Power conditioning in my setup

[Cyling Nut]

I live in a very electrically noisey apartment building. All the things below seem to lower the AC power noise floor using various methods. I tried other power conditioners and outboard CMCs of various types but they did not seem to lower only the noise floor but adversely affected the music too. The room is 14’ x 10’ with many GIK acoustic panels and bass traps and a huge bass trap I put together. Using the Eversolo DSP results in a fairly flat FR.

Audio setup:

ATC SCM26A Pro MK2
https://atc.audio/professional/loudspeakers/scm25a-pro-mk2/
https://atc.audio/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ATC_SCM25A_Pro_Mk2_Data-sheet_AW.pdf

Eversolo DMP-A8 Balanced Streamer/DAC
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...lo-dmp-a8-balanced-streamer-dac-review.55826/

LG TV – eARC hdmi into into Eversolo

Furman Reference Series IT-REF 20 I 20A Discrete Symmetrical AC Power Conditioner
Tranverse (Differential) Mode: > 40 dB from 10 kHz – 100 kHz, > 80 dB from 100 kHz – 1 GHz (Linear attenuation curve from 0.05 – 100 ohms line impedance)
Common Mode (video outlets): > 75 dB, 10 Hz – 50 kHz, > 40 dB 50 kHz – 1 MHz
https://furmanpower.com/collections/reference-series/products/it-ref-20i?variant=49418709860672

Replaced about 85% of the Furman’s internal stranded 12awg wire with 12/3 NM-B Wire with Ground, solid copper (a type of Romex). It had positive sonic and TV benefits.
Replaced the orange receptacles with rhodium plated over copper receptacles which hold the power cords with greater grip force. Did not hear or see a difference.

Added a Labahua AC filter modules each with one stage of differential mode filtering and 2 stages of common mode filtering. The 2 CMCs were Epcos B82725A2103N001 https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/3158416.pdf not the Schaffner ones shown on their site.
One unit plugged into the output of 3 Furman low power receptacles. One for the Eversolo, one for the modem/router and one for the TV. Labahua provided no measurements. It had very positive sonic and TV benefits.
http://aliexpress.us/item/325680765...t_main.11.2f291802G6R5Kt&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

The ATCs are plugged into the Furman’s high power outlets which have only 2 - X2 capacitors on the receptacles. Even this little bit of “conditioning” reduced noise in the ATC’s.

Changed the 12VDC power supply for the modem/router to a Daitron RFS50A 50W 12volt DC power supply. Ripple Noise: 1mVp-p. It had positive sonic and TV benefits.
https://daitronglobal.com/products/low-noise-power-supplies/rfs50a/

 

[Defi]

So, what was the problem before? Was there a hum? Static on the TV? Brown outs?

 

[RandomEar]

Unless you actually hear any problematic effect like hum from a ground loop, any cable mod or power conditioner is a waste of time and money. AC is converted to DC inside your amp, active speaker or DAC anyway. Unless the manufacturer made mistakes designing the internal PSU or grounding scheme, most AC noise would simply get flattened in that conversion step. The vast majority of power conditioners also fail to actually perform as advertised, because it is saidly pretty expensive to correctly filter and decouple the AC output from the input.

Power conditioners

Just bought a Hypex ncore based amp and given these are direct ac coupled, I was wondering whether the amp would benefit from a power conditioner/ noise filter. What is the general practice here?

www.audiosciencereview.com

When to use/how to choose a power conditioner

Hi all, I have a question about the use of mains power conditioners. Put simply, I’d like to understand the problems that they can address, the features one should look for in a conditioner/what constitutes a well engineered conditioner and any recommendations on particular products. Behind...

www.audiosciencereview.com

If you can hear hiss from your tweeter, the most likely cause is self-noise of the PSU in your active speakers. You can either live with it, increase the distance to your speakers, or get different ones which don't have that problem.

Also, claiming that any power filter "had very positive sonic and TV benefits" is just silly. If you believe such a device would improve the picture quality of your TV, I've got a big beautiful bridge to sell you.

 

[PristineSound]

I once have DC offset in my home and it caused the toroidal transformer of my amp to physically buzz. A DC offset blocker fixed it.

You are saying your power is noisy, but what issue is it causing you?

If the answer is no issue then the power supply of your equipment is doing it's job and you don't need any power conditioner.

 

[DVDdoug]

but they did not seem to lower only the noise floor but adversely affected the music too.

There's no logical reason for that!!! ...Unless your brain is telling you it sounds better with noise.

 

[kyuu]

If you have a specific issue, such as a ground loop or DC offset, you should address that. In no case, however, do you need a "power conditioner". You certainly don't need to open one up and replace its wiring. And never ever do you need to replace your outlets unless they are in poor shape (aren't gripping the prongs well) or damaged, and in that case the ones you can get for a few bucks at the hardware store are just fine.

What you are doing is a waste of time and money, and you're potentially putting yourself in danger as well doing all this unnecessary electrical work.

 

[Purité Audio]

Unless you actually hear any problematic effect like hum from a ground loop, any cable mod or power conditioner is a waste of time and money. AC is converted to DC inside your amp, active speaker or DAC anyway. Unless the manufacturer made mistakes designing the internal PSU or grounding scheme, most AC noise would simply get flattened in that conversion step. The vast majority of power conditioners also fail to actually perform as advertised, because it is saidly pretty expensive to correctly filter and decouple the AC output from the input.

