Power distributor vs power conditioner vs power cable

[gasolin75]

Totally screwed it up thinking i could in a traditional way, that i could connect a power amp to my integrated amp, for more power, more control,more dynamic headroom.cleaner sound,less distortion,improvements in the bass, i can't

Improve the sound is what i can do, i never had a power conditioner but what does it do compared to a quality power distributor ?

I tried typing in words on asr that could give me a few threads about the topic and recommendation, it didn't seem to me that i typed in the right words, because i didn't find many threads about the topics mostly about Power distributor vs power conditioner (Non-Snake Oil Power/Line Conditioner? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/non-snake-oil-power-line-conditioner.52721/ )

What low budget power conditioners are there, looked at taga but looks more like a power distributor then a power conditioner

I was getting to that reading up on if a different power cable would make a difference

Monosaudio Hi End Audiophil Power Cable 1.5 m is what i use for my amp, super inexpensive and super thick cable, looks like it costs + €100 but doesn't come close to that
(i can with a discount get 2 power cables for less then €100 and they don't look at all like black standard power cables for 10-15 bucks for 1.5-2 meters)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08LDK1TTC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

For those in usa https://www.amazon.com/stores/Monos...ef_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto

They make several power cables that makes it hard to choose wich one, if you wanna try one for your amp and want a slightly cheaper alternative to what supra makes, if you are a cheapass, you have a modest priced system or needs a f..... load of power cables, monosaudio is worth checking out

 

[Doodski]

Totally screwed it up thinking i could in a traditional way, that i could connect a power amp to my integrated amp, for more power, more control,more dynamic headroom.cleaner sound,less distortion,improvements in the bass, i can't

Improve the sound is what i can do, i never had a power conditioner but what does it do compared to a quality power distributor ?

I tried typing in words on asr that could give me a few threads about the topic and recommendation, it didn't seem to me that i typed in the right words, because i didn't find many threads about the topics mostly about Power distributor vs power conditioner (Non-Snake Oil Power/Line Conditioner? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/non-snake-oil-power-line-conditioner.52721/ )

What low budget power conditioners are there, looked at taga but looks more like a power distributor then a power conditioner

I was getting to that reading up on if a different power cable would make a difference

Monosaudio Hi End Audiophil Power Cable 1.5 m is what i use for my amp, super inexpensive and super thick cable, looks like it costs + €100 but doesn't come close to that
(i can with a discount get 2 power cables for less then €100 and they don't look at all like black standard power cables for 10-15 bucks for 1.5-2 meters)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08LDK1TTC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

For those in usa https://www.amazon.com/stores/Monos...ef_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto

They make several power cables that makes it hard to choose wich one, if you wanna try one for your amp and want a slightly cheaper alternative to what supra makes, if you are a cheapass, you have a modest priced system or needs a f..... load of power cables, monosaudio is worth checking out

Are you inquiring about electron energy power transfer and what is the best conditions for power transfer?

 

[Frank Dernie]

Totally screwed it up thinking i could in a traditional way, that i could connect a power amp to my integrated amp, for more power, more control,more dynamic headroom.cleaner sound,less distortion,improvements in the bass, i can't

Improve the sound is what i can do, i never had a power conditioner but what does it do compared to a quality power distributor ?

I tried typing in words on asr that could give me a few threads about the topic and recommendation, it didn't seem to me that i typed in the right words, because i didn't find many threads about the topics mostly about Power distributor vs power conditioner (Non-Snake Oil Power/Line Conditioner? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/non-snake-oil-power-line-conditioner.52721/ )

What low budget power conditioners are there, looked at taga but looks more like a power distributor then a power conditioner

I was getting to that reading up on if a different power cable would make a difference

Monosaudio Hi End Audiophil Power Cable 1.5 m is what i use for my amp, super inexpensive and super thick cable, looks like it costs + €100 but doesn't come close to that
(i can with a discount get 2 power cables for less then €100 and they don't look at all like black standard power cables for 10-15 bucks for 1.5-2 meters)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08LDK1TTC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

For those in usa https://www.amazon.com/stores/Monos...ef_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto

They make several power cables that makes it hard to choose wich one, if you wanna try one for your amp and want a slightly cheaper alternative to what supra makes, if you are a cheapass, you have a modest priced system or needs a f..... load of power cables, monosaudio is worth checking out

You can't improve the sound quality of a properly engineered amplifier by using different power cables, conditioners or distribution blocks.

If your integrated amp wasn't clipping in your normal use adding a power amp to it is unlikely to make it sound different since you already have enough power. A 100W amp won't sound different to a 25W amp if you are only using 20W if both are properly engineered, and most are.

 

[Doodski]

You can't improve the sound quality of a properly engineered amplifier by using different power cables, conditioners or distribution blocks.

If your integrated amp wasn't clipping in your normal use adding a power amp to it is unlikely to make it sound different since you already have enough power. A 100W amp won't sound different to a 25W amp if you are only using 20W if both are properly engineered, and most are.

The only thing that I can think of that might be different is the source & load impedance power transfer matching versus distortion, the resulting power transfer versus the frequency response of the power transfer and the maximum power transfer versus the best signal to noise characteristics.

EDIT: Isn't that a mouthful... Hehe. Had a few brews the other night and wrote this tongue twister rubbish.... >@^_*@<

 

[Roland68]

Totally screwed it up thinking i could in a traditional way, that i could connect a power amp to my integrated amp, for more power, more control,more dynamic headroom.cleaner sound,less distortion,improvements in the bass, i can't

Improve the sound is what i can do, i never had a power conditioner but what does it do compared to a quality power distributor ?

I tried typing in words on asr that could give me a few threads about the topic and recommendation, it didn't seem to me that i typed in the right words, because i didn't find many threads about the topics mostly about Power distributor vs power conditioner (Non-Snake Oil Power/Line Conditioner? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/non-snake-oil-power-line-conditioner.52721/ )

What low budget power conditioners are there, looked at taga but looks more like a power distributor then a power conditioner

I was getting to that reading up on if a different power cable would make a difference

Monosaudio Hi End Audiophil Power Cable 1.5 m is what i use for my amp, super inexpensive and super thick cable, looks like it costs + €100 but doesn't come close to that
(i can with a discount get 2 power cables for less then €100 and they don't look at all like black standard power cables for 10-15 bucks for 1.5-2 meters)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08LDK1TTC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

For those in usa https://www.amazon.com/stores/Monos...ef_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto

They make several power cables that makes it hard to choose wich one, if you wanna try one for your amp and want a slightly cheaper alternative to what supra makes, if you are a cheapass, you have a modest priced system or needs a f..... load of power cables, monosaudio is worth checking out

Real power conditioners, as used in industry, cost several thousand euros, and in the audio sector you pay a considerable premium.
But if you don't have a problem with your power grid, which I assume 99.9% of the time, you can burn the money or send it to me, it would have exactly the same effect.

There's nothing wrong with good power cables from LAPP or SUPRA. Both are available by the meter and with high-quality plugs you get around 4 - 10 high-quality power cables for every €100. Everything else is just for looks.

For everything else you would have to post your configuration.

 

[Doodski]

Real power conditioners, as used in industry, cost several thousand euros

I used AC mains power supplies that where forklift pallet sized units. The idea was a stable and accurate AC waveform that was repeatable and accurate so that PPM metering could be done repetitiously and reliably for the purpose of providing NIST calibration certification. The expense was in the several tens of thousands of dollars for a basic pallet sized unit. This is a proper AC mains supply and makes the rubbish that people purchase for their home audio gear look like garbage.

 

[gasolin75]

WHY POWER CABLES MAKE A DIFFERENCE | Galen Carol Audio | Galen Carol Audio

Why power cables make an audible difference

www.gcaudio.com

POWER (WATT)

Bass needs alot more power then non bass heavy music

I haven't tried a much more power full amp to hear how dynamic peaks sounds like with my current amp

power conditioner i haven tried only quality power distributer (which a power conditioner also can be)

When i tried typing in Power distributor vs power conditioner i didn't find anything, so i had to ask

Even when those with money that have expensive amps, they also have a power conditioner for clean power, improved noise, and when people talk about power cable or mabye power conditioners, they sometimes talk about the the noise, sound, room your listen to (recordings) sounding more black

That is more or less what i don't have, a power conditioner and a thread on asr about Power distributor vs power conditioner vs power cable

 

[solderdude]

Totally screwed it up thinking i could in a traditional way, that i could connect a power amp to my integrated amp, for more power, more control,more dynamic headroom.cleaner sound,less distortion,improvements in the bass, i can't

Improve the sound is what i can do, i never had a power conditioner but what does it do compared to a quality power distributor ?

I tried typing in words on asr that could give me a few threads about the topic and recommendation, it didn't seem to me that i typed in the right words, because i didn't find many threads about the topics mostly about Power distributor vs power conditioner (Non-Snake Oil Power/Line Conditioner? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/non-snake-oil-power-line-conditioner.52721/ )

What low budget power conditioners are there, looked at taga but looks more like a power distributor then a power conditioner

I was getting to that reading up on if a different power cable would make a difference

Monosaudio Hi End Audiophil Power Cable 1.5 m is what i use for my amp, super inexpensive and super thick cable, looks like it costs + €100 but doesn't come close to that
(i can with a discount get 2 power cables for less then €100 and they don't look at all like black standard power cables for 10-15 bucks for 1.5-2 meters)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08LDK1TTC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

For those in usa https://www.amazon.com/stores/Monos...ef_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto

They make several power cables that makes it hard to choose wich one, if you wanna try one for your amp and want a slightly cheaper alternative to what supra makes, if you are a cheapass, you have a modest priced system or needs a f..... load of power cables, monosaudio is worth checking out

Do the lights dim noticeably in the house whenever something that draws say... 1kW or more engages ?
If not ... you don't need a power conditioner.

Do you hear 'clicks' or 'ticks' (from the speakers) when playing music when something in the house switches on ?
If not... you don't need additional filtering.

It is as simple as that. Audio systems simply don't draw lots of power not even when playing pretty loud.

 

[Roland68]

WHY POWER CABLES MAKE A DIFFERENCE | Galen Carol Audio | Galen Carol Audio

Why power cables make an audible difference

www.gcaudio.com

POWER (WATT)

Bass needs alot more power then non bass heavy music

I haven't tried a much more power full amp to hear how dynamic peaks sounds like with my current amp

power conditioner i haven tried only quality power distributer (which a power conditioner also can be)

When i tried typing in Power distributor vs power conditioner i didn't find anything, so i had to ask

Even when those with money that have expensive amps, they also have a power conditioner for clean power, improved noise, and when people talk about power cable or mabye power conditioners, they sometimes talk about the the noise, sound, room your listen to (recordings) sounding more black

That is more or less what i don't have, a power conditioner and a thread on asr about Power distributor vs power conditioner vs power cable

Some people want to hunt white rabbits.

Get a power conditioner and do a blind test. So far, everyone who has heard improvements has failed, and in 2 cases the result was even noticeably worse. And I'm talking about industrial and audio power conditioner units in the 4-5 digit range. Anything less is just a sham or cheap junk.

At the very latest, when you have an amplifier with a high-quality switching power supply, the whole thing becomes completely pointless.

The same applies to any power strips with filters and similar gimmicks.

 

[DVDdoug]

Bass needs alot more power then non bass heavy music

Yes, you need power coming OUT of the amplifier. That's the wattage going into your speaker, not the power capability from the wall-outlet. If you can plug a toaster or hair dryer into the wall, you are getting plenty of power out of the wall and INTO the amplifier.

Power conditioners can't increase the power out of the wall!

The power supply inside ALL amplifiers is filtered. Part of that filtering is capacitors that store energy for a short period of time. Most are also regulated, which means the DC power inside the amplifier says constant even if the AC in varies (within reason).

You also need "big" woofers or subwoofers for realistic bass you can feel in your body.

Even when those with money that have expensive amps, they also have a power conditioner for clean power,

That's one of the reason that audiophiles are often called "audiophools". Audiophoolery

improved noise,

But you are not complaining about noise. In certain situations, power-line filtering can reduce or remove power-line noise. But there are different "kinds" of power line-noise and you don't know if a filter will improve it until you try a particular filter. Most noise comes from ground loops or the electronics itself so filtering the power doesn't make any difference.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Even when those with money that have expensive amps, they also have a power conditioner for clean power, improved noise,

A properly designed amp would have anything it required of that nature built in.

If a expensive piece of equipment designed to be mains powered does not work optimally without additional mains filtering it is a poor or very poor design, or the BS about better sound is just trying to separate a sucker from more money.
IMO, IME

 

[gasolin75]

Audioquest Niagara 1200. Hi-Fi Snake Oil? | Steve Huff Hi-Fi and Photo

The Audioquest Niagara 1200 Power Conditioner Review. Is it HiFi Snake Oil? I tried one and placed it into my reference audio system...

www.stevehuffphoto.com

 

[Broadcast_Eng]

The late Neil Muncy, my teacher, consultant and friend, pointed out in the 1990s that most power conditioners are not helpful and some are actually harmful. His work on this has been mentioned here in other threads, in the AES Journal and on prosoundweb.com.

 

[Wolf11Man]

Any power conditioner is an additional resistance for the mains voltage to the transformer or SPS of any audio gear.
So if you can really hear anything, it will be reduced power of your amp or whatever you use it for.

I use quite cheap power distributors with some overvoltage protection capability in my systems. Maybe it helps if something bad happens on the AC line.

My main system has it's own power cable going to it's fuse in the house installation. That prevents spikes from motors, refridegerators and the like to dirctly enter the audio. It cured some glitch in the TV when the fridge switched on.

I use a special power cable to the AVR. This has some very physical reason and gives me peace of mind. It draws the highest current in the system and thus will have the strongest magnetic field. I use a shielded LAP Oelflex cable with low price "made in Germany" industry quality plugs. The shield is only connected to the wall side. Because I can't run all wires separately behind the AVR, this may prevent the AC field of the AVR power entering other wires running in close proximity. Is is audible? Not for me. Anyway, it costs not more than a "regular" AC power cable, maybe 1€ more per meter. The complete 1m cable comes at the cost of about 9€ and less than 15 minutes of my time. I promise it will sound just as good as any 20.000$ high end power cable.
If not I will buy you a beer to wash your ears.
Hey, it is hand made in Germany, you can't beat that, not even with stink'n Amazon China cable!
This is how it looks:

 

[Roland68]

Any power conditioner is an additional resistance for the mains voltage to the transformer or SPS of any audio gear.
So if you can really hear anything, it will be reduced power of your amp or whatever you use it for.

I use quite cheap power distributors with some overvoltage protection capability in my systems. Maybe it helps if something bad happens on the AC line.

My main system has it's own power cable going to it's fuse in the house installation. That prevents spikes from motors, refridegerators and the like to dirctly enter the audio. It cured some glitch in the TV when the fridge switched on.

I use a special power cable to the AVR. This has some very physical reason and gives me peace of mind. It draws the highest current in the system and thus will have the strongest magnetic field. I use a shielded LAP Oelflex cable with low price "made in Germany" industry quality plugs. The shield is only connected to the wall side. Because I can't run all wires separately behind the AVR, this may prevent the AC field of the AVR power entering other wires running in close proximity. Is is audible? Not for me. Anyway, it costs not more than a "regular" AC power cable, maybe 1€ more per meter. The complete 1m cable comes at the cost of about 9€ and less than 15 minutes of my time. I promise it will sound just as good as any 20.000$ high end power cable.
If not I will buy you a beer to wash your ears.
Hey, it is hand made in Germany, you can't beat that, not even with stink'n Amazon China cable!
This is how it looks:

View attachment 390903

I would recommend the same Lapp cables from the Robust series. TPE/PP is used as a dielectric instead of PVC. Costs another €0.5-1.00 more per meter.

 

[Waxx]

The only time that i needed a power conditioner was when I had big voltage swings on the AC in my (old) house. That was because the grid in that corner of the village was too light and a company a few hundred meters from my house (metalworking) used a lot of power that the grid hardly could deliver. When the Electricity company upgraded their distribution cabin for that corner, it was solved. I used a online UPS (that always feed trough the battery) to solve that issue. It costed me a few hundreds.

Grounding issues with a house can also cause problems, but not only on your soundsystem. It's a very dangerous electric situation, that should be resolved at the core problem, not with a power conditioner. You need to redo the ground, often put a new grounding pin into the ground because the old rusted away...).

And some old or esotheric gear can have a psu without EMI/RFI shield, that can cause problems also. But that is fixed by making a power cable with that ciruit connected before your device (short before) in a metal box. There are good boards for this for sale, or closed modules for 10 to 100€ (depending on the power needed)

(TE 1-6609032-8)

The circuit is fairly simple and standard known.

The components of it are special, they need to be safety rated class x (for C1 and C2) and class Y (for C3 and C4). The ground G is the ground of your AC plug in this schematic.

In normal conditons, this is the only filtering you need, and almost all modern electronic devices should have his in their PSU, between the plug and fuse and the transformer (for a linear psu) or the SMPS.

 

[solderdude]

My main system has it's own power cable going to it's fuse in the house installation. That prevents spikes from motors, refridegerators and the like to dirctly enter the audio. It cured some glitch in the TV when the fridge switched on.

