, and it was just no contest for clarity and definition. Toroid triumphed within a few seconds.

As for tube amplifiers, I can think of no-one better to consult than Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere. I had some M60’s, and I’m pretty sure that they had toroids. Also, from a review of M60 Mk II posted on his website, "The two floating output-tube power supplies are fed by separate secondary windings of a massive toroidal transformer".

From the Mark Levinson site, "Unleash the full potential of your music as you go from the quietest lows to the loudest crescendo. The № 536’s toroidal transformer delivers massive power to your speakers".

So, in the realms under discussion, i.e. enough power to run an amplifier, two giants in the field seem to agree with me. Your thoughts?

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