Power conditioners

Just bought a Hypex ncore based amp and given these are direct ac coupled, I was wondering whether the amp would benefit from a power conditioner/ noise filter. What is the general practice here?

www.audiosciencereview.com

When to use/how to choose a power conditioner

Hi all, I have a question about the use of mains power conditioners. Put simply, I’d like to understand the problems that they can address, the features one should look for in a conditioner/what constitutes a well engineered conditioner and any recommendations on particular products. Behind...

www.audiosciencereview.com

If you can hear hiss from your tweeter, the most likely cause is self-noise of the PSU in your active speakers. You can either live with it, increase the distance to your speakers, or get different ones which don't have that problem.

Also, claiming that any power filter "had very positive sonic and TV benefits" is just silly. If you believe such a device would improve the picture quality of your TV, I've got a big beautiful bridge to sell you.

Interested in your bridge, what colour is it?
Keith

 

[Cyling Nut]

I live in a very electrically noisey apartment building. All the things below seem to lower the AC power noise floor using various methods. I tried other power conditioners and outboard CMCs of various types but they did not seem to lower only the noise floor but adversely affected the music too. The room is 14’ x 10’ with many GIK acoustic panels and bass traps and a huge bass trap I put together. Using the Eversolo DSP results in a fairly flat FR.

To sum up some comments, the Furman 75lb isolation transformer and me putting CMCs and a DMC in series does nothing.

Google ai says:
"Differential mode (DM) chokes placed in series are used to increase total inductance and enhance the suppression of high-frequency differential noise on power or signal lines. By placing inductors in series, the overall differential-mode impedance increases, providing greater attenuation across a wider frequency range..."

"Placing common mode (CM) chokes in series is an effective strategy to increase total noise attenuation, particularly for targeting multiple frequency ranges or improving performance at higher frequencies. This configuration increases total inductance and impedance..."

Maybe the Eversolo A-8 is perfect, so why did Eversolo go beyond what is possible to hear with the A-10? A marketing gimmick?
"The Eversolo DMP-A10 features a significantly upgraded, dual-linear power supply designed for ultra-low noise, with separate, independent power sources for digital and analog sections to maximize signal purity. This improved design reduces analog audio noise to below 30µVrms, enhancing soundstage, background silence, and stereo imaging compared to previous models."

 

[Purité Audio]

Quote,
‘Maybe the Eversolo A-8 is perfect, so why did Eversolo go beyond what is possible to hear with the A-10? A marketing gimmick?’
Yes.
Keith

 

[voodooless]

What is even the problem here?

 

[RandomEar]

To sum up some comments, the Furman 75lb isolation transformer and me putting CMCs and a DMC in series does nothing.

Google ai says:
"Differential mode (DM) chokes placed in series are used to increase total inductance and enhance the suppression of high-frequency differential noise on power or signal lines. By placing inductors in series, the overall differential-mode impedance increases, providing greater attenuation across a wider frequency range..."

"Placing common mode (CM) chokes in series is an effective strategy to increase total noise attenuation, particularly for targeting multiple frequency ranges or improving performance at higher frequencies. This configuration increases total inductance and impedance..."

AI is not an authority on anything. It is mostly designed to give convincing answers which sound good - not correct ones. Answers also depend on what and how you ask it and what the chat history looks like up to that point. The quotes you list futher don't address audio. Like, at all. It's general answers about HF noise in circuits. Please also respect the AI policy on ASR.

Maybe the Eversolo A-8 is perfect, so why did Eversolo go beyond what is possible to hear with the A-10? A marketing gimmick?
"The Eversolo DMP-A10 features a significantly upgraded, dual-linear power supply designed for ultra-low noise, with separate, independent power sources for digital and analog sections to maximize signal purity. This improved design reduces analog audio noise to below 30µVrms, enhancing soundstage, background silence, and stereo imaging compared to previous models."

Yes, 100% marketing. If the new device isn't better in at least one characteristic, who the fuck is going to buy it?

 

[Cyling Nut]

Please also respect the AI policy on ASR.

I did.

The quotes you list futher don't address audio.

Correct. I am addressing AC power. Read the title.

who the fuck is going to buy it?

Such language!

 

[RandomEar]

I did.

Partially...

2. Show the prompt you used and the engine (ChatGPT, etc.).

Correct. I am addressing AC power. Read the title.

Rude much? This is an audio forum. What is the problem with your audio setup? Because noise on the AC line is not a problem in itself and usually has zero effect on audio devices.

Such language!

 

[Cyling Nut]

2. Show the prompt you used and the engine (ChatGPT, etc.).

I thought everyone knew Google's ai was called Gemini. My mistake.

 

[Oddball]

How about you dig into what is it that apparently makes AC noisy in your apartment? If there is anything like that happening, then best to address at source. Otherwise not comments except from above.

 

[amirm]

I thought everyone knew Google's ai was called Gemini. My mistake.

The policy says to show us what you wrote to AI precisely (the "prompt"). Many times AI infers from your writing to tell you want you want to hear. Hence the reason we like to see what you typed in.

That aside, you still have not said what audible problem you are facing that you want to fix. If you have no buss, static, noise, etc., then none of the things you bought can do anything about it. Even if you have those problems, these tweaks can fail to do anything.

 

[Indydan]

Power conditioners do absolutely nothing positive for an audio system. They are a solution in search of a problem.
I tried out a good number of power conditioners and distributors, from Shunyata, Audioquest, Furutech and others. I wanted them to make a difference. But, if I am honest, they never did.
Save yourself some time and money.