Very clearly explained and excellent practical demonstrations. Thank you very much.

Great video, I've just shared it on my channel, keep up the good work👍

Now I'm glad that I installed a dedicated line for my main system when my house was being built. I have had no problems. Great info.

This was a nice change from so many things you hear, I didn’t disagree with anything you had to say and you made it very understandable. There were some clear points I had not realized from other discussions or thought out clearly, thanks for great explanations!

Thank you Gabster. Very informative video. Much appreciated.

Very informative Gabby, thank you.

Nice to see that you are in Canada👍

Great info. Thanks!

I randomly ran across your video here and want to say thank you Gabby for speaking truth and demonstrating something for me. First of all, looking at the very high-end gear you have in frame I expected to hear the same thing as always: "Oh, you need to buy this $2000 cable or this or that and you need to rewire your place even if you are in an apartment and other junk". Instead you spoke to reality and truth! On top of that you demonstrated! One in particular stood out to me: Power cables. I know that they don't usually make a sizable or detectable difference sonically to the human ear (no such thing as golden ears) as many claim, but you just demonstrated they are important none the less. I have always believed that the power cables that come with the gear, including high-end gear, come with them for a reason and I figured using anything else would void the warranty. Every "audiophile" that has ever said to me that they make a huge sound difference or what have you has NEVER demonstrated that! You just changed my belief in your video here! I'm still correct in stating that the power cables that come with the gear come with it for a reason, but that reason is cost savings to the manufacture! Indeed, power cables won't necessarily make a sonic difference easily detected by ear, but a shielded power cable is far healthier for the gear anyway, whether you hear it or not! Changing out my power cables won't be that easy though as I have four pieces with such cables, (I run separates), so perhaps the best I can do is one at a time. However, the other problem I have is that I use a very good Power Conditioner/surge protector to plug almost everything into and there is not enough room behind it to accommodate the huge terminators (connectors). I rent an apartment and do not have enough outlets to plug everything into the wall directly. (Besides that surge protector has saved me more than once). So I need to figure out how to make shielded power cables work in my system as I am keen on replacing all of them, which I never thought I would hear myself say as I don't believe in the hype about cables generally, but now except power cables, which is not all hype! (Yes, I am going to purchase a tester just to see for myself, which is something I usually do anyway. All it will do is confirm what you just showed).

New subscriber! Thanks for all of the very useful information.

I too noticed that problem several years back, even worse with LED lights. I removed all of them years ago. Even the wifi LEF lights, such as Feit have this issue but to a lessor extent. I utilize Greenwave plugs througout the house and place them on noise circuits such as refrigerator, paper shredders, wifi router, switch and TV compents. I don't place these directly on my audio circuits but by putting these on other noisy circuits, this greatly reduces the noise on my dedicated audio circuits. I will utiluze several audio power conditioners but overal, I am quite please with my results. I also ran a new solid core ground wire to qty-2 8ft copper ground rods, distanced about 18 feet apart and while I do not notice any sound improvements, this seems to have reduced electrical surges but could also be a coincidence. Keep digital sources on one dedicate circuit and analog , amps, etc on a separate circuit has improved my soundstage a bit.

Thanks for the down to earth tips !

As an electrical inspector and hifi enthusiast, I agree with your assessment. I would like to add that you can address these issues, especially if you rent, by using an isolation transformer and a power conditioner with good capacitive filtering. An AC to DC to battery to DC to AC configuration will also achieve similar results. A good quality UPS could achieve that, but I don't know her much noise its internal electronics generate.

Great advice!!

What a wonderful video...!!! I'm subscribing..!!!

Some great advice. Phono MC cartridge output is very low so I alaways made an effort to keep power (shielded) cables away from signal cables.

Thanks for posting this informative video

Excellent low-cost tips for those whose equipment has poor mains noise filtering. A properly designed power supply eliminates all audible noise going to one's gear. All my amps have switching power supplies (Hypex and Topping) and I have lots of dimmers in my home and I have zero audible mains noise.

Nice demo Thanks...

Agree 100% The single biggest and most noticeable difference that I have made to my $25,000 dollar setup, was putting in a dedicated 12awg BX line to my system. It was literally jaw dropping how it made the sound so much bigger, wider and uncluttered.

Beautiful system I love that M10-X

Excellent work my friend. Thank you for the AB testing, great to see what is truth for once

Helpful, thank you

Balanced power is the only way to go. you wouldn't have any of those hum problems with balanced power. It's not cheap to balance power, but well worth it. I design it into every broadcast and or studio project that I design.

