What A Neat Idea

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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Yes, but clearly the guy that wrote the opening post didn't know what he was looking at. It helps to get a schematic; manuals for the Elgar are readily available. Then there's no mystery about how it works (of misinformation for that matter...).

Just to please our curiosity - what are the basic ideas of how it works?
 

Atmasphere

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There is a large power transformer in the device. It passes power to the output. There are windings on that transformer which power the feedback amplifier power supplies and the other monitoring circuits. There is a low distortion 60Hz oscillator that is syncronously locked to the AC line frequency using a resonant filter. Its output is compared to the actual output; this generates a feedback signal which is applied to the feedback power amplifier. The level of the signal defines how much voltage correction is needed; so the feedback not only corrects for distortion but is also used to buck the power transformer, in this way allowing the device to regulate the AC line as well as achieve low distortion.

If you need me to break it down more let me know.
 

Kingrex

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Hi @Kingrex. I'm trying to learn more about the influence of power on my hifi so thanks for this thread. Unfortunately I'm not located in Australia where we're using 240V. Can you explain why the transformer in my Taiko Extreme hums when plugged to wall AC even via a line conditioner but not when plugged into my battery/AC inverter with everything else unchanged? I don't have dedicated lines so am trying the battery/AC inverter option but am aware that it has some noise issue of its own.
Did you stop the hum yet. What worked?
 

Amir

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So- something mysterious exists on the AC line that can't be filtered out??

The best power conditioner made that I've ever seen was made by Elgar. It could regulate line voltage and deliver a sine wave with less than 0.5%THD (in AC lines its the 5th harmonic that is the most troublesome). It could do this without limiting current and their larger ones had current capacity of about 28 Amps @ 117 Volts. These are large units designed for 24/7 operation in commercial/industrial applications.

The 5th harmonic can affect power transformer efficiency (and can cause them to become noisy). But if the power supply is regulated, an efficiency loss in the transformer isn't going to do anything.

I have no idea about Elgar AC power conditioner but I think the highly regulated sinewave line voltage with low THD does not necessary mean good sound. you know industry produced high feedback high power soildstate amplifiers with low THD but the sound never was good. for example the Mark Levinson 33 amplifier is ideal voltage source low THD but ML 33 never sounded as good as low feedback amplifiers like Lamm/dartzeel/Vitus/CH .
the problem of most AC filters is not only current limit and even most high current AC filters are not good. you know parallel AC filters do not limit currents but their sound is not good.

I have paid for many Isolation transformers, AC line filters (both series and parallel) , AC regenerators, voltage stabilizers and ...
the only right way to me is AC regeneration , (Kevin owner/designer of Living voice also use AC Regenerators).
if you have a full range (extended low bass) and very dynamic system then the result of line filters is:
decreasing dynamics for cleaner sound. I do not like to trade off dynamics for more clean sound and i prefer to find a better way.

two ac filters that i did not test are Ayre L-5xe and Lessloss 640x filter and i would like to test those filters before my AC regenerators.

the AC problem is the biggest challenge to me.

I hope a good company like CH Precision produce a 30KVA AC Regenerators for Audio Systems.
 
Last edited:

Kingrex

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Filters is a totally different conversation from wall power and setting wall power up correct. And if your wall power is correct, most filters will perform as intended by the designer.
 

Atmasphere

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I have no idea about Elgar AC power conditioner but I think the highly regulated sinewave line voltage with low THD does not necessary mean good sound. you know industry produced high feedback high power soildstate amplifiers with low THD but the sound never was good. for example the Mark Levinson 33 amplifier is ideal voltage source low THD but ML 33 never sounded as good as low feedback amplifiers like Lamm/dartzeel/Vitus/CH .
the problem of most AC filters is not only current limit and even most high current AC filters are not good. you know parallel AC filters do not limit currents but their sound is not good.

