Exclusive to our Substack subscribers, we host a weekly Q&A every Monday. Our team of veteran writers, reviewers, and editors hand select a few to answer every Friday. Perhaps you’re having trouble with a specific amplifier, or desire a deeper understanding of transmission line speakers, from the general to the specific, post your questions here and come back on Friday to see them answered!
I might be chasing a unicorn but here's my query: I am remodeling an existing room into a dedicated listening room. My system is currently running on my 1950's house power but I first plug the Nordost QBase Reference into the wall, and everything runs out of the QBase. In addition I am also using the Kore ground system as well. The before and after results were lower noise floor a bit more depth, and transparency to the sound.
For my remodel I am replacing my Audio Research Ref80 with the new AR160M mkii mono.blocks. I am considering installing the Equi=Tech 5WQ wall unit to supply dedicated power to the room. My unicorn iof a question is of a three fold nature: 1) At the price point of mid 5 figures is it worth it? EQ claims: "So in numerical terms, due to the attenuation of noise, an average 12dB increase in dynamic range can be expected from running high-gain equipment balanced and another 3dB can be gained when the amps are included." 2) is there a concern on plugging the QBase andmQKore into the balanced power as I understand balanced power by it's nature and design creates it's own ground)?
3) If there's not a conflict then how best to hook up the system? I'm thinking the MOnonblocks each would have its own dedicated EQ circuit. The components would plug into the QBase and Kore on a different EQ circuit. I've reached out to Nordost via my local dealer and we recieved the following:
“Without ever having auditioned the EquiTech balanced power unit, I can’t be sure of the benefits it claims to provide or whether it would do more harm than good. Since it’s not a power conditioner and not filtering power, I would assume it would not have the harmful effects traditional power conditioners create.
I would be concerned about how this impacts the ground since our unit focuses on that. According to them, splitting the voltage and altering possible ground issues are important aspects worth noting.
There would be redundancy since the QB10 is designed with noise-cancellation technology. The EquiTech unit feeding the QB10 could bolster the noise-cancellation benefits.”
So I am hoping that your answer may either eliminate those concerns and could or at least shed some light on this or result in a reference to further paths to follow. Thx in Advance.
Based on my own experiences, what do you have on regard to treating room acoustics?
50% of what you're going to hear from your speakers is because of the room, everything else is secondary in my opinion. More than changing sources, amps, cables, interconnects, you name it. The room comes first, and in my case, a 2nd floor of a recently built town house with a suspended hardwood floor, it is by far the biggest problem to overcome. I run dedicated 20-amp lines with separate power conditioners (PS Audio P15 & P20) for the front and back-end of the system (McIntosh MC611 Monos) and yep, that's secondary to getting the room to sound right.
Agreed--I'm already addressing the room --issues-- new ASC iso wall system, ASC acoustic soffit and tower traps. We'll test the room at that point and further tune with panels etc as necessary.
I might be chasing a unicorn but here's my query: I am remodeling an existing room into a dedicated listening room. My system is currently running on my 1950's house power but I first plug the Nordost QBase Reference into the wall, and everything runs out of the QBase. In addition I am also using the Kore ground system as well. The before and after results were lower noise floor a bit more depth, and transparency to the sound.
For my remodel I am replacing my Audio Research Ref80 with the new AR160M mkii mono.blocks. I am considering installing the Equi=Tech 5WQ wall unit to supply dedicated power to the room. My unicorn iof a question is of a three fold nature: 1) At the price point of mid 5 figures is it worth it? EQ claims: "So in numerical terms, due to the attenuation of noise, an average 12dB increase in dynamic range can be expected from running high-gain equipment balanced and another 3dB can be gained when the amps are included." 2) is there a concern on plugging the QBase andmQKore into the balanced power as I understand balanced power by it's nature and design creates it's own ground)?
3) If there's not a conflict then how best to hook up the system? I'm thinking the MOnonblocks each would have its own dedicated EQ circuit. The components would plug into the QBase and Kore on a different EQ circuit. I've reached out to Nordost via my local dealer and we recieved the following:
“Without ever having auditioned the EquiTech balanced power unit, I can’t be sure of the benefits it claims to provide or whether it would do more harm than good. Since it’s not a power conditioner and not filtering power, I would assume it would not have the harmful effects traditional power conditioners create.
I would be concerned about how this impacts the ground since our unit focuses on that. According to them, splitting the voltage and altering possible ground issues are important aspects worth noting.
There would be redundancy since the QB10 is designed with noise-cancellation technology. The EquiTech unit feeding the QB10 could bolster the noise-cancellation benefits.”
So I am hoping that your answer may either eliminate those concerns and could or at least shed some light on this or result in a reference to further paths to follow. Thx in Advance.
Based on my own experiences, what do you have on regard to treating room acoustics?
50% of what you're going to hear from your speakers is because of the room, everything else is secondary in my opinion. More than changing sources, amps, cables, interconnects, you name it. The room comes first, and in my case, a 2nd floor of a recently built town house with a suspended hardwood floor, it is by far the biggest problem to overcome. I run dedicated 20-amp lines with separate power conditioners (PS Audio P15 & P20) for the front and back-end of the system (McIntosh MC611 Monos) and yep, that's secondary to getting the room to sound right.
Agreed--I'm already addressing the room --issues-- new ASC iso wall system, ASC acoustic soffit and tower traps. We'll test the room at that point and further tune with panels etc as necessary.