Fancy outlets on the computer side...

[mfaoro]

If you are a skeptic of tweaks like upgraded outlets, then no need to keep reading

 

I have read in many places (including this forum) that upgrading AC outlets on the front end of a system (streamer, amp, etc) can have a positive effect on sound quality.

 

What I haven’t seen discussed is the effect of these outlets on music servers (Roon Nucleus), switches, NAS and other parts of the ‘computer side.’

 

Have any of you tried outlets such as the Furutech NCF, etc on their music servers, etc? If so, to what effect?

 

 

[MetalNuts]

May be u have not read all or used the wrong key word for the search.  I have seen here and there about the power improvement to digital device and the most common is the use of Linear Power Supply.

[sandyk]

3 hours ago, mfaoro said:

I have read in many places (including this forum) that upgrading AC outlets on the front end of a system (streamer, amp, etc) can have a positive effect on sound quality.

 

 See also my post 15835 https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/634/#comments

 

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

3 hours ago, mfaoro said:

I have read in many places (including this forum) that upgrading AC outlets on the front end of a system (streamer, amp, etc) can have a positive effect on sound quality.

 

Its hard to imagine for me that replacing AC outlets alone will have much effect of SQ at any end of the audio system. If there are benefits to be had I suspect you need to look at the bigger picture of AC mains power supply. I installed dedicated shielded lines and did use Furutech plugs, linear power supplies. I think it improved SQ but make no claims that others will have the same experience.

[mfaoro]

Thanks SandyK. Your posts are always so thoughtful and informative. I’m with you on making the whole power chain as high quality as possible. I use Transparent Reference and XL power cords to get from the Outlet and power conditioner to my LPS.

 

AudiophileNeuroscience: Thank you. I have dedicated, larger gauge power lines. All computer gear is connected to Paul Hynes LPS. I have that covered. 

[Speedskater]

Computers have a SMPS.  SMPS's don't much care about the AC power quality.

[mfaoro]

43 minutes ago, Speedskater said:

Computers have a SMPS.  SMPS's don't much care about the AC power quality.

My ‘computer,’ a Roon Nucleus is powered by a linear power supply.

[sandyk]

3 hours ago, Speedskater said:

Computers have a SMPS.  SMPS's don't much care about the AC power quality.

 

It is correct that most Computers have an SMPS. It is also correct that they don't much care about the AC Power quality, as many send a lot of their harmonic related rubbish back into the A.C. mains supply ,which may degrade the performance of signal level devices  connected to the mains supply unless additional mains filtering is used, or a separate mains feed is used.

[gmgraves]

4 hours ago, mfaoro said:

Thanks SandyK. Your posts are always so thoughtful and informative. I’m with you on making the whole power chain as high quality as possible. I use Transparent Reference and XL power cords to get from the Outlet and power conditioner to my LPS.

 

AudiophileNeuroscience: Thank you. I have dedicated, larger gauge power lines. All computer gear is connected to Paul Hynes LPS. I have that covered. 

Question: Have you upgraded your component wiring? How about the wiring from the mains connectors on the back of each of your components to the primary of each component’s power transformer, and how about fuses? Have you replaced the on-board fuses for each component? Have you bypassed them with bits if 12 gauge solid copper wiring? Fuses are a bottle-neck you know. They have resistance and the conductors in fuses are tiny compared to the power cords you are using.

[sandyk]

37 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

, and how about fuses? Have you replaced the on-board fuses for each component? Have you bypassed them with bits if 12 gauge solid copper wiring? Fuses are a bottle-neck you know. They have resistance and the conductors in fuses are tiny compared to the power cords you are using.

Tch ! Tch!

 Please don't jest about things like that. Some reader(s) may try to do this with possibly disastrous results

 

 

[fas42]

Many people - no names, 😉 - have great difficulty with the concept that poorly executed wiring can introduce distortion and noise into a system - they have no trouble accepting that a particular active part, like a transistor, can do this; but somehow everything outside what is called the main circuit of the component is always perfect, and bulletproof, in every respect ... this is indeed, magic thinking ... 😜.

[mfaoro]

Thank you gmgraves, sandyk, fas42

 

No, I have not updated the wiring inside my components. I don’t plan to.

 

Gmgraves, fas42: Are you asserting that improving wiring before the component does not make much difference since the wiring in the component is usually very limited in its capacities. 

[Jeff_N]

I installed a Furutech GTX-D. I don't hear any difference from the old outlet that had been in my pre-war apartment for probably fifty years.

[mfaoro]

31 minutes ago, Jeff_N said:

I installed a Furutech GTX-D. I don't hear any difference from the old outlet that had been in my pre-war apartment for probably fifty years.

Can you describe your system?

[kennyb123]

56 minutes ago, mfaoro said:

Can you describe your system?

That was my reaction too.  I’m most curious about his cabling.  Nice picture of his system in his profile, btw.

[Jeff_N]

Aurender N100C, Yggdrasil, right now I'm using a Yaqin MC-13 S integrated amp but sometimes I swap in a Plinius 9200. Oh and a PurePower regenerator. Speaker wires are Blue Jeans, as are most of the interconnects, except for the USB cable from the Aurender to the Yggster, which is a Cardas.

[Jeff_N]

Forgot the Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers.

[mfaoro]

57 minutes ago, Jeff_N said:

Forgot the Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers.

Those are cool speakers. 

[kennyb123]

16 hours ago, Jeff_N said:

Speaker wires are Blue Jeans, as are most of the interconnects

 

This may point to why you didn't hear any difference between a Furutech GTX-D and a 50+ year old outlet.  Use of power cords at this level would also contribute.

[gmgraves]

On 3/4/2020 at 1:34 PM, sandyk said:

Tch ! Tch!

 Please don't jest about things like that. Some reader(s) may try to do this with possibly disastrous results

 

 

I agree, but I was making a point. The point is that fitting costly mains sockets, upgrading the wall wiring, and fitting expensive  power cables from the wall to the input sockets on the backs of one’s components, is futile if it all narrows down to a tiny filament of fuse wire before the current is even applied to the power transformer’s primary! It’s just common sense. Audiophiles spend thousands on mains cables the size of a baby’s leg, to improve the current flow and quality to their equipment only to have that “improvement” lost at the bottleneck of a line fuse, and the small gauge wiring (by comparison to the mains cable) inside the component itself. 
 

And I trust that my peers here on this forum are smart enough that no one takes me seriously about replacing the component’s fuse with a fuse-sized piece of 12-gauge (or bigger) solid copper wire! But that’s one of the changes that it would take to remove the fuse and internal wiring “bottle necks” in most equipment.

[sandyk]

1 minute ago, gmgraves said:

The point is that fitting costly mains sockets, upgrading the wall wiring, and fitting expensive  power cables from the wall to the input sockets on the backs of one’s components, is futile if it all narrows down to a tiny filament of fuse wire before the current is even applied to the power transformer’s primary

 George

 Clearly you have never had problems with the cheap IEC sockets and plugs used with some gear , where you may even lose mains power to have it return when you forcefully reinsert the IEC 3 pin plug. I replaced an IEC socket for this very reason.

 

Regards

Alex

[gmgraves]

3 minutes ago, sandyk said:

 George

 Clearly you have never had problems with the cheap IEC sockets and plugs used with some gear , where you may even lose mains power to have it return when you forcefully reinsert the IEC 3 pin plug. I replaced an IEC socket for this very reason.

 

Regards

Alex

I’m sure that it does happen, and when it does, that IEC cable needs to be replaced (and I have a large cardboard box full of these cords which could supply that eventuality) but, having inspected a number of these expensive and huge “boutique” mains cords from Furutech and the like, I don’t see how they could prevent this type of intermittent failure. In fact, due to the weight of these types of IEC cords, I would suspect that they would put more strain on their connectors than do ordinary power cords, thus increasing the possibility of the types of failures that you mention above.
I have a friend who uses huge mains cable for his headphone amplifier. Because the cable is so heavy, he had to hot-glue the feet of his headphone amp to his equipment stand or the unsupported weight of the cable will pull the amp off of the shelf!

[gmgraves]

20 hours ago, Jeff_N said:

Aurender N100C, Yggdrasil, right now I'm using a Yaqin MC-13 S integrated amp but sometimes I swap in a Plinius 9200. Oh and a PurePower regenerator. Speaker wires are Blue Jeans, as are most of the interconnects, except for the USB cable from the Aurender to the Yggster, which is a Cardas.

If you can, try replacing the USB cable to the Yiggy with either a coax or a Toslink optical SPDIF cable. I think that you will find that there is a significant sonic improvement over the USB interface.

[Jeff_N]

I did try the SPDIF with a BJC coax cable, but I didn't like the sound as much as the USB, although the difference was so minor I may have been imagining it.

[gmgraves]

On 3/4/2020 at 3:22 PM, mfaoro said:

Thank you gmgraves, sandyk, fas42

 

No, I have not updated the wiring inside my components. I don’t plan to.

 

Gmgraves, fas42: Are you asserting that improving wiring before the component does not make much difference since the wiring in the component is usually very limited in its capacities. 

Essentially, all the mains supply upgrades in the world are negated by the bottlenecks that occur down-stream in the components themselves.