Line Conditioning and possible ground issues?


I get the notion that many power conditioners no matter brand or cost cannot correct and do their intended jobs if for faulty-improper wiring and/or lack of proper ground.  Is this correct?

Some of these Conditioners also have some various other add on "Ground Gizmos", "(groundmaster-etc-etc) but again, what about without correct wiring-grounding?  

Moral of the post, I guess, is "don't expect bandaids to repair larger existing issues". 

markd51

You might ask the electrician what the cost would be to add a modern dedicated line for your system, assuming no other "hazards." Our previous house in NY was from the 1780s and it was expanded from a 4 room river cottage to a very large house over the course of centuries. There was all kinds of funky wiring in the house-- one of the missions of the electrician was to clean up unused wiring and replace stuff that was critical- so a lot of the kitchen appliances got dedicated lines- not something that was required when the last round of renovations was done. We did not replace everything, but a lot. My system worked pretty well in that grand old house. Obviously, prices for parts and labor have gone up since I did that circa 2003.

When I moved to Texas, the house we bought had been fully restored- an 1880s Queen Anne. The infrastructure was circa 2004 so it wasn’t "Old-Old" but I still was concerned about the quality of the juice. I had a commercial electrician come, had the city pull the meter to make sure the meter block was not corroded, and worked from there. Fortunately, I was working with a more modern wiring scheme, but did a fair amount of upgrades (using commercial electricians, who I found understood the needs of us crazy "sound hounds"). 

Prices for work obviously varies depending on locale. I’m very happy with where I’m at at this point-- whole house surge, big Iso transformer to feed the main hi-fi, I use point of use surge on the appliances including computers, routers, etc. Did do a whole house back up generator which involved some planning to keep the ATS separate from the circuit feeding the main hi-fi (I don’t have that big system supported by the generator- the last thing I’m gonna do in a power outage is worry about playing music). One can do this incrementally. I call it a ’system audit" and it may be worth getting a couple different electricians to visit to give you a sense of their knowledge. I found some comfort in knowing that not only the audio system is well supported, but that the entire house checks "OK." The "audit" part did not cost a lot--getting the city to pull your meter may be more involved- but where I am, they came within a week of making the request. All the work was permitted and approved. I know code is basic minimum, and I do like overkill, but doing it according to the local code as applied is important for insurance purposes. 

Good luck, ground loops suck. 

markd51 OP

Just a small bedroom vintage-modern system I put together, not reference.

No surprise.   Putting Mickey Thompson slicks on a VW bug won’t improve its performance either.  

I did a panel upgrade a year ago and I think I heard an improvement of sound, I.E. a darker sound stage, the instruments clarity improved. The new panel had better earth grounding and a couple of connections to earth.

My power conditioners have always been PS audio, and I believe that no matter when it has no good grounding, the improvements are marginal at best

 

 

To avoid being held responsible I want to state my recommendations really simply.  From where the OP is his best solution is to hire a licensed electrician to check the wiring from the breakers to the receptacle and install a properly wired 3 prong outlet. 

This is what's going to be best for life safety and the safety of his equipment, and to ensure any surge protectors work completely correctly. 

Erik, you have the right answer. And I am planning on having a qualified Electrician look things over soon, and proceed as required in whatever logical manner.