235 to 250 volts across the day, is it impacting my AV performance?

[Hari Iyer]

If you are forced to use an extension cord, don't use stoc

Sir, since I am not so technically inclined as some, for people like us a stabilizer or a UPS brