Thanks for the quick reply, Arnie. Interesting. When going from PLC boxes to isolation transformer, what would you say was the biggest benefit to SQ, i.e., what do you get with the transformer that you don't get with the PLCs? Do you use any PLC since adding in the transformer?
Thx!
Hi Allen,
I would say the following are the improvements that are easy to hear:
1. The overall noise floor of your system is lowered - especially since you are able to take advantage of your amplifiers being powered as well as by the isolation transformer.
2. The second thing that I noticed was a much greater sense of ease to the sound - much more effortless than using any of the PLC boxes that I tried.
3. The dynamics of your system are more explosive - again, if you size the isolation transformer correctly to suit your needs, there is never any constraint to the sound.
4. The overall sound is harmonically richer than with most of the PLC's that I tried - especially in the upper mid range and treble frequencies. The one PLC that I tried that did not thin the sound was the Shunyata - but it added a coloration to the sound ( I referred to it as a "carmelized coloring" ) and this greatly took away from the transparency of the sound of my system which I did not like at all.
I have since tried only 1 PLC boxes for my front end only - The Audio Excellence power wing (which was the best PLC box that I have tried before I installed my transformer) and I immediately could hear the thinning/hardening of the upper mids and treble frequencies compared to going straight to the wall plugs powered by the isolation transformer. Recently however, I have added an Absolare Power Purifier for my front end only which uses Bybee technology inside of it. The improvement was not "night and day" but it was easy enough to hear for me in my system. I then tried to use multiple Absolare Purifiers for my VTL Siegfried amps (one for each amp). That was not successful as I could immediately hear a reduction in dynamics in my sound so my amps remain plugged directly into my wall.
Please keep in mind that the electrical power design for my audio system goes beyond the very high quality isolation transformer that I use. The design was done to minimize as much as possible the effects of noise, EMF and RFI. For example, my dedicated circuit breaker box uses bolted in breakers instead of snap in breakers. All my wiring from the dedicated breaker box to each dedicated outlet consists of 3 individual strands of solid core, 10 gauge copper wiring, manually twisted on 1" centers and run through flexible steel conduit. No wire run is longer than 30 feet - most are 20 feet and under. The outlets that I use are isolated ground outlets. The transformer has a special ground rod which is 2" in diameter, 3/8" thick copper outside with a ceramic center fill. All of this combines as a system to provide very high quality power for my audio system.
Hope that helps
