5 ms·
It's almost as if there's a middle ground to be had somewhere. There are definitely things which can perceptually detract from audio which people just don't th
by kakarot 8y ago
It's almost as if there's a middle ground to be had somewhere.
There are definitely things which can perceptually detract from audio which people just don't think about.
I'm about to buy a couple power conditioners for my electronics because the wiring in my new apartment is garbage and every little spike in voltage comes through as a loud pop in my speakers and headphones.
But more subtly, my audio is constantly being degraded because I have a few cheap dimmers which cause a constant interference pattern in my electrical circuit that weren't a problem in my last apartments, and I can even hear fluctuations caused by my refrigerator if I listen closely.
And all of these things which can subtly degrade audio are 100x more of an issue when you're recording audio. Run any given song through a spectrogram analyzer and you'll usually see a horizontal line or two which could be anything from a little cable noise to a CRT screen.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 8y agoWow, that is pretty bad wiring. I can hear an audible hum from my subwoofer when my wife runs the vacuum or blow dryer but that’s about it. And those are about the highest pulling appliances you could have in a household and the sub is pretty big with pretty powerful amp.
- petre 8y agoBrushed AC motors degrade power quality, although they're normally equipped with filters.
- kakarot 8y agoRight, similarly to my dimmers that constant gating of power draw as the brushes make and break contact just wreck your AC circuit. Bad wiring and a sub-par setup will make that bleed right through your speakers.
- sundvor 8y agoNot sure why you got downvoted, I've seen crappy electricity in my own home office after I got a UPS for my computer system. It would have its fans kick in regularly to modulate the voltage that came in at a crazy high ~255v (Australia). I got the APC Line-R 1200VA Line Conditioner With AVR installed in front of the UPS and couldn't be happier now - it steps down the voltage and gives the UPS peace of mind. Try the APC, not the most expensive thing but it's worked well for me.
- kakarot 8y agoInstalling a UPS behind the conditioner sounds like a good idea. I have been meaning to get one of those... Thanks for the rec on the APC, I bookmarked it for comparison later. What UPS are you using?
- sundvor 8y agoI am using the CyberPower Value GP LCD 1500VA/900W Line Interactive UPS, but it looks like it's been updated to be named "SOHO" now: https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/UPS/UPS/44933-VALUE1500ELCD https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/UPS/UPS/44933-VALUE1500E... I also have one of their smaller BRICs for my HTPC / home NAS JBOD server: https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/UPS/UPS/40279-BR850ELCD https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/UPS/UPS/40279-BR850ELCD The voltage in that part of the house appears to be better, but the circuit is easily tripped when running toaster + micro or similar, so having these UPSes has taken a lot of frustration away. Actually just checked my invoice and I got them both in 2012, which is a little while ago now, and they're still good with their original batteries.