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Upgrading power system

Since I already have components and speakers that I love, I try to make an improvement every year with something or another. Last year I bought Magnarisers for My Maggie 3.7's.  Nice improvement. Immediate difference.  The year before was power cables and conditioner, all Shunyata.  And I always wondered why there was little if any improvement.  A couple audiophiles said to replace the wall outlet. So I thought about it for years before buying a JPS labs audiophile hospital grade outlet.  After removing the original outlet, I compared them. No comparison at all, the JPS weighed almost twice as much and the metal was better quality as well. The JPS was 2o amps and the original  was 15. Would I hear the difference?  It took all of one minute.  Best $150 I ever spent.  I was skeptical until I heard the difference, mostly clearer and more pronounced highs and well defined low end.  Anybody else have this experience?

boxcarman
tksteingraber's avatar
tksteingraber
523 posts
 

I’m just starting out in this hobby and have a question that may have already been addressed. Trying to keep electrical connections as simple and direct as possible, why not hardwire the power conditioner’s (or amp etc) quality power cord directly to the romex in the wall electrical box?  This would reduce it to  one connection, eliminate the wall receptacle outlet and male power plug.  Any downsides or flawed logic here?  Thanks

dpop's avatar
dpop
292 posts
 

eliminate the wall receptacle outlet and male power plug. Any downsides or flawed logic here?

Nope. Non whatsoever. Makes perfect sense. But most audiophiles are not (licensed) electricians, and therefore capable of performing this task. Could they hire an electrician to do it? Sure! The plugs are mainly there for convenience sake.

labpro's avatar
labpro
85 posts
 

I have been closely watching Stromtank, off grid power supply. I believe you can find some reviews is Absolute Sound and Stereophile.

 

robert53
404 posts
 

I use a Shunyata venom PS8 power strip with a Shunyata power cord and a Venom Defender Stand Alone plug in Power Conditioner. Later I added a Cardas AC Receptacle, and had the same results as you boxcarman. A definite improvement in transparency.

jhills
610 posts
 

While I concur with the benefit of the higher quality and the tighter grip of hospital grade receptacles, most of the benefits spoken of here are results of clean, tight, new connections rather than over rated circuits and large gauge wire.

Running my i,200W microwave (rated to pull up to 10A) through a 20, 30 or 50A circuit, even with a cable the size of a fire hose, would not heat a cup of water any faster than it does through the 15A circuit it was designed for and an amplifier pulling considerably less amps, isn’t going to sound any better either.

As pointed out by dpop, the amount of current pulled by a power amp and all related equipment (even on demanding passages) is quite minimal.

Some of the suggestions I’ve seen on this forum regarding electrical circuits and grounding are off base and in some cases not even permissible to code....Jim,

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