Balanced Mains - first impressions very favourable

[worrasf]

First off my sincere thanks to Mark (Reid Malenfant) for his invaluable help earlier today

So I've installed a balanced mains supply (BMS) in my dedicated mains supply I bought this one (http://www.airlinktransformers.com/t...wer-supply.asp) with screw terminals as I wanted to put it in the loft where there was (relatively) easy access to the mains cables and any transformer noise would be inaudible. As the power was off I took the opportunity to clean all relevant contacts both mains and interconnects with Deoxit.

To be honest I didn't really know what to expect there was a bit of "it just seemed a good idea" but I have immediately noticed a huge improvement.

There is a big increase in dynamic range - particularly noticeable in lower bass extension but also definitely audible in the high frequency range. Within this extended range the dynamics (PRaT) are significantly improved (faster & sharper).

Stereo imagery and focus is tighter - I didn't notice any difference in the 3D presentation - instruments and voices were not pushed forward or back - they just seemed to be placed more solidly in space. The inter-track silence on CD is "black" as it seems the noise floor has dropped. It is as if the system is somehow now less constrained and not working as hard.

The effect was noticeable on both CD and vinyl but the most dramatic improvement was with vinyl. I think there is a little less hum from the amps but it's not a huge improvement in this area.

So a "night and day" difference and thats in a system plugged into a dedicated mains not on the "mucky" domestic ring main.

The unit I chose wasn't a straight forward "plug and play" (although the manufacturer makes these also where you just plug the mains lead into your wall socket) and I ended up having to disconnect and remove the mains earth wire from the back of the wall socket to get the mains to balance (thanks Mark) so it took a few hours to get it right but I am very pleased with the result.

It's a big lump and weighs in at 18Kg and is butt ugly but at the price (£304.80 inc VAT and delivery) IMHO is a very cost effective way of significantly improving system performance.



Steve

[Reid Malenfant]

Glad to have helped Steve, but there is a way of doing it cheaper If you had got in touch first i reckon you could have had a 4.4KVA continuous (6.6KVA for 30 minutes) setup with just a little work for about £100 delivered Maybe a few bits on top that would have added maybe £20 at the most.

It's early days, but i reckon you'll soon notice that there are other differences. Balanced mains due to it's nature cancels out certain forms of distortion that can afflict the supply. You have already noticed an improvement in the lowering of the noise floor which i would expect...

Lets see what you reckon in a month as i have a feeling you'll find other benefits

ATB chap

[worrasf]

If you had got in touch first i reckon you could have had a 4.4KVA continuous (6.6KVA for 30 minutes) setup with just a little work for about £100 delivered Maybe a few bits on top that would have added maybe £20 at the most.

Aaagh

Steve

[Reid Malenfant]

Indeed, but if you had searched this forum you'd have seen me purchasing two 3.3KVA 'site transformers' that are used to convert 240V to 120V balanced about an earth... A little modification made them do 240V balanced between the pair of them

[Glen B]

To be honest I didn't really know what to expect there was a bit of "it just seemed a good idea" but I have immediately noticed a huge improvement.

There is a big increase in dynamic range - particularly noticeable in lower bass extension but also definitely audible in the high frequency range. Within this extended range the dynamics (PRaT) are significantly improved (faster & sharper).

Stereo imagery and focus is tighter - I didn't notice any difference in the 3D presentation - instruments and voices were not pushed forward or back - they just seemed to be placed more solidly in space. The inter-track silence on CD is "black" as it seems the noise floor has dropped. It is as if the system is somehow now less constrained and not working as hard.

I have been using balanced power for the past 7 years. Your experience mirrors mine almost 100 percent.

[Tarzan]

Err, what is balanced power?

[Glen B]

Balanced power is a form of "power conditioning" that employs balanced isolation transformers to reduce AC mains common-mode noise. The majority of users report benefits similar to those described above. See the following links, which explain all about balanced power.

http://www.equitech.com/articles/bpng.html

http://www.equitech.com/articles/overview.html

http://www.equitech.com/articles/origin.html

[Reid Malenfant]

Only difference is in the UK it'd be 120V AC on each live line rather than 60V AC

Nice find Glen, saved me a load of typing

[Tarzan]

Thanks chaps, sounds interesting.

[worrasf]

I have been using balanced power for the past 7 years. Your experience mirrors mine almost 100 percent.

Always good to have independent confirmation of my findings

I am staggered by how much improvement the balanced mains has brought to the sound of my system. I find myself wondering why this remains a little known "secret tweak" and not on the main stream audio upgrade path

Steve