Have you measured the AC voltage at the wall plug @ different times of the day to confirm and document the AC voltage variation(s)? Vmax and Vmin are very handy to analyze what is occurring or not. If you could safely measure the variations over a day's period then we can better understand what is occurring. In my experience the voltage increases are after local consumers power down and before they power up. I've been through a variable line voltage issue before. It was the AC supply to the building and apparently the local commercial power users drawing lotsa current and causing voltage decreases.
The application of the capacitance in the Topping D70s DAC is very different than a integrated amplifier's main power supply. The regulators in the pic for the D70 are separately smoothed out and the total capacitance does not apply to one smooth voltage. It is for more than a couple of voltages according to that pic. So the comparison is not realistic nor apples to apples... et cetera.
The voltage regulation for the digital and analogue sections of this
Jay's Audio CDT2-MK3 CD player are most likely separately regulated. That means that if I where to make a educated guess there are maybe 2 +/- supplies, 4 voltage regulators on the PCB and each requires smoothing caps. So again the total capacitance is not adding up to a single voltage output line. It appears impressive although at the circuitry level the numbers are decent although not super high.
Something more powerful does not mean it handles the stuff you listed better. If you are experiencing a decrease in power/voltage level decreases during the daily cycle of mains voltage variations then yes a bigger amp will provide more power and it will maybe still be susceptible to the stuff that you listed.
If you are experiencing a loss of amplifier power over the days' cycle then you may have a decrease in available voltage from the mains provider.
If you want more wattage from your amp you can get more with a more powerful amp
but the decreased voltage issue at the wall if present will still be there.
This device does not compensate for the decrease in the
available voltage from the mains supply issue. It cannot and does not do that. Don't waste your money on this.
@ Doodski, I agree with everything you have written. Thank you very much for your post.
I have a rather simple mains/power filter, which measures voltage. The voltage is stable and rather high, if not too high, stays around
240V, fluctuating between 238 and 242V. So, it must be some other electrical crap, that causes the sound degradation.
I can describe my observations from Monday until Friday. I have my own micro company, so that I can work from home, if I like, and I did this week. Here we go:
1)
In the morning and before noon everything sounds good/very good. I don't have to turn the volume knob up to 12 o'clock to hear it: 9 o'clock is enough to hear everything sounds fine and the bass is present and strong (if it is present in the recording).
2) The sound starts to degrade
in the afternoon, let's say about 3 or 4 PM. It's getting worse in the evening. When I has a simple power strip, I had to turn the volume down, or use the mute function (in Yamaha's case it means -20dB) in order not to hear it.
3) Things are improving
late in the evening. But not always. If I want to listen seriously, sitting on the sweet spot on my sofa, and before 10 PM (so that my neighbours can't call the police
) the sound quality is sometimes good, sometimes very good.
4)
Late at night (I'm an owl), if turn the volume gently up for a while , everything sounds brilliant. Always!
Some other observations:
- Washing machine test: my washing machine is in the bathroom, which has another circuit than my living room. However, when I turn it on, the bass disappears, even if the rest is rather OK! Laundry finished, the bass is back!
- Power strip: I used to have an audio power strip, but rather a simple one, and the above described symptoms of sound degradation were even worse. Sometimes I couldn't listen to anything before 10 PM - I'm not talking about a disappearing bass only. In September this year I bought a rather simple mains/power filter and the situation is better, however far from optimal.
- Open air festival: there was an open air festival in the neighbourhood (old air port from 1920s) in the summer this year. It was powered from some transformers form the other part of the city. My neighbourhood emptied - almost everyone went there, and me and my fiancee were listening to some music: it never had sounded better before than that night.
So, basically I agree, that buying a more powerful integrated amplifier will not solve the source of the problem.
Apart from my dire need to buy a "better" one
, I really like the direction towards which this thread is going. Thank you, and the other guys for comments about electricity/power problems. You've been very helpful.
