Audiolab DC Block Direct Current Blocker Mains Conditioner (Black)

Product Information

Calling it a "power strip" would not do it justice. According to the manufacturer, Chord Company's Master M6 and Studio S6 power distribution units, called PowerHAUS, can do much more than ordinary or even high-quality power strips. However, DC on the mains will definitely affect a transformers performance and it will, in many cases cause a transformer to hum or vibrate. A real phenomenon and a real factor in the ability of a transformer to operate to optimum capability - which is important in audio systems. The Polish brand Ferrum launches the "Power Splitter", a matching accessory for the external power supply Hypsos, with which it is supposd to power two devices simultaneously. Will it audibly affect your particular speakers? I am not saying, so at all. But it’s easy to test. And in even shorter summary - that’s why I’ll be inclined to try one in my system to see if it can help improve performance.

Admittedly, it's quite a basic circuit to filter it and I've obviously never auditioned this audiolab unit but if your transformer is affected by DC, which it almost certainly will be if you have a fridge, washing machine and dish washer on your home mains, and if this circuit is correct (which I'm sure it would be), it's not snake oil to suggest that it would work. It's physics. The new power conditioning accessory "Sparkz TC3" from Ansuz Acoustics is designed to reduce noise in the power supply chain thanks to various technologies, and thus improve the sound of hi-fi components. The actual problem is not that everything should be designed as optimal as possible. It should be designed good enough. You often do not need super low noise regulators, you often do not need the lowest possible ESR caps. They are all design choices made by requirements, availability of parts and price.I’m replying out of courtesy to explain with rationality and fact, rather than try and convince. I think a lot of people would also make the same assumption so please don’t take offence but I think youre missing the point of a DC filter and what it actually (not supposedly) does. Wiring, PCB design often are far from optimal. But lets face it. Only very few people are really bothered by ground loops and they all can be solved by finding the loop(s) and breaking it/them. Many many years ago. I replaced my cheap bell wire with a QED79 cable. Connected it up to my Pioneer SA608 and Kef Celeste III speakers. Didn't hear a difference.

Would such a circuit affect ambient noise in your room? - absolutely not, unless your transformer is humming and you can hear it! A DC filter would stop that, for sure. I/O's are not decoupled so in almost any ofthe designs I have scrutinized, interconnects shield noise is landed right on to the PCB instead of grounded to chassis. The stray infects the so delicate 0 volt ref voltage to numerous IC's including the DAC chip. Do not take just my word for it, it is a friend of mine, studio technician, Master of Science educated, at least 40 years in the profession, who rebuild DAC's like dCS, but also cheaper versions like Topping D90SE, who claims that ground ref is is a design flaw in it self as are many other areas. The ground is then also challanged by the standard procedure of soldering e.g. pin1 but also shields in USB's, I2S UI, etc in the PCB. The PCB ground should not be used to land noise from cable shield in my opinion. So when decoupling, you should be able to trust the ground you decouple to., but you cannot. One thing so often overlooked is the use of filter and buffert electrolythic caps. They are in the analogue domain often soldered i pairs from the positive and negative to the ground, instaed of caring for the ground by having one twice the size directly between positive and negative only. The filter caps for purely decoupling is wired equally. Why? Some brands use local regulators some do not. In my opinion all voltage regulators should of top class with a few microvolts ripple if any, and locally, with a large buffer, zobel and decoupling almost at the same pin as it is designed to feed. Hifi grade el caps is a myth. The modern 105 degree offers in general better life expectancy and radically lowered internal losses for decoupling. While studying various designs I stumbled across a TEAC DAC, that I personally found interesting as it took a grip of the dirty USB cable shield. It lands the USB port at separate pcb, hard coupled to chassis by a screw and just millimeters from the port, minimizing the lead reactans, the entire PCB is grounded to chassis. This is an example of a good design. Others in that DAC could be questioned in my opinion. Could not see, e.g. any signs of a grounded lead out from an electrostatic shield in the transformers. Mains electricity has a fundamental influence on the audio signal as it passes through a system, from source to amp to speakers. The mains supply in a typical dwelling is subject to interference induced by a range of issues, causing the AC waveform to distort before it reaches each component and can create noise in the audio signal. This can degrade sound quality.Second, it reduces the potential problem of popping or thumping when you turn on the power amp. If nothing is coming out of your preamp or other upstream device, such pops won't be too bad, but if said upsteam device has a DC offset, big pop/thump. Additionally, this dual-action device is said to boast a high-performance audio class filtering circuit that removes RFI/EMI contaminants from the mains supply. We are informed that this reduces both differential-mode noise (exacerbated by cheap switch-mode power supplies used by many home appliances) and common-mode noise (aggravated by airborne interference from phones, Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth).