Do Power Cords make a difference on the NHB-18NS Preamp?
- Thread starter manjy
- Start date
they do. not sure why.
i've tried moving my Absolute Fidelity power cord to another source component and putting a generic power cord on my 18NS a number of times, then get reminded that it matters. i think it's just an indication of just how pure it is. and how far into the music that the 18NS takes you.
but only recommend that you try it yourself and see. maybe try it a few times.
i've tried moving my Absolute Fidelity power cord to another source component and putting a generic power cord on my 18NS a number of times, then get reminded that it matters. i think it's just an indication of just how pure it is. and how far into the music that the 18NS takes you.
but only recommend that you try it yourself and see. maybe try it a few times.
if it's a choice between a power cord and MK2 upgrade, then i agree. but no doubt a better power cord can matter.
Hi, I will get a generic power cord and try it over the next few days.
Hi, sending the pre back to Switzerland from my location is a royal PITA and hence I haven't considered it.
Please do try it on your pre and let me know how it goes. Thanks.
my GUESS is that this is related to the grounding thing. a better power cord grounds the chassis and power supply circuit more completely, and it does effect everything. there could also be battery related optimization going on.....calming the charging circuit.
my battery powered CS Port phono is the same way. the power cord matters.
CH = Switzerland (not CH Precision in this case).
The letters CH appearing on Swiss cars and in internet addresses stand for the Latin words Confoederatio Helvetica, meaning Swiss Confederation. Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in Switzerland in 1957.
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I think you are correct. I actually grounded the 18NS power supply case, to a Shunyata ALTAIRA and Denali V2, with great results.
Slightly off topic, but has anyone experimented with changing the umbilical from the battery power supply to the preamp? I heard of good results with a custom cable from a very high end manufacturer (starts with an N), so thought I would see if anyone has gone down that road. One would think the stock umbilical would be of some quality, but Herve and company did ship plain old power cables with the amps and pre (similar to most other manufacturers, but still just shocking to me). Thoughts appreciated.
This won’t make a difference when running on batt power- I will bet. The power supply is disconnected from the preamp when the batt is not charging.
Grounding the PSU does appear to make a difference, because the ground is still connected to AC mains, unless that’s set to floating.
There’s no way the umbilical DC cord will make a difference when running on batt power.
You're likely right, but how does the PreAmp operate when it is not charging if it is disconnected from the preamp at that stage (as I understood from your post)? Doesn't it draw power from the battery to do so? (BTW, I'm listening to it right now and it sounds so freaking good one has to wonder why one would bother with such things ... !!!)
Hi, the battery is inside the preamp.
The external power supply is just there to charge the battery, and it connects the preamp to AC ground (assuming that is the way you have set the jumper inside the preamp).
You can disconnect the power supply completely and the preamp will work (until the battery dies).
Be careful that this approach is not accepted by Dartzeel!!
The following are my previous inquiries about the Dartzeel factory and their answers:
Q1: Battery issue:
1>Whether the main unit is powered on or off, the PSU must be always turned on and cannot be turned off. right?
2>Can I turn off the PSU power while listening to music?
3>When the main unit is fully charged, and the PSU is also turned on, the main unit will keep for about 30 hours(the middle light is orange) .Then automatically turn off (the middle light is red),is this normal?
4>I believe that the new machine I purchased may be stored in the dealer's warehouse for at least 3- 4 years without use. Does this affect the stability and life of the battery? Or I need to ask the dealer to replace me with a new set of batteries.
A1:
1.It is better to always leave the PSU powered ON. Powering PSU off for longer than a single day may damage internal battery if repeated often.
2.This is not necessary to turn the PSU during listening sessions:
a.When batteries are full enough, I mean when the central LED is yellow, special optical communication between the preamp
and the PSU actually lifts all AC connections from AC wall,
exactly the same as if you would power the PSU off.
b. When batteries are empty and need to charged again, the
internal optical communication reactivates internal relays in
order to allow the charge; during charge, the PSU is physically
connected to AC, and the battery is then acting as
powerbuffer during the charge process.
3.This is not easy to say, so the reason why we updated the
firmware version. In this new version, central LED, when preamp
is off, behaves as follows:
a. Central LED is yellow, indicating a charge.
b. When battery is about 75-80% charged, central LED goes
green, for about 1-2 hours.
c. When charge is completed, then the central will completely go
off.Until you will have the new firmware installed, we cannot
make an accurate diagnostic of your battery.
4. When stored for a long time, there is special battery state, called
"SLEEP mode", in which batteries can be stored for a very long time.
Hope this information is helpful to you!!
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