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Battery-Powered Audio System Buzzing?

I’ve seen many people proclaim the merits of powering one’s audio system with a battery, rather than from the wall AC power. I purchased an Anker SOLIX BP1000 battery as a household backup in case of power outages. I figured why not give it a shot on the audio system.

Well, it powers the system just fine, however, there is a buzzing that comes through the speakers when using the battery as the power source. When plugged directly into the wall (or rather through a Zero Surge unit), there is no buzz. It is silent as can be. 

Does anyone have any ideas as to why the buzz might be happening when powered by the battery? Any insights would be much appreciated! For reference, I am running a Macbook -> Schiit Yggdrasil OG ->Don Sachs preamp -> Schiit Tyr monoblocks -> Tekton Encore towers.

 

sid-hoff-frenchman
erik_squires
17,552 posts
 

OP:
 

You can get any Kill-A-Watt type of meters.  Just plug them into a nearby outlet or get one of these.  

I like the latter as the N-E measurements are sometimes useful. 

sid-hoff-frenchman OP
66 posts
 

Well the wall AC power seems pretty stable here at 120V. The differences I'm hearing could be other things on the circuit potentially. I mean it sounds fantastic as it is with wall AC, and I only preferred the battery sound on one of my two systems. But not worth the constant battery maintenance attention. 

goldenways
125 posts
 

Paul McGowan, PS Audio just came out with a YouTube video yesterday. Subject “Battery Powered Preamps”

sid-hoff-frenchman OP
66 posts
 

An update for any who are interested: I am back to running my audio systems through battery power and have to admit - it sounds absolutely stunning. I hadn't intended to try this again for SQ purposes after closing the door on this 9 months ago. But recently I have been hearing noises in my speakers when the refrigerator compressor turned on. As to why this was a problem NOW, after it never being an issue I don't know. The only change in my system came from switching from a Schiit Yggdrasil OG to a Schiit Yggdrasil Singular (Byggy). 

Regardless, it was a problem now, so I explored different fixes - changing the electrical panel arrangement, dedicated circuit, power conditioners, etc. But first I had to identify where exactly the problem was. 

So I switched the system back to being powered by the Anker C1000 & BP1000 expansion battery. Sure enough, the refrigerator problem went away and never returned, revealing that the issue was being caused noisy/dirty power. However, I was astounded by the leap in sound quality, which was not minor. 

Now that I don't need to leave Byggy on 24/7 as I did with the Yggy OG, managing the battery is much easier. Turn it on when in use and recharge when not. Simple. With the battery combo I get nearly 11 hours of audio system use. 

The only issue I've run into was that the Schiit Aegir transformer buzzes when powered by battery. I put an ifi DC Blocker+ on it and the buzzing instantly went away. The Tyrs also have always had a small buzzing from the transformer. DC Blockers have all but eliminated that buzzing as well.

The Rythmik Sub amps also buzzed a bit, but I put them back on wall power, with no detriment to overall sound and the buzzing went away. 

All of this to say, that while YMMV, the battery experiment is definitely worth exploring. With the hoops many of us jump through for even small SQ gains, the returns on these hoops is profound. 

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