Why does your system not sound good sometimes?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Ski Bum, Aug 28, 2005.

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  1. Ski Bum

    Ski Bum Happy Audiophile Thread Starter

    Location:
    Vail, CO
    I know that we have all been frustrated that our rigs just don't sound "right" from time to time. It sounds great one night, but the next night it doesn't sound as good even though you didn't change anything. I have attributed this to musical choices, temperature, humidity, equipment warm up, listener biorhythms, etc. I've read posts attributing variations to appliances in the house, air conditioning, lighting, you name it.

    Well, the other night my system sounded particularly "off." Playing some quality vinyl, the sound was particularly "hard" and a bit unpleasant. Dynamics and soundstage were OK, but the tone just wasn't right. I checked everything, and then I noticed the AC voltage meter on my power conditioner (a Monster Power Reference Power Center 5000 Mk II). The meter almost always reads 125 to 126 volts. It was now reading 129-130 volts. :eek: Most of my equipment (including the TT, phono-preamp and preamp) are plugged into the power conditioner, but the monoblock power amps are not. (The power conditioner and each monoblock is plugged into a dedicated circuit, so I suspect the juice from LIPA was a bit unusual that evening.) The next night, voltage was back to 125.5 and the sound was beautiful.

    I am fairly confident the outside power was the culprit for the bad sound. I don't know if it was simply the unusually high voltage or whether there was something else also affecting the power.

    Anyone else have similar experiences or can provide a technical explanation for what I experienced?
     
  2. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    Bad RCA cables can make your system not sound decent as well.
     
  3. Carmantom

    Carmantom Primo Audioholic

    Location:
    Central Florida
    Hal,

    I go more with the biorhythms than most other things. Damn! If my mood isn't quite right,seems my ears are in sympathy. (symphony :laugh: )

    Tom
     
  4. Ski Bum

    Ski Bum Happy Audiophile Thread Starter

    Location:
    Vail, CO
    I agree that cables can affect system sound, but I'm talking about variations in system sound when you haven't changed any of your equipment (including cables).
     
  5. Shakey

    Shakey New Member

    Location:
    Chicago, Illinois
    ComEd in Chicago
     
  6. boead

    boead New Member

    I’m out in Brookhaven and the volt meter on my Furman conditioner is usually about 119 and commonly drops to 115. Once in a blue moon I would see it at 122 but never 130!!

    I just recently moved to Setauket and I have not set-up my audio system yet.

    Where are you at?


    BTW: I find that the tube amps don’t like any power conditioning at all. I tied the Monster 5000 series too; the Furman conditioners with SMP sound slightly quieter and allow a larger sound stage. I think the key to power conditioning is that less is more. I tried an expensive power voltage regulator too and it was horrible in that it chocked the sound stage and limited dynamics although for sources, it was very quiet. I’m planning on trying a Balance power supply, Furman’s Reference Series is said to be of the best but they are quite expensive.
     
  7. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam

    The voltage out here in New Mexico is fairly stable at 117 VAC.
     
  8. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I find that my hearing fluctuates during the course of the day.
     
  9. Gregory Earl

    Gregory Earl Senior Member

    Location:
    Kantucki
    Say what?
     
  10. audio

    audio New Member

    Location:
    guyana
    Most systems plain suck. You convince yourself that they are good and then you have moments when you see the truth. When a system is truly right, this won't happen anymore.
     
  11. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    :agree: This is why I prefer the night. No back ground noise from outside as distraction/interruption.
     
  12. Ski Bum

    Ski Bum Happy Audiophile Thread Starter

    Location:
    Vail, CO
    I'm in Great Neck. It is possible that the meter is not referenced properly (I've never checked it against anything else), but it should be directionally helpful. The sound of my system definitely gets "harder" as the voltage increases, and returns to normal when the voltage is within the typical range on the meter.

    Just last night, the system sounded great and the meter was reading 125.5. After a couple of hours, the sound hardened (but not as badly as the 130 night) so I re-checked the meter. It had gone up to 127.5. And this is on a Sunday night. I wonder what is going on during the day?
     
  13. Jeffrey

    Jeffrey Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    South Texas
    Hi Hal,

    :agree: Variations in our local electric supply have significant effect on my rig. Every now & then (usually late on a week night or weekday mornings), we get incredibly clean/stable power and my rig sounds incredible..... i'm in total audio bliss. Other times (frequently weekends), we get dirty/fluctuating power and my rig sounds lame..... i sometimes don't even listen to it when it's in that state.

    When i want to do really critical listening, i will turn off the AC and unplug the fridge (since it is in the same area as my listening room) and all other major appliances for a short period of time. I have noticed improvements by doing this.

    Take care,
    Jeffrey
     
  14. Ski Bum

    Ski Bum Happy Audiophile Thread Starter

    Location:
    Vail, CO
    Thanks Jeffrey. It's good to know that I'm not alone.

    It seems strange to me that the power seems to vary most on weekends. You would think the weekends would be more stable.
     
  15. When I think my system is sounding off, I put in one of the following recordings:

    Janis Ian - Breaking Silience (cee dee)
    Dire Straits - Love Over Gold (original vinyl)
    Thomas Dolby - Aliens Ate My Buick (orginal cee dee)

    Cures the problem every time.:D

    Brian
     
  16. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam


    You might want to have your meter checked. According to a few google searches, the voltage in the US should be between 112 and 120.
     
  17. Jeffrey

    Jeffrey Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    South Texas
    Hi Hal,

    You are definitely not alone on this issue. The quality of my power source completely changes the sonics of my rig. I know other people with similar experiences. Wish i lived near the Hoover Dam. :D

    Maybe the weekends are the period of greatest usage and least creation?

    Take care,
    Jeffrey
     
  18. fmoreno

    fmoreno New Member

    erratic sound quality

    Hi all. Here in Argentina, ac supply tends to be a problem, with sometimes wild fluctuations -maybe +/- 20% in a really bad day-; that´s definitely noticeable. Sometimes, in the late afternoon, the lights go dim, and the sound gets harder and not so detailed.
    As have been stated, during weekends the supply is more stable -I suppose because of a reduction in energy intensive activities in the industry, for example-. I think that´s a bonus because I perform most of my listening in weekends...
    But I have noticed something more related with background noise most of the times: my system sounds definitely better in the wee hours, when it´s oooh so quiet.
    But when the levels of human or climatic activities are high -windy days, rainy days, or busy mornings-, the sound gets -at least subjectively- worse. I suppose my ears are saturated with non musical related information, and then is harder to focalise in what really matters: the music.
    More so: My neighborhood is crowded with dogs!!! Everybody has 2 or 3 of them. In one house I have counted seven!! Sometimes, in humid nights, they bark as if the hell was exploding!
    There are a lot of factors that interfere with our musical experience, I suppose. As Carmantum stated, ¨biorythms¨ and moods and who knows what more... Sometimes, the world is not perfect when you try to listen to your music.
    But when everything is quiet, when you are in a nice mood -with your woman, a glass of malbec ,a good cigar and lots of time-, aaaahhhhh! That´s when I forget the dogs, the f*** electricity companies, the whole mess. I even dance in those moments!
     
  19. grx8

    grx8 Senior Member

    Location:
    Santiago, Chile
    That sucks! I hate so much when dogs barks. That changed completely my "music mood".
     
  20. Jeffrey

    Jeffrey Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    South Texas
    Hi,

    I'm much more bothered by women barking..... that can ruin your whole day! :D

    Take care,
    Jeffrey
     
  21. fmoreno

    fmoreno New Member

    barking dogs and music

    jajaja! I´m not the only one plagued with that kind of problems.I´m talking about barking dogs; my actual lady does not bark (she is... light as the breeze,as Leonard Cohen would say).But my former wife...woah! She was a barking nightmare in dolby prologic, an amazing home theatre experience!
    Talking about dogs, I remember that one night I was listening to music with a friend of mine -a man who has,as me, a penchant for silence and meditation-, and I put some roger waters music, you know, that stuff with holophonics and tiny aural details everywhere. At some instance, we heard a huge bark and some ¨grrrrrrr...¨. I knew that those sounds were part of the mix, but my friend doesn´t, so he said ¨f**** dogs, they´re everywhere¨. When I told him that the dog was in the music and not in the backyard, he looked at me and said ¨are you kiddin´ or what?¨
     
  22. Steve G

    Steve G Senior Member

    Location:
    los angeles
    my problem is the lack of a standard for 5.1 mixes! one mix will have perfect imaging, and then I'll put another one on, and the imaging is completely different!

    -s
     
  23. Maxxwire

    Maxxwire Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland OR
    I have a small fridge in my listening room that I hooked up an IR remote controlled switch to which saves me the trouble of upluging it before a listening session.

    ~Maxx~
     
  24. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    Hal, I think audio is hit the nail on the head here. First, let me say you have an outstanding system. Second, let me say that this ties into the hardware thread on power conditioners. I think your problem is your power source. When ever I have had your problem I have always traced it to the source material and not the system. I use a PS Audio P300 Power Plant for all of my gear except my monoblocks. They go into PS Audio's Ultimate Outlets. See their website for more detail. Maybe ConEd is better than LIPA, but I doubt it. Let's set up a time and we will come and listen to each others systems and swap out power supplies. :)
     
  25. 51nocaster

    51nocaster Senior Member

    I have a wine refrigerator located directly under my music system. Sounds like you have a great solution. What I did was hook up a grounded appliance timer set to turn my fridge off during my usual listening times.
     
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