My system for the most part checked all the boxes. But just when you thought you were done and couldn’t wring out anything more without changing speakers, components or cables, it happens.
So my good friend KingRex, the forum instigator, installed a new Square D sub-panel early March 2020. The panels new location is still in the gym, but located 20’ now on the other side of room adjacent to the music room wall, a much straighter and shorter path, the branch circuit runs are now 12’ to my systems center. The new external sub panel is fed 4 AWG copper for power and grounding from the main panel, a step forward from the previous panel which ran aluminum.
This gave me the opportunity to tri-section the existing 45’ (down, over, up) Furutech FP S55N cable from the previous sub-panel, reterminate the OFC cable in all spades connected to additional Furutech GTX NCF R and G receptacles with plates and covers.
The new circuits allowed me now to plug the monos direct, and to group the phono and preamp, separate the DAC and server, and still run a separate circuit supporting the digital front ends foundation.
Now adding more sweetness:
From a tip by friends, I researched a company Environmental Potentials, and one of their products is the EP2050 waveform filter and surge protector - it’s 3” diameter case mounts onto the service panel.
The processes of rectifying AC to DC, and inverting DC to AC, are responsible for generating 85% of power pollution. This pollution equals losses, unreliable performance, decreased asset lifespans, malfunctions, increased maintenance, and downtime. The 2050 installed on a 30 amp breaker converts pollution into heat within the unit rather than relying on ground, other system conductors, or even loads to provide the required attenuation. This eliminates harmful and unusable energy from your system and home.
King Rex and I installed 2050s in the main, and both sub panels, you supposedly only need one but they appear to be cumulative in performance.
Now here is were it gets crazy with the 2050s.
My amps are running cooler and louder. Prior they would hit 92 degrees reported from a hanging thermostat in under a couple of hours, it’s not a laser reading but does illustrate the ranges. They now run at 85 degrees after 6/8 hours of play they will approach 87/89 degrees - this means to me a gain in operating efficiency and when electronics run cooler, they are happy [emoji2]
New listening levels; How do you know your doing things right and the sound is not playing tricks on you and all the jargon above is subjective? When you achieve louder volumes at lower settings. I am getting sound just over the bottom of D’Agostino’s analog meter, prior it was closer to 25% proving efficiency - the EP 2050s was a big contributor to this.
Further we march;
Last week, I decided to relocate the LPS, modem and switch from the mechanical room and relocate this closer to the new audio room and make use of the new panel. I used the open receptacle that hosts ADD POWRs WIZARD for distribution in support of the movement of the digital foundation - this turned out to be another benefit.
Prior the modem and separate router located in the mechanical room adjacent to the gym had AudioQuest Diamond in and out to the AQVOX SE Switch that hosted a 45’ run of RJ45 Belkin cable made by Ghent (great value and quality) to the etherREGEN then AQ Diamond to Gigafoil, then a AQ Diamond to the Aurender - it still sounded good in comparison to many other systems, but going back and revisiting the theory of, “less can be more”, it was easily proved!
The 45’ span of coaxial allowed me to take out the AQVox SE feeding the etherREGEN and repurpose the AQVox SE and the 45’ of Belkin into the homes main network, another gain.
With a shorter RJ45 path allowing now use of one switch, the etherREGEN was chosen over the AQVox SE and plumbed with Audioquest Diamond RJ45s before and after the switch - it has made it getting off the couch embarrassing when people start to come over again.
Results:
Conditioners, regenerators, transformers all may have their place, but not at the sacrifice of sound.
Starting with the basics is the electrical foundation, arguably one of the least expensive things you can do in audio, and the further you get to the panel, the better - it will make more of your system... after all electricity is what you here.
Blending in the EP2050 and restructuring the modem and switch path with the new panel all was cumulative to what I’m hearing and it can all be conducted in parts, so no stress.
Right now the amps have a King Kong grip on the speakers, it is very clear to hear deeper, tighter bass, a more pronounced mid-range that images voice and instruments with clear articulation of dynamics embraced with believable timbre, the top-end end blends effortlessly into the overall sound with not running bright or warm, it really is amazing what noise hides in a system.
The system has so much more controlled punch and vigor bringing out the best in music recordings. The sound has opened up revealing more detail, timbre and firm drive. It really has changed so much for the better, I can easily argue I overhauled the entire system. While I should have done this at the onset can be argued as a hindsight statement, you live and learn. This system has taken just shy of 4 years to accomplish, and while there a still a few things I could do, I’m ecstatic!
I hope this helps others think about their system and not to settle as I believe by not addressing the basics, the ones you can’t see, (think jewelry and bling), you are leaving a lot of sound locked into your system that it is totally capable of producing, dollars be damned!
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