It's not the power. As other posters have stated, it's your hearing that can change dramatically over time, from day to day. Your ears are tied into your whole sinus system (eustachian tubes, etc.). That's why when you have hearing problems, you go to visit an "ENT" (ear, nose and throat doctor). Hearing is also affected by blood pressure. If your sinuses are congested, it's going to impact your hearing. Also, if you've been exposed to a lot of loud sound during the day, that's going to impact your hearing.
Yup. I mix a lot of music and my hearing is more acute in the morning. In the afternoon my hearing is less accurate and high ends are noticeably blurry. I then focus on some other aspects. My theory is that a lot of high end enthusiasts end up spending a lot of money to compensate their less than optimal room acoustics and all the external factors like you listed, by buying unnecessary expensive audio accessories, when looking for the “perfect” sound. It’s also fascinating how one can bring an element in the music forward by just focusing on it. So, It’s easy to fall to confirmation bias, when you’re deep in the details.
One has to wonder how much money has been spent trying to "fix" perfectly good systems because people don't understand or believe their hearing is not a perfect instrument.
I spent 2 years working on my system looking for the audio issues I was hearing only to find that it was a hearing issue. Quick testing showed marked drop off above 10K for a while but the issue was in 1 to2 K range and sounded just like an voice coil issue I had decades ago. I learned so much during this testing including methods of increasing sensitivity, which has it's good and bad points, and a minor though noticeable improvement in tinnitus. During these tests I confirmed that certain times of the day clearly are better for stereo perception with all it's characteristics, than others when music sounds lifeless and dull. The psychology of these events are really hard to quantify but are also an obvious factor. But with certain dietary/holistic supplementation, and system tuning, you can actually work around and improve these issues. After all this, power was the least of my actual issues, but I did end up using a medical isolation transformer rated much higher than I will ever use. For those having issues take an honest look at your own health and what you are actually hearing before spending crazy money on stuff that can't solve your personal issue. In my case it unfortunately changes all the time so I have musical tracks and system settings that establish a baseline where if these don't sound right, my hearing is not optimal at the moment and I refrain from expectations of great sound until it comes back around. So far it has always come back, sometimes days later, but I would be mortified if it didn't. The very best to all of you.
@@OldTooly Exactly ... of course the joke is on the listener. This common quest for a "live experience in a dead room" and the stupidly loud levels people listen at is slowly redefining "audiophile" as "a person with self-inflicted hearing damage". Since getting into this hobby again about 15 years ago, I've been using an SPL meter to keep tabs on the sound levels I use. This is both to avoid problems with my neighbours and for self-preservation. I find that my hearing works best at levels averaging about 65db, barely louder than normal conversation. That's where all the detail and nuance is most audible, for me. Your mileage may vary, of course, but it is generally accepted that hearing damage starts at about 80db with prolonged exposure. At 73 years, my hearing still goes out to 13k, maybe a little more on a good day. The audiologist tells me that I hear better than most 18 year olds he tests. (I don't know if I believe him, but given earbuds and thunder cars, it is plausible). You are very correct in pointing out that most system problems are actually hearing problems. That, or poor quality source recordings. But what gets me is the way these "golden ears" go off on massively expensive quests to fix problems they don't even have, often, as you point out, because of a single little sound they didn't hear yesterday. My general rule is to never blame the system if there is another explanation... it's actually the least failure prone part of this hobby. Louder is rarely better.
That’s interesting, that thought has crossed my mind because I have noticed my system sounding different when it rains vs a hot sunny day for instance.
@@chuckmaddison2924 Yes that one I know about as well, during the week throughout the day my system sounds exceptional because very little of the power in my neighborhood is being used however, on weekends and nights while still sounding very good is not exceptional like during the weekdays.
Our hearing acuity changes during the day/night. Generally when we first awake after a quiet night, our hearing is sharper. During the day as we are subjected to noise our hearing degrades. Try this: Listen to a familiar recording early in the day, and then ride in a vehicle for thirty minutes or more. As soon as the ride is done listen to the same recording on the same system. It will sound less favorable.
Actually that was a pretty good question. I answered it too... My best suggestion is to understand that almost everything around us affects our perception of sound and even our vision. Most of the time it is us changing, not our systems.
Few people are aware that THE SENSITIVITYI OF YOUR HEARING actually varies throughout the day -- your hearing is most sensitive in the late evening and early morning hours. So it's not the electrical grid or all that other stuff. You naturally hear more richness of detail in the evenings.
Here's a simple test anyone can do .... Close all the windows and doors in your listening room... Sit quietly and just take in the sound of the room itself. Now open a window or door .... And you expect your experience to be exactly the same?
This is true. I've woke up in the wee hours of the morning just to listen to music for this reason. Sure, some people may find that odd, but hey, my music sounds much better.
Can be many things. Just like our perception of vision, taste, can change due to tiredness, illness etc, there are other extraneous factors. For example, having a open window, where previously it was closed, somewhere nearby can affect pressure and therefore sound. Were you sitting/standing in the same place listening to the same tracks at the same volume? Is the temperature and humidity in the room comparible? I strongly suspect its not directly the equipment.
Think of listening to music as a tool for the brain. Different genres, volume levels, are all tools you use for healthy mental well being. Even listening to the wrong type of music can cause negative stress levels to rise.
Mine definitely seems to be different based on time of day. But mood, weather, and other factors play into it strongly. Yes, the electricity is having less demand and usage after 9pm, both in and outside of my house (less lights on, no washer/dryer/dishwasher/Air conditioning too) but also the neighborhood noise outside the house is drastically reduced, the human noise inside the house too. My sense of all the subtleties in the music increases after 9 for sure, but I'm not convinced it's because of purely electrical improvements.
My hearing has not been exactly the same two days straight since I can remember. Some days muddy. Some days shrill. Some days perfect. Some days just downright broken
Paul is right. For years I noticed this problem. After I started using the power plant it’s gone! The system sound is consistent every day and every time I turn it on! Good sound 24 hours a day. It’s awesome.
The first thing to understand is that our perception of sound is anything but fixed. There are any number of environmental factors that affect our hearing... temperature, humidity, air pressure, background noise, air movement... and on and on. What we perceive is also subject to a whole bunch of things... health, hunger, cleanliness, mood, sobriety, tiredness, distraction, comfort... and so on. To expect that every time we sit in our special chairs and turn on that magic system it's going to be exactly the same experience is just plain folly. After years of listening for problems in lots of systems, I know that my hearing is all over the place. One day I will sit down for some music and it's just a marvelous experience, sweeping me away. The next day (sometimes even the same day) that same playlist can be grating and unpleasant so that I just turn everything off and go find some other way to waste my time. So, what changed? The electronics are stable and have been for quite some time. The speakers have been reliable for years. As Paul explained the power supplies can deal with all but the most egregious power problems. The system would not change good, bad, good all on it's own. The only sensible answer is that it is *ME* that changed... not the system. And the good news is that is totally normal and expected. Where humans are concerned, everything is a variable.
To me it’s mood and time of day/night. Normal stress levels play a part also. Stress fluctuates. I constantly shift between different genres and different languages. Finding the mood that varies. Fortunately I have Global access to music on the fly. Sometimes I just need to power down my brain and disconnect to relax. I will listen to Muzak or ambient music.
People lately writing in with living rooms not much bigger than a few walk in closets, with subpar AC power, with too close neighbors babecueing & causing smoke that gets inside their window and equipment. Are people kidding themselves? If I had such a small room, I'd just say to myself "This sucks!" Quality AC is important. I just bought a 12 guage AC cord for my cd player. It was made in China; but with care. There are good companies there too. The bass is so deep, it changed the whole character of my sound. I had to make adjustments, but I love it now. I never knew an AC power cord could have quicker transient response. Smoother too.
@Douglas Blake. You only have Kmart level equipment (are they still around?), so you would have no idea if it makes a difference. No cd players for you, with AC cables that are 3 prong. You only have your theories with more holes than Swiss cheese, that are all wrong. Hey that rhymes! Re: having a big room for audio. There's nothing like it. I realize that some of you renters live in areas where a spacious rental would cost a fortune. But for others in other areas, it might be feasable to try to get someplace with a big living room. When the landlord shows you the inside of the property, you can sort of test the acoustics by doing some hand claps. Too much slap echo will mean more room treatment.Clap a few times in different parts of the room.. Besides, the landlord will think you like him better...Don't take any loose change, if you see some lying around. You want to make a good impression.
Human beings are Class AB, with a high Class A bias, averaging about 75 watts overall during a given day. But when you're running at say 35 Watts (like when you're very tired or falling asleep), music sounds one way, and when you're kicking out say 120 Watts (say after eating or exercising) it sounds another. Listening tests never account for this.
Everyone's hearing changes perceptibly (if you are paying attention to it) over the course of a day or two, sometimes faster. No electronic device can compensate for that.
In South Africa I have noticed a quantum improvement in my listening experience since hooking up a solar array and inverter/battery system. Presumably I now have a cleaner AC supply than before, an unexpected benefit of going solar! I have a vintage pair of Arnie Nudell's Genesis 450XS speakers, serial number 9 and 10, which thrill at each listening as they play the room like nothing else. Paul, were you there when these were born?? Planars and servo woofers just as you prescribed for the FR range.......
So fwiw solar systems are notorious for generating hash - this comes from the process of converting the DC from the panel to AC. All of the home systems and most of the commercial large ones are huge generators of this hash which requires special filtering and line treatment. If you are really having an improvement it could be that you have more voltage from the solar system as commercial AC lines can and do drop voltage at times.