I have paid for many Isolation transformers, AC line filters (both series and parallel) , AC regenerators, voltage stabilizers and ...
the only right way to me is AC regeneration , (Kevin owner/designer of Living voice also use AC Regenerators).
if you have a full range (extended low bass) and very dynamic system then the result of line filters is:
decreasing dynamics for cleaner sound. I do not like to trade off dynamics for more clean sound and i prefer to find a better way.

two ac filters that i did not test are Ayre L-5xe and Lessloss 640x filter and i would like to test those filters before my AC regenerators.

the AC problem is the biggest challenge to me.

I hope a good company like CH Precision produce a 30KVA AC Regenerators for Audio Systems.
The reason 'high feedback' amps didn't sound that good is they didn't have enough Gain Bandwidth Product to support the feedback and so didn't have as much feedback at high frequencies as you may have thought. Feedback is usually applied to a non-linear node such as a tube or transistor and so gets distorted before it can even do its job. So it adds distortion of its own as a result. The solution is to add even more feedback but this is really difficult with conventional solid state and impossible with tubes because of the excess poles in the design with both technologies.

If you have decreasing feedback with frequency the amp isn't going to sound very good. Amps with little or no feedback may well sound better. But if you have enough GBP and you have enough feedback you can get around that problem.

There is no way you can make an argument that anything other than a pure sine wave will work better when it comes to AC power. Since you 'have no idea about Elgar AC power conditioner' I recommend you get one, get it refurbished and try it out prior to making pronouncements. They outperform all the 'high end audio' power conditioners I've seen with the possible exception of the latest PSAudios; I've used both but not compared.
 

heebrog

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Kingrex

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Feb 3, 2019
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Unfortunately not yet.
I have x3 standard rotary dimmer switches in my house but rarely use them. Not sure if they can affect things even if the lights connected to them are switched off as they always are when I am listening to music.
I tried a DC blocker from here (https://www.atlhifi.com/shop/fully-assembled-devices/dc-blocker-trap-filter-assembled-in-case/) and they didn't make any difference.

I reached out to Taiko twice as I have a few customers with their product. They blew me off. No response. Your going to have to work directly with them. Unfortunatly they may tell you their is nothing wrong with the unit. Especially if it works on an inverter. Of course, inverters put out as much 3rd and 5th noise as I see from the street. But there could be other noise a scope is not catching.

The dimmers are not doing anything if they are off. But throw them out anyways. Why does someone with a $100k in audio have $5 dimmers. Get the Lutron Maestro.

Get rid of any florescent lights.

You can also put your modem and router on an isolation transformer. They will sound better anyways. Use an isolator on the coax from the data utility. Try an optical isolator on the ethernet. I doubt its a ground loop. That is not ground issue noise.

Try lifting the ground.

Try a better filter on the Taiko. Put an AQ or Totus in front of it. Maybe a PS audio unit.

Bother Taiko. Get on the thread and ask. Matbe someone else has had the same issue. Maybe it will cause Taiko to investigate their power supply. They might be so focused on clean for audio they forgot about grunge from the wall.

If your plugging everything from your stereo into one circuit, you have very dirty source power to everything. If its a 12 awg wire feeding everything, you have very dirty and possible low voltage issues.

Unplug all audio from the wall accept the Taiko. Leave all cabling attaching equipment to each other attached. Does it hum. Disconnect all cables from the Taiko and everthing else with its cord removed from the wall. Does it hum.

If either of these stop the hum. Reasemble or power on 1 by 1 till the offending item is discovered.
 
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Atmasphere

Industry Expert
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Unfortunately not yet.
I have x3 standard rotary dimmer switches in my house but rarely use them. Not sure if they can affect things even if the lights connected to them are switched off as they always are when I am listening to music.
I tried a DC blocker from here (https://www.atlhifi.com/shop/fully-assembled-devices/dc-blocker-trap-filter-assembled-in-case/) and they didn't make any difference.
Try a different server if you can- see if it does the same thing, or if you can find a preamp or amplifier with a similar sized toroid transformer you can just plug that in (if your existing power amps don't have toroids) and see what's up.

Power transformers off-the-shelf are often too noisy for home audio. Many manufacturers spec custom power transformers and dead silence under load (usually at 50Hz since that means it will also be silent on 60Hz) for that simple reason.

If other products with similar size toroids are able to be silent off of the same line then I'd consider returning the unit for repair.
 
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