GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site

In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: It’s mad, mad, mad... electricity.

Post Subject: 10 KVAPosted by Jorge on: 3/25/2011

I have a 10KVA Isolation transformer that feeds on two separate 8 ga cables running direct from the house meters into an breaker into de transformer. This breaker is the one I use to turn my system on and off. The Isolation transformer recieves two 110 volt lines and brings it down to one 110 Volts hot and neutral. Actually it recieves two 127-130 volt lines and has adjustable taps so I can get 110 volts almost all the time. I have a copper rod sticking in my back yard for grounding. Electricity has always been bad around here, but since a few months back we have had Super-horrible electricity days. So bad I can now only listen to music after 10:30 pm, and sometimes I get good electricity in the afternoon from 3 pm up to 6 pm when people start getting back from work and turning on the Big TV screens...
The Isolation transformer is a necessity for me, I tried to drive power directly from the grid, but with 130 volts and 500 volt internal power on my tube amps, I was afraid caps would start exploding!!!! I dont have a PP2000...hint.
So the Isolation transformer is a safety device for me, but I wouldnt say it "cleans" electricity. JMHO.
When electricity is good from the street I rather not have the Isolation transformer, but you never know when the chorus starts on Beethoven 9th at 6 pm and 130 volts start flowing and it time to run and turn off your amps!...

I tired a lot of DIY line conditioners with caps and coils and resistors and they work fine even with bad electricity, much more trnasparency and detail on midrange and highs, the highs with bad electricity are the first ones to suffer, it seems like your 800 dollar tweeter transform into cheap garbage and start hissing and getting disconected from the music...
About Bass and this sort of line conditioners, it is more of a mistery for me now, it seems SS gear is more prone to loose bass than tube gear, and it also seems no matter what conditioning I put, with bass, I can never subsitute good electricity from the grid. I do have SS sub amp for bass...hhmm

If I was dooign this all over again I would put al least two different transformers, one for signal gear and one for amps, it seems the same system can push garbage into the line, so isolating gear among each other is a good idea...

Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site