Cheez's Finding - Sound Improved by Relocating Powerstrip

[cheez]

Like the title said, I was surprised.

My ol powerstrip used to be set on the carpeted floor for my computer and audio gear.

Well I did some research and the engineers say not to do it. no-no I said, OK here I go!

I unplugged all my generic powercords from the powerstrip and moved it in the upper shelf of my wooden cabinet as shown below:



I farted good due to the change of the sound quality.

Things I have noticed after careful audition:

- Music is flowing more freely.
- Music is smiling.
- Increase in detail pop out of the speakers. The instrument note I used to barely hear or faint are now coming in good. You can almost see the note coming in front of the speakers.
- Bass is more stiffened. More accurate bass. Bass amount seems to have lessened slightly.
- Overall, slightly better dynamics and cleaner sound.


The noise didn't seem to improve much. Harshness / edginess hasn't improved much over the previous setup (powerstrip on the ground).

Raising up the powerstrip is very important. Take note guys.

Real power cord and better powerstrip is in order, but can't get them right now as the cord will be ultra-duper expensive. I'm saving up for the external DAC now. This is a great free upgrade for the time being.


YAY YAYYYYYYY

*note: I have unlocked this at the OP's request - he stated he would provide a corroborating source. -Admin DrPizza

[Pacfanweb]

I'd love to know why you shouldn't put a power strip on top of a carpeted floor

[Soundmanred]

Can we just lock this now and save some time?

[cheez]

Mod, thank you for unlocking.

Here is the link to the source that supports this argument:

http://sashome.net/?p=132

Please be sure to read the whole article.


I tried their recommendation with the placement of the power distributor indeed improved my sound as described above.

And when I said "music is happy" I mean that, with my honesty.

[Pacfanweb]

LOL, that article is so full of crap it's not even funny.

The method used was that Lars would first play a piece of a track with one cable and then the same piece (with the same volume settings) with the next level up cable. One could argue that if you hear a piece of music for the second time, you always hear more things, so the more expensive cable has an unfair advantage, but the differences were obvious enough that this was not a real issue.

So much for the test being even remotely scientific or unbiased.

[rbk123]

Now we're talking. Cheez is going hard after AudioTruth and this is an excellent start.

[Number1]

This is another joke thread like the Audiothruth thread. It's just appalling that somebody can post such nonsense. Either move it to OT or lock it up. It has no place in a technical discussion forum.

At least in OT we would not have to be nice to him.

And I wish he would take his scatological references and shove them back up where they belong.

[DrPizza]

I'll leave it up to the Home Theater Mod if they want to move this garbage to OT.

It is really worth it to have your power distributor on a good support. It has to do with vibrations in the cables. The mechanical (resonance) behavior of audio cables plays a major role in the result. When a signal travels through a cable, the electrons “vibrate” and together they will cause the whole cable to resonate (at a micro level). Depending on the length of the cable these resonances are concentrated in a small frequency band but in a high amplitude, or they are wide spread with a lower intensity.

Garbage.

[NutBucket]

When are audiophiles going to do scientific testing? Play single tones and measure the output power across the band. Anything else is subjective and useless.

[JackBurton]

Seriously. The guy is a troll, plain and simple.

[Soundmanred]

troll

[Fardringle]

Originally Posted by NutBucket

When are audiophiles going to do scientific testing? Play single tones and measure the output power across the band. Anything else is subjective and useless.

But actual scientific tests are useless because you can't get an "eargasm" from single tones. And 'properly trained' human ears can hear differences in the music that no electronic device can detect...


edit: To be fair, with the really crappy $5 power strip that Cheez is using in that screenshot, it IS possible that static from the heavy carpet affected the power strip in some way, but then, for a "high end audiophile" like him, using multiple thousand dollar power cords from the power strip to the receiver makes that $5 power strip produce perfect power...

[NutBucket]

And I will say that audio equipment is all about taste anyway. Why else would there be SO many different speakers on the market. If all one was after was "accurate" sound reproduction it isn't THAT hard to build speakers/amps with a flat output characteristics.

Using test equipment may be one way to compare gear but it can in no way determine what will sound "better".

[cheez]

Originally Posted by Fardringle

But actual scientific tests are useless because you can't get an "eargasm" from single tones. And 'properly trained' human ears can hear differences in the music that no electronic device can detect...

That is correct.

edit: To be fair, with the really crappy $5 power strip that Cheez is using in that screenshot, it IS possible that static from the heavy carpet affected the power strip in some way, but then, for a "high end audiophile" like him, using multiple thousand dollar power cords from the power strip to the receiver makes that $5 power strip produce perfect power...