Going to burst some audiophile bubbles here... everything 'nasty' on the mains before and after the fuse box will still be present on the connected phase.
So when a fusebox uses 3 phases and your audio system is not connected to a single phase only (so nothing else in the house) used for that specific outlet 'unwanted crap' will still be present on that group.
Also the neutral will still have spikes on it from the other groups and thus still be present on the 'audio group', be it attenuated a bit.
Power quality is not 'ideal' in the fusebox which is what most 'dedicated audio group' proponents seem to rely on.

A dedicated group for audio should (ideally) be on its own (not shared) phase with an EMC filter close to the fusebox and the wires from there should not run parallel to other groups.
Furthermore all devices with SMPS in it will emit 'garbage' onto that mains line and the single ground wire to the fuse box is VERY high impedance for HF anyway. SMPS are HF devices. Sure... they should all have low emissions but not all do and when more of them are plugged into the same outlet you might not have to be surprised the amount of RF garbage exceeds that of the requirements.

In other words.... dedicated mains groups are 'polluted' as well. One should not believe that up to the fuse box mains is clean and that mains is low impedance for all frequencies on the web.

No cable can do anything about that. Filtering can improve things a bit at the expense of short circuit current capabilities being somewhat lower but should exceed that of mains fuses by several factors. When they would not fuses would be rendered useless and never blow.

Immunity should be handled in the audio equipment. This rarely is done in the correct way as HF immunity and safety guidelines aren't the same. Audio equipment should pass safety regulations which will ensure RF immunity. For this reason some people are plagued with ground loops, weird noises that should not be there etc.

The dedicated audio group is an illusion from an EMI/RFI standpoint which, alongside with leakage currents are the main culprits for audio nasties.

Power regenerators can actually improve the mains 'impedance' and lower EMC/RF in the system but is more limited in max. output current at mains frequencies and a a few octaves above that. Mostly due to RF filtering in it and a feedback in the generator path that keeps the output voltage more constant than that of the mains. Certainly when one lives a bit further away from the HV mains transformer one's (and other homes) are connected to.

Also it is good to know that 'peaks' in music that draw a lot of power from power amps is NOT directly drawn from the mains but this comes from the reservoir capacitors inside said amp(s) instead. The replenishing of the drawn power happens in short 'bursts' from the peaks on the mains. Those current peaks are much higher than one would expect from the drawn power due to the actual 'on-time' for charging which is just a small percentage of the time so those (narrow) peaks far exceed that of the current ratings in the fuse boxes. It is the reason why, when looking at the waveform of mains, the peaks are 'flattened' in a certain way because only near the peaks (positive as well as negative) the load is the highest.
They will also exceed that of power regenerators so the limit of those regenerators is reached quicker than via mains directly.

To illustrate this a bit below the current draw on the secondary side of a mains transformer:

Above trace is the actual measured DC voltage on the reservoir caps with a constant current draw of about 3A (70W)
The bottom trace is the current draw in the secondary side of the transformer. The winding ratio is about 1:10 for this transformer so current peaks (for an ideal transformer without losses) would be 2A (230V). When one would put a 70W ohmic load on 230V one gets 0.3Arms.

Note that, aside from a little filtering above several kHz, the current on the primary side of the transformer (so mains) has the same shape but of course is smaller in amplitude dictated by the winding ratio.

 

[Wolf11Man]

Great write up solderdude, but maybe not that practical.
Referring to my advice about a singe mains wire to the audio system, I wanted to keep it simple and give a hint how to improve something without any expensive installation or hardware. I
I have a usual 230V 50Hz 3-phase system, that only serves my flat in my house, coming from the basement's primary distribution box.
The audio fuse is on the phase with the least suspicious consumers and serves only a few lamps. Fridge and kitchen stove are on the other lines.
If you have not build your house by your self, you can not be sure how the wall outlets are inter connected to the fuse box. You may have an outlet that is hanging on a string that has various disruptions, in every wall outlet. Any of these connections has some resistance. Modern, spring loaded contacts may work better, but the usual screw type is not 100% perfect with copper over time, loosing pressure. You should know that.
By using one dedicated, separate cable to the stereo, you can be sure to have no interruption. If you never experienced the problems daisy chained wall outlets can give you, you are not working in the field. Just changing the wall outlet often cures most mysterious problems with smart TV and audio.
A quick test is to hook it up with an extension cord. If that helps, a separation of power lines will make sense.

