The true experimental tweak thread

[Speedskater]

21 hours ago, Forehaven said:

Cornan,  i’ve taken my transformer apart this morning to disconnect the secondary ground. However, the neutral became unplugged. The black wire. I’m not sure if it goes in the 10X or 11X next spot. Can you tell me which option the black wire goes back into the block?

Without hunting thru countless posts:

a] Brand and model of transformer?

b] Input voltage, 240V or 120V ?

c] Output voltage, 240V or 120V, balanced 60/60V ?

 

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A safe way of testing power transformer hookups is:

You need a DMM meter with a 20V AC scale. Go to a used stuff store and get an old 10 to 18V AC wall wart. (the wall wart and the meter scale must both be AC)

Use the wall wart as the input voltage and the output voltage will be about 10% of normal voltage.

[Speedskater]

17 hours ago, TubeMan said:

 

What it boils down to, is this: XLRs are balanced (3 pin) and RCAs are unbalanced (1 pin).

For analog cable systems:

a] Balanced XLR connectors have 3 terminals. High, low & Shield.

b] Unbalanced RCA connectors have 2 terminals. High & Low/Shield. (center pin & shell)

It's all about the system and the connectors. As several different types of cable can be used in each of the systems.

 

Not that both XLR and RCA connectors are often repurposed.

[Speedskater]

On 11/11/2017 at 1:04 PM, Cornan said:

 

@Speedskater 

What is your personal opinion of a starquad XLR cable with 6 conductors plus JSSG? This means 2 hot, 2 low and 2 GND plus 2 floating shields with a JSSG loop attached at all 4 shield ends (not connected to the pins). ?

High & low in one floating shield and GND in a separate floating shield.

As a balanced analog interconnect cable?

That would be a poor choice for a cable.

Why?

a] StarQuad is only useful in harsh electrical interference situations (like near theatrical lighting systems).

b] There is no ground wire (or ground for that matter) in a balanced interconnect system. A cable like that would have high Shield Current Induced Noise.

 

If the cable is for some other purpose, then balanced interconnect rules don't apply.

 

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For balanced interconnects, stick with a Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) from a major bulk cable manufacturer.

[Speedskater]

On 11/15/2017 at 2:45 PM, Speed Racer said:

Is that good? How does it compare to linear power supplies you like?

Any well designed hi-fi component should have a Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR) of 60dB or much more, so it won't need a perfect DC supply. And what is important is the noise at the hi-fi circuit, not at the supply output.

[Speedskater]

6 hours ago, BigGuy said:

With regard to DIY starquad construction, what might be the electrical effect of a loose (3-4 twists/foot) vs a tight (10-12+ twists/foot)...i.e., is one theoretically better than the other?

Theoretically 12 twists works to a higher frequency.  But in the real world there are so many overriding factors that it just doesn't matter. 

[Speedskater]

33 minutes ago, RickyV said:

Do not use one IT for all components but one for every component. A specially those smps.

I would rather use one large IT wired as a Separately Derived System for the entire audio equipment set-up. Not much if any advantage to a group of small IT's.

[Speedskater]

1 hour ago, Cornan said:

My question is if the specific safety ground connection and balanced construction actually could improve the power over head?

I doubt it.

But your system may draw less power than you think and the transformer may have a very conservative rating.