I second all the positive comments . Thanks ,I have a verry noisy power line I'll let you know once I have a shielded line.

Great video, and I agree to all your points. I have 5 excellent power cables and they DO sound different(s). One I made one from excellent parts including pure copper Viborg connectors another is my own except the another pair of pure copper connectors and the other 3 were ordered online. I don't have this probe (but will get one soon), but have a question. In your estimation would copper foils wrapped around the switching power diminish these noises you demonstrated or lessen them? New subscriber as of today. Thanks for making and posting the video 🙂

Great Job Thanks Gabster. Dedicated Circuit 'Home 🏃' 😆

Thanks for the info. What and out grounding? :)

A couple of additional thoughts: 1.) This suggestion applies mainly to the USA which typically uses a 120/240 volt 3 wire split phase service (with two _"hot legs")_ on most residences: Go to your breaker box and see which circuits are the noisiest. Try to make sure those _noisy_ circuits are on a different leg of the service from your _sensitive_ ones. 2.) Try clamp-on ferrite cores on your power cords to help cut down on interference - both on your sensitive items as well as your _”noise-making culprits”._ (One notorious one is a plugged in lamp that turns on/off/dims by *touching* it. Those usually use a *triac* to switch the light, which is also the same technology inside most dimmers.) 3.) Consider some higher current ferrites on the branch circuit wires inside your breaker panel. The power cord ferrites are definitely within the realm of a DIYer. The other two are within the skillset of *MANY* DIYers, but if in doubt, call an electrician.

Best I know: taking out the whole trafo section and use DC from Solar Battery to run the amp and sources. This is pretty amazing and brum free. But you need to solder and rebuild a very expensive system 😊 And it is green power hooray...

Do mains powered smart bulbs with dimming like Philips Hue also have lots of noise when being dimmed?

Incredibly helpful!! I had recently finally upgraded the cable modem and wifi router in my home, (seriously old stuff) and noticed the Switch Mode Power Supplies they came with were TINY compared to previous (normal wall wort). I can't prove it, but I -swear- that I hear a constant like 10khz whistle thru my system (most everything 'streams' thru a Chromecast Ultra puck; also a SMPS). I think I'll get one of the probes and test to see if the various SMPS are adding a lot of hash and EMI/RFI to the router, modem, and streaming puck.

I had an experience that opened my eyes to the influence of mains power supplies. My Naim power amplifier started humming and buzzing on one channel; I took it for service but it wouldn't fault on the test bench. Through a combination of luck and logic I eventually discovered the noise was being caused by a faulty laptop mains adapter (similar to the one highlighted in your video) in the room next door; unplugged the laptop - stereo fine. Plug it back in; buzzing and hum returned. This was a very obvious condition but it does make me wonder how much things are affected on a "subliminal" or consciously imperceptible lower level? Also I live in a semi-rural area in the UK and I suspect the quality of my mains supply is very poor; lights sometimes dim erratically (seems to be heavily impacted by the weather - worse in storms and cold) and transformers in my stereo, radio alarm etc. tend to buzz mechanically. Great video; plenty of food for thought - including the fact that dirty mains and general electro-magnetic radiation has a very negative impact on our general health and well-being as well as the quality of our hi-fi sound! Thank you

I just realized myself what good clean power delivery could do to a very good hifi system. I bought a expensive power conditioner and changed my Cables to very good shielded Power cabes. It was mind blowing, i never ever would have thought that power delivery would make such a huge impact in sound performance. I have the same hi end system for years now, but when i changed the power delivery for the first time i heard the real performance of what my system was able to... I then changed also the remaining power cables of my system i was totaly convinced👍🏻

Ceiling Fan speed switches are equally culpable...Thanks for the great video!

Would a power conditioner help the dimmer switch issue?

I had used an old portable AM radio, tuned tuned to an empty frequency on the short end, I think, to snoop out RFI. I found that the pad' mounted transformer put out a lot of noise.

Gabby hi I don’t know if u find it interesting gap to fill instead of miniDSP for bass a sub Pre amp with 12-24-48db crossover A diy possible

Back in the day...While most of my employment I was in Marketing and Sales a couple of the companies I worked for knew of my engineering background in getting consumer products safety and FCC certified. So I'd be the guy taking the unit to the testing lab and getting it tested and passed. If the product used a "wall wart" or external switching power supply I'd always bring a selection of those things to be sure at least one or two would pass the FCC test. And that even if they displayed the FCC cert on the power supply, 2 or 3 out of 5 would always fail the FCC test for emissions.

Awesome vid, however my older Technics integrated has the thinner cord that doesn’t have the center hole. Do you have an Amazon link for that type of shielded power cord? I’ll order it right now. Lol

don't have an expensive hifi, just a modest budget setup with the newest component being my 22 year old B&W speakers, but i am waiting for so Lapp cable to arrive along with a suitable plug and sock just wire on, but before i do that i'm going to smooth down the pins to get rid of the pits and grooves you get with them from the factory to prevent micro arcing. probably won't make any difference but if there's a chance it'll improve things i'll do it

@Gabster Is there any benefit to wrapping electrical cables and/or power supplies in electrical tape or cloth conductive tape? Or would that just be a "lipstick on a pig" type of fix?

Would love to know what kind of equipment you are running behind you. Great video, thank you!

i enjoy your video sir , i was wondering i live in a very old house in which all wall outlet altough they have the ground hole they are not grounded only 2 wire out the wall so what i did i cut cord 3 wire cord and leave the ground wire much longer and im using the cable tv cable spitter and screw my ground the hence im using cable tv ground as my ground do you think it really is grounded then ?????

I like your point of view, you can get 90+% of the improvement with a $50 cable as you would get with a $1,000 cable. The expensive cable is better but is it 20X better - i don't think so. Another test instrument is a pocket AM radio because they are very sensitive to high frequency noise. If you pick up a high frequeny shine when it's held next to something there is a lot of noise there. i worked in the power supply field for over 30 years, both liniear and switch mode. There two kinds of noise that floats on the DC output of a power supply basic ripple and noise. Basic ripple on a linear power supply is usually pretty benign, noise is a problem because it's usually high frequencies and high frequencies (40,000 hz and up for swiitch mode supplies) travels further than low frequencies (usually 120 hz in the USA). Anythging meant for home use is supposed to designed for lower noise but many time they just use whatever they can get based on price, not noise performance.

Curious as to the kinds of shielding is used in cables. Great info and thanks👍👍

Has anyone ever connected a rechargeable power station IE a unit that's recharged by the mains in your home and then once charged disconnected from the main then used to power your system with totally clean power ..,Great video thanks

What an incredibly informative video! I find myself wondering, if a person were completely sold on the idea of shielded power cables, but has many to replace in a complex system, where would you start: the DAC and other digitalia, the amp with the highest current draw, or perhaps even the preamp at the center?

Nice Video Gabby as usual, I am running 3 dedicated 20A lines and I thought it was good enough! BTW how many hours a day is your C1100 on for?

Tip #3 is fine bur all equipment doesn't have that female end , so this cord cannot be used here. Any ideas?

⁠do you think DC blockers can improve SQ?

Good practical and useful advice that can improve the critical listening experience, for us fastidious audiophiles.

A shielded power cord does not remove the noise from the AC power going thru it. It just reduces the emi from the cord, which dissipates within an inch of the cord. If you keep power and signal cables separated then a shielded power cord is not any help. Power and signal should be kept away from each other anyway. Also that huge shielded cord puts way too much stress on the receptical AND the connector on the gear. If you want clean power get an isolation transformer with filtering after. Guess what, that's exactly what's in most gear, a transformer then filtering, switching supply's are a different story but they have issues of their own. By law tho they have to be heavily filtered as electronic devices cannot cause interference on other devices.

How about surge protection & its impact on power supply noise? For Texas thunderstorms, a dedicated surge protector doesn’t work. The surge protection output of a UPS *does* protect from lightning but I don’t know what impact it has on noise. I use UPSs that provide a full sine wave output when power is lost.

I want a probe, great OCD tool

high quality audio power cables on AliExpress. good plugs and well shielded around $ 15

I just tested my setup. Only getting emi from the transformer in my linear power supply. Should I replace it or just keep it far away from my other equipment? Is the transformer emi filtered out when it exits as DC?

Really interesting. Good info. I have a few questions. First, how about AC filtering devices? I currently use a very expensive Monster brand surge protector. I believe that Monster claims “clean power output.” I’ve ordered a IDEAL 62-164 Amplifier Probe and I’ll be checking to see if it lowers noise or not. Second, it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to run the AC power supply cables inside metal conduit. Not sure if that would shield nearby audio line cables from noise or not. I’ll do some experiments with the ideal probe. Come to think of it, maybe it would help to run audio line cables inside flexible metal conduit for additional shielding? I previously worked in the broadcast industry, where all audio lines are the balanced type, as I understand it, that is done to reduce noise. I have several components that use balanced line connections, and I have not noticed that they are quieter than regular RCA connections. You have peaked my interest and I’ll be testing my setup.

My biggest offenders are when the Refrigerator turns on and when the Furnace turns on. I have put Audio Filters on the Refrigerator outlet that helps a little. I use Neotech NEP-3002 MK III 7N Copper AC power cable and Furutech FI-28M R Male AC / Furutech FI-28 R IEC connectors on most areas. I built custom Powerstrip using a Furutech FI-28M R Male AC plug on the (FEQ) Ground Wire... Mad Scientist Kegs used on the Line-Neutral-Ground of the custom Powerstrip using Cardas 4181US AC Outlets. I use a lot ( $3K ) of Carbon Fiber Sheets under all gear that drastically lowers the Noise Floor. I own a lot of Mad Scientist Audio cables and other components.

Is the 10 gauge wire really necessary? Are you expecting to use a stickwelder on the same dedicated line, something up to 16-20A? Most of my old stereo systems have had good power sections. And they have had good shielding, the recievers even more so. The times I have had troubles with my systems (noise) are when some thing breakes down in the powersupply..turning the whole case into a receiver.

That's crazy how much noise are in the walls this is good to know wow

Can i put another breaker along that dedicated line from my main box into the house, or will that breaker also dirty the direct power?

What about the use of LED lamps? Do they cause greater degradation of the electrical grid than filament lamps?

subscribed

What is this noise probe thing you were using to detect noise? Where can we buy this?

I use constant voltage harmonic neutralized transformers (CVT) to keep power line noise out of the recording equipment in our studio and the listening room. These transformers will keep out surges, over voltage and under voltage conditions. If you look at your line power on an oscilloscope you will see all kinds of garbage. The CVT gives you a nice sine wave.

Great ideas to help save money, thanks! Any suggestions for good quality RCA plug interconnects or an AC line conditioner?

If you only have one high quality AC power cord, is it more advantageous to use it on your DAC or your integrated amp?

The best outlet you can buy is a Hubble hospital grade receptacle. A 20 amp receptacle has heavier gauge terminals than 15 amp.

Is it better to get a power conditioner such as furman, or get a shielded power cable? Thank you in advance!

A few years ago I made a post on The Vinyl Engine about the dimmers in my house and the power supply that came with my Pro-Ject turntable. I was experiencing excess buzz and hum from this table. I changed to power supply and turned off my lights. Big difference.

I have a dedicated circuit for my rig and the problem that I am facing is anything and everything in my house gives me a split second mute when I flip a switch, my boiler kicks on and even the solenoid on my fridge when I fill a glass of water. I've snugged everything in my breaker panel and really cannot figure it out. Os is it possible that I have a loose neutral somewhere? Anyone have am idea of what it might be?

I have a Honda EU 20i. Total isolation from mains. Unbeatable.

So when you touched the transformer with the prove at 15:07 why did it shut off the device?

I got a Emotiva power conditioner. No more noise.

¿In your power cables the shielding is soldered to just one (the source maybe) or both ends?

Great video. A company called Green Wave makes a broadband EMI tester that plugs into your outlets and does the digital EMI reading and an audible volume also. You can get on Amazon for about $140 bucks. The gentleman that owns the company also makes filters that plug into wall outlets that took down the EMI drastically in my house about 75%. The owner sure seems like a cool dude and is there to help.

What is your response?

Nicely Done. New Subscriber 2024 :) A do have a few questions if you have a moment. 1) if using the better power supplies that you suggest am I losing a lot if it needs to be plugged into a power strip ? 2) Can you suggest a better cost effective power strip I hear some filter out the high's ? 3) How much extra room behind my power amp do I need to take into consideration with using this better power cable 2'' 4'' ... is the cable very stiff ? I might run out of room before I hit the back wall ? 4) Besides an ifi power supply which I recently purchased I was looking for a moderately priced 12v 3A switching power supply for my cable box ? Thanks in advance

Bestest would be to have your own audiophile grade power plant.

VERY INTERESTING video. Therefore, I check my audio line and I found that, besides my audio gear, I have 3 smart dimmers / switches on my audio line. Therefore, knowing that, I was wondering : If I keep these 3 switches / dimmers 'off' while I was listening music, will I have the same results I would have with a dedicated line? Do you know if a switch / dimmer set to 'off' induce noise in the line? Merci...

Good info, I installed greenwave filters on my line and dxe iso plus filter on ethernet. They cut down on the noise a lot

Wonderful video. Very interested about noise coming from other sources through the dedicated Line. Dedicated lines don't mean noise free. Dedicated only really good too furnish dedicated power via a 10 gauge wire. Hopefully they'll be a part two that discusses Power conditioners, etc. I like the way you test things. I use aTransparent Power isolator, which is sold with a 10 gauge Power cord. I think it's helpful. I'm gonna buy that noise testing device you have. I am told his power isolator it's OK to plug an amp into as it doesn't restrict Power. But I'm hopeful it reduces noise.

Those dimmers are a nightmare, I can't have the overhead lights on while using a guitar amp. Although my HIFI is untouched by the dimmers interference ?

Great video. Thank you. I unplug everything not needed when listening, specially, those nasty USB chargers! My apartment building uses aluminum wiring. Any thoughts on that?

I have a Marantz class D amplifier. The Power supply Is inside, so not sure these tweaks would apply

Good advice except for shielded power cables. It's proven that they negatively impact and dull the sound. Proper cable routing is suggested. Keep at least 3 inches from interconnects or cross at 90-degree angle if that's not possible.

First time watching your channel. It looks like you have Raal Tweeters, B&W mid range drivers, and ScanSpeak woofer in all custom enclosures...... am I almost correct?

Gabster love the information you give us to better our listening. Very much appreciated. @Gabby if you can is there a way you can build a pair of shielded power cables ? That would be awesome. Thanks @Gabby

I lived in a small apartment for a while with a shared kitchen and living space. The fridge was an absolute nightmare when it clicked on!

if you can't use linear psu, that do have quite low efficency so not good for routers etc (in general loads 24/7), then use Meanwell switching psu... are not crazy expensive and do have high quality ;)

You missed talking about wallwarts and LED lighting. Walwarts are mostly made in China, and the certifications are often forged even when they are included with stuff from major brands. I had one I used for charging my tablet that made a huge impact on sound quality when plugged in. LED lights are the other big culprit, they use a switching power supplies, and the strip versions have one at every light. My girl friend had a strip lamp in her basement that would cause her thermostat to emit a sound like it was shorting out.

Hey, nice Video👍🏻 I have got a question and i thought you are a pro so you might know this. I have got a power supply like yours in the video, its for a LCD TV. I Glued some magnets on tve bottom of the PSU an attached it to a metal surface so its out of the way. Now my question.... what about magnetisation? Is it bad for signal quality? Do magnets create noise too? Thx.

i will immediately start tearing all the cables out of my walls and ceiling, leaving only one line left to the system, then i will have to use the camping gas cooker :) ...irony mode off :) Very interesting research

What you really want to do is run a dedicated circuit using 10 awg wire for your sound system, connected to a single pole breaker.

Why do you recommend hospital grade outlets for a stereo system? Hospital grade outlets are designed for a strong grip, not for low noise and high conductivity like a Furutech or Audience outlet that's specifically designed for high-end audio. And there's a world of difference between a $50 power cord and a $1000 power cord that you may or may not hear without a good power conditioner such as a Puritan or Audience. In many if not most cases, a dedicated line is not going to replace a good power conditioner.

Could always pour a drink and just listen to music, and enjoy. Radical eh!

What's the buzzing tool? Emf meter?

Electrical cabinets are much more elaborate in Europe, Light has to be on dedicated lines. You even have to have 2 light lines in each sector of your house. The normally you are not allowed to have more than 6 sockets on a power line breaker. An other thing is that all appliances like fridges, washing machines ovens, cooking plates have to be on a dedicated breaker each. So is every heating element, air-co unit, etc. In my case I have 3 phase grid connection. So not every socket or appliance is on the same phase. Some are 400V 3 phase. Sockets are on 13 AWG wire, ovens and cooking plates on 9 AWG. Only light circuits are on 15 AWG wires. Main supply is coming in with 4 times 3 AWG wiring. I know that in North America it is more common to have 180° 2 phase (in fact mid tap transformer) mains. And you have to have a real big house to have more than 5 breakers. Are Light and socket circuits mixed ? What about safety breakers (30mA leakage breakers or 10mA in humid areas) ?

Great video!! You’ve really got me thinking about some things. I think I’ve always intuitively known that dimmers create interference, but now I’m beginning to wonder whether dimmable “smart” bulbs cause similar issues. Any thoughts? I’ve always poo-pooed power cables, but you’ve convinced me. Ordering a few from Amazon right now! I would LOVE to see some of these high $ cable proponents subject themselves to blind A/B testing and see if they can truly hear the difference. Also, just want to say that I love your style and approach. So calm, thoughtful, and logical. Just excellent.