Combining Mains Treatments

[theriskdude]

I have read a lot on AoS about the different methods of dealing with problems caused by the mains supply. I see people talking about replacement mains cables & components, mains regenerators, mains filters, isolating transformers, elaborate earthing arrangements, dedicated mains spurs etc

So, I was wondering if (as most of these improvements are, one assumes developed as standalone products), then does it make any sense to combine their use ? It makes sense to employ good quality components throughout, but if you can improve the mains supply closer to it's source, then would provide any further benefit by adding more mains improvement products further up the chain ?

For example if you had (say) an isolating transformer, would there then be any benefit to adding a mains conditioner ? Furthermore, would there then be any benefit in adding aftermarket mains cables with additional filtering built in ? Is there any benefit to multiple filters if you suppressed or isolated noise closer to the source ?

I'm just curious

Mike

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Mike, that's a lot of questions

Just to give you a bit of perspective I'll tell you how I happen to be doing things here. I run a PS Audio PPP (Power Plant Premier) to power all my front end kit, of which there is quite a bit as it's an AV system, not just stereo.

Quite a lot of the kit is powered by SMPS (switch mode power supply) & rather than subject all the non SMPS based kit to noise from the mains that these types of supply generally shove back down the line, I feed the output of the PPP to a pair of Belkin PF40 mains conditioners.

As the Belkins have separate outputs with individual filters it is fairly easy to isolate the SMPS type equipment from those using a standard linear supply.


The end result is the PPP has a lower output impedance that the original mains feeding it, which is then fed to the filters which prevent any of the kit interfering with each other via the mains


It works very well indeed

[Chops]

Hi Mike

Fully agree with what Mark has said.

I started with a dedicated spur including earth spike in the garden. Did this quite a long time ago with a lesser system but I remember it gave a worthwhile improvement over connection to ring main.

Then I added balanced main via a 5kva transformer from Airlink. Not a nig and day improvement but then tis hard to AB this change.

Recently added a Belkin PF30 (small version of Mark's PF40) and this made a very significant improvement for a very modest (£65 s/h) outlay. More detail, more natural, tighter bass etc. I worked on the same principle as Mark in ting to isolate each piece of equipment, although I've only a few. I left the power amp plugged into the wall and pre, DAC and Squeezebox Touch are all fed via the Belkin.

I would imagine than all the above are cumulative, so that the balanced mains is still providing significant improvement.

One question for Mark. Are all the sockets on the PF30 individually isolated? I wondered whether the three groups (hi current, video and audio) were only isolated from each other but the constituent sockets shared the filter their respective filters.

Cheers...Chris

[Reid Malenfant]

One question for Mark. Are all the sockets on the PF30 individually isolated? I wondered whether the three groups (hi current, video and audio) were only isolated from each other but the constituent sockets shared the filter their respective filters.

Cheers...Chris

You have three groups as you stated. The two sockets that are on the "video" will be connected together, as will the "audio" sockets. However they'll all have separate filters including the high current socket.

The thing to do is run all the noisy stuff like SMPS on the video sockets as these will probably have more filtration & prevent noise from being injected back into the mains & interfere with the linear PSUs on the audio sockets.

You might need to try things out if you aren't sure what kind of power supply each bit of kit uses.

For instance, my Oppo BDP95 universal player happens to have both an SMPS & a linear supply


So you might need to try different things out to get the best out of your system.

[synsei]

Just as a matter of interest Mark: I have got the Caiman's SMPS plugged into one of the video power sockets on my PF30, is that fine or should it be in one of the audio sockets?

DUH Must have missed the middle bit of your post. Gettin' tired...

[Reid Malenfant]

Probably better in one of the video sockets Dave, they have better filtration. While that may well restrict current draw, it really isn't a problem with something like the Caiman, as it draws next to nothing.

However, that filtration will help prevent any noise injection from the Caiman SMPS getting back into the other mains outlets.

Best place for it imho