My Power Plant Premier still works great and was a big improvement over my old Monster Power conditioner. One day I would love to get my hands on one of your newer regenerators, and maybe even your new speakers. Would be fun to post some reviews of my own on RU-vid. 🙂
My stereo even sounds better after a hot shower or while drinking a nice glass of wine with a candle lit. As a matter of fact, the mood swings are far greater than even the difference between devices. That does not mean that regenerators and better devices are not useful, it does however mean that we need to figure out how to influence our capacity to enjoy as the last "tweak". In my view, huge swings in sound quality are NEVER gear issues.
This comes back to a little idea i had once to remove signal pollution from the AC lines, by simply axle locking a motor to a generator - using the powerline power to run a motor that spins a generator to make clean sine AC power.
I think RF noise can make a big difference in densely populated situations, especially in flats where neighbours are using mains to transmit ethernet over mains, plus lots of neighbours using wifi. Then there's neighbours using terrible switch mode power supplies and light dimmers which churn out RF. If you live in a detached house away from all this the problem won't be anywhere near as bad.
No, not in the slightest. RF emitters operate at such low power, you would need to position your cables right up against the transmitter to hear the tiniest noise. Since the decibel falloff is exponential, the noise from these emitters in their actual positions is so low it's essentially zero.
You're more relaxed usually in the evening, and this means your hearing is more sensitive. Therefore you perceive the music to be clearer or have more impact. Electrical grid has very little audible effect on 99 percent of systems.
I use a double-conversion, always-online UPS and it stores energy into its battery and regenerates AC from battery energy. It's basically an AC regenerator. So, I don't buy into the idea of expensive power plants and such when one can go to the UPS market and afford a well-engineered always-online UPS. Lasers and other extremely sensitive cutting machines use these too. So, I don't see why audio equipment is any more special.
Paul completely missed the boat. It's partly psychological, and it's time of day. Systems always sound better when ambient noise level drops. Why? Better signal to noise. try listening at 3 am. Your system will never sound better. Cars, kids, neighborhood activity, and other outside noise is the culprit. Also interior noises, like A/C systems, washing machines, dishwashers, TVs and other family members all contribute to noise pollution that robs your sound of dynamics. Want more proof? Listen to your car stereo while in the garage with the engine off vs. while driving around. This video was nothing more than paul trying to sell his products.
I live in an Eastern European seaside town, the population goes from 1000 in the winter months to 40,000 in the summer, average around 35c (95f) so everyone is running A/C. The power supply is dubious at any time of year as the infastructure is pre communist era. I have known the voltage drop to 190v. My system shrinks into itself, sounds muddy and flat, clips if driven hard and generally becomes un listanable in the daytime in the summer. Extreme, but it kind of proves the point about power. Do you have a dealer in Bulgaria Paul? 😀
As for the writer of that letter (I am in Australia too), do as Paul says, so try to get a dealer who will allow you to buy on a try basis and see if it does the job you seek it to do.
Hi Paul, Mark from Durbam here. Our power supply from Escom is very erratic to say the least. Quite scratchy & noisy. I recently put in an 8kva solar powe system. No more noise & my Nad ce77, klipsch reference 29 sound beautifull a smoother sound & a filling out of hi freq notes. Does solar power classify as a power regeneration unit.
I think the reason is, because our ears get sleepy at night. You know when we wake up our ears are well rested and things sound different than they do at night because of course our ears have been doing a lot of work all day and obviously they're tuckered out.
I might have a 'dirty' power grid around me. I have grounded equipment but my my amplifiers 'click' a lot. It was much worse when an electrician owned the appartment above me. I don't know what he did. I have a few light spots around my appartment. Most oft them were 12V and they have never failed, not even after 12 years. But when I got LED's in one room they wore out quickly. I've heard that LED's are more sensitive to electric current. Now everyone is encouraged to swich to LED's. I wonder if that's even feasible for most. I don't have any form of AC 'cleaning' device. And they seems expensive too.
Your ears and sinuses change. Your perception of sound changes. At night you get less from vision. All that has a way larger impact than your power supply.
It's the source, especially if it's free, they occasionally give us a quality signal "which costs more " & other times they give us a crappy signal, this probably happens with paid sources of music & any audio video also . It seems the more you use it, the worse quality you get, what I have found is to switch to different sources, they know by your activity level that your going elsewhere and give you a better source again. Or so it seems 🤔
No. RFI tends to enter audio systems via unused input jacks or very early in the audio chain. It almost never comes from the power lines. There are rules about the use of amateur radio transmitters and if you are having problems you can contact the licensing agency (FCC in the US, Industry Canada in, well, Canada) and ask them to investigate.
I prefer to listen in the evening, and in subdued lighting, or in the dark! ... Mood certainly plays a part in one's listening enjoyment, but "dirty power" is just BS in my 44-year experience and opinion! EDIT: Good sound, 24 hours a day? ... Unless you're detached, the neighbours might spoil your music marathon? 🤣
@@Douglas_Blake_579 a flat top on a sine wave constitutes a short burst of DC !!! This is the LAST THING a transformer wants ... no matter how good it is !!
