Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler
... I'm waiting for the audiophile power cord people to take the next big step, to realise that they won't be allowed to upgrade the cabling to the house, the substation etc. because the power company own all that. The only possible escape from all the bad ju-ju that this immense amount of non-audiophile stuff puts into an audio system is to install your own generation system ...
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They're more than half way there already. Mains power regenerators have been on sale for quite a while now. These do the technically simple job of converting the actual mains to relatively low voltage DC then using that to run a solid-state 50Hz generator capable of delivering a kilowatt or two. Unlike the genuinely poor quality unstable stuff which comes out of our wall sockets these days, the output is an undistorted sine wave with tightly controlled amplitude and essentially no noise. Its only weakness compared with the mains is its transient current capability which, while high, isn't nearly as high as the cables back to the substation.
Of course none of this should really be necessary as any competent designer should be able to come up with a power supply and amp that is functionally impervious to poor quality mains. Sadly, and this is the voice of experience speaking, quite a lot of audio kit, particularly the esoteric expensive stuff, is surprisingly badly designed, at least from an objective engineering point of view. Given this it's not impossible that improving the mains supply will actually improve the amp's behaviour, if only measurably rather than audibly.
Of course those who are disquieted by the influence of poor mains might still be troubled by the fact that their regenerator is connected to it. Versions do exist which run off substantial lead-acid batteries, allowing complete isolation while listening. But the devil is whispering in your ear that the batteries have all been charged up with 'bad' electricity, haven't they ...
Cheers,
GJ