Of course this is no HF clean up, but any audio gear you connect has some level of tolerance to anything on the AC line. If you push the noise under that threshold, you are fine. In my last case it was a Samsung flat screen that had a short blackout any time the Samsung fridge started it's inverter compressor or a certain lamp was switched on. Sure I could have bought a 5000$ mains cleaner, but already spent that money on something else. So a 12 meter run mains cable, a 16A fuse and a 3-way wall outlet was all I used. About 40€.
In most cases it is not some SMPS making problems while running, but only the on/off that causes it. Even the most simple transformer/ rectifier/ capacitor power supply produces noise and returns it into the mains line. So your explanations are interesting, but not really helpful. We can not get around these ugly power supplies, not even with audio, be them SMPS or transformers. You find SMPS even in high end gear today, Blue-ray players, amps etc.
By the way, every fuse is some kind of mains filter, only a small one but it counts...

 

[solderdude]

The audio fuse is on the phase with the least suspicious consumers and serves only a few lamps.

If they are old fashioned filament light bulbs then yes, when some are LED (and cheaper brand) or fluorescent or a dimmer is uses there can be a LOT of RF on the mains.
Arguably little current will be drawn.

Fridge and kitchen stove are on the other lines.

That will help some IF they are on a different phase.

If you have not build your house by your self, you can not be sure how the wall outlets are inter connected to the fuse box. You may have an outlet that is hanging on a string that has various disruptions, in every wall outlet. Any of these connections has some resistance. Modern, spring loaded contacts may work better, but the usual screw type is not 100% perfect with copper over time, loosing pressure. You should know that.

Yep

By using one dedicated, separate cable to the stereo, you can be sure to have no interruption.

In that case you would have to know which outlet is the first in the daisy chain and have tightened the connection screw (when applicable).

If you never experienced the problems daisy chained wall outlets can give you, you are not working in the field. Just changing the wall outlet often cures most mysterious problems with smart TV and audio.
A quick test is to hook it up with an extension cord. If that helps, a separation of power lines will make sense.

Or there is a groundloop ... When you really want to find out you would have to plug the extension cord in all of the outlets and maybe find out where the gremlins came from.
Sometimes, certainly when working in the field (which used test equipment for outlets) it pays to find out where there is something wrong instead of bypassing a possible issue.

Of course this is no HF clean up, but any audio gear you connect has some level of tolerance to anything on the AC line.

Yep, they should be. Unfortunately when one has worked with lots of AV gear one also knows when gear is interconnected and each of them has their own leakage currents and its equalization paths, more often than not through safety ground or audio ground that still can cause hum or other sounds despite the equipment (when tested stand-alone) meeting all EMC and safety criteria. Especially when doing elaborate AV systems.

If you push the noise under that threshold, you are fine.

Yep, but it matters where and how much one has to push.
Fortunately I am amazed how often this works well when just connecting gear (no audible but possibly measurable nasties) despite the usage of non balanced connections.

In my last case it was a Samsung flat screen that had a short blackout any time the Samsung fridge started it's inverter compressor or a certain lamp was switched on. Sure I could have bought a 5000$ mains cleaner, but already spent that money on something else. So a 12 meter run mains cable, a 16A fuse and a 3-way wall outlet was all I used. About 40€.

It pays to find out what the cause is/was. The solution (IMHO) in such a case is not to just run a cable from another outlet but find out what is the cause.
Of course a mains cleaner is not needed here nor a regenerator. Those might help when one has very dodgy mains (for whatever reason) though.
Does not need to be audiophile either.

In most cases it is not some SMPS making problems while running, but only the on/off that causes it. Even the most simple transformer/ rectifier/ capacitor power supply produces noise and returns it into the mains line. So your explanations are interesting, but not really helpful. We can not get around these ugly power supplies, not even with audio, be them SMPS or transformers. You find SMPS even in high end gear today, Blue-ray players, amps etc.
By the way, every fuse is some kind of mains filter, only a small one but it counts...

I would not qualify a fuse as 'some kind of mains filter'.
With SMPS leakage currents are much more of a problem than the RF they produce. Especially if these SMPS have to comply to standards for RF emission and are class II.
I am sure you already know this though.

 

[JaapD]

Also SMPS operate in the order of 200 kHz and above, with harmonics even higher. All way outside the audio band.
Apart from this, the good stuff apply to CE and similar regulations w.r.t. mains filtering.

Cheers!