I stole it from my family's home. I think this one is worth $10.

I'm afraid it's not the carpet causing statics, it has to do with placing the power distributor on the ground. You need to keep the cables and powerstrips off the floor. There is another source I found a long way back that mentions this also. (I can give you link if you need it)

And no, the most important part in the system is the power cord right from "wall outlet" to the "power distributor", not so much from power distributor to the audio equipment. You got it backwards ha ha

[JackBurton]

Originally Posted by cheez

That is correct.


I stole it from my family's home. I think this one is worth $10.

I'm afraid it's not the carpet causing statics, it has to do with placing the power distributor on the ground. You need to keep the cables and powerstrips off the floor. There is another source I found a long way back that mentions this also. (I can give you link if you need it)

And no, the most important part in the system is the power cord right from "wall outlet" to the "power distributor", not so much from power distributor to the audio equipment. You got it backwards ha ha

cheez, you may want to keep the power strip on the floor. The reason for that is, your equipment will receive power faster because it is going downhill from the wall outlet. If you make the power go uphill, you get what's called "electrical fatigue" and won't sound as good.

[cheez]

Guys, instead of whining may I suggest you to go try it out for yourself? It's free so there is nothing to worry about. Take 15- 20 minutes of your time and move your powerstrip and place on the support or set it in a shelf like mine. Raise it at least 2 feet or more. Also keep the power cords and other AV cables off the floor. You may need to use tape to keep them in place.

Now you will need some descent audio equipment not some ghetto cheapo $20 speaker from WALMART. For auditioning start off with nearfield listening. It's also helpful if you have a subwoofer as you can tell greater difference overall. If you hear the difference or noticing improvement in the sound then you got yourself a free upgrade! So stop whining... you've got noting to lose. You may experience music flowing more freely and happily with smiles. I am not kidding on this one.


.

[cheez]

Originally Posted by JackBurton

cheez, you may want to keep the power strip on the floor. The reason for that is, your equipment will receive power faster because it is going downhill from the wall outlet. If you make the power go uphill, you get what's called "electrical fatigue" and won't sound as good.

Interesting thought you brought up. Believe it or not, actually I wondered about my mini-mini audio cable ($1200 Angel) going up the hill to my A2 speakers would have any impact on sound delivery due to some sort of gravitational pull and such. But that was just my imagination. It had no impact on sound and I received better sound due to my excellent interconnect. Electricity flow doesn't apply here. What matters however, is the material of the conductor and the insulation layers in the cable that affects the speed of the electricity to travel from one end to the other end of the cable. Very critical.

[A5]

This is so stupid. Every single thing in that article is complete garbage.

[rbk123]

Gravity impacts magnetic fields, so definitely cables going uphill would impact sound. Everyone knows that.

[Fardringle]

Originally Posted by cheez

That is correct.

Of course it isn't. While electronic equipment cannot measure what sounds "good" to someone, electronic measuring equipment CAN measure if there is a difference in the sound, and if there is literally ZERO difference in the sound (which there wouldn't be in this case or with the silly cables that AudioTruth tries to pawn off), then there also is zero difference in what you hear.

I'm afraid it's not the carpet causing statics, it has to do with placing the power distributor on the ground. You need to keep the cables and powerstrips off the floor. There is another source I found a long way back that mentions this also. (I can give you link if you need it)

Mine was already on a wooden shelf since it's more convenient. I moved it to the floor just so I could say that I did. I had my entire family and my neighbors come do an "ear test" and there was no audible difference at all, as of course every sane person already knows.

[JackBurton]

Originally Posted by rbk123

Gravity impacts magnetic fields, so definitely cables going uphill would impact sound. Everyone knows that.

I had the electrician move all my wall outlets to the ceiling so the power can flow downward to my equipment resulting in a MUCH better sound. My vacuum cleaner also cleans better as a result. The downside is that my alarm clocks wakes me up too early now. But that's understandable since the power is flowing so much faster it would just stand to reason it would affect time. It's a small price to pay though for that sweet sound.

[rbk123]

Originally Posted by JackBurton

It's a small price to pay though for that sweet sound.

That's exactly why Cheez's power strip mod works - it's higher up than when he had it on the ground. He's just not bright enough to figure that out yet.

[Pacfanweb]

So are we keeping this thread around for comic relief?

[Paul98]

hahaha, I needed a good laugh this morning

[sdifox]

Originally Posted by Paul98

hahaha, I needed a good laugh this morning

I am not even sure YoYo has been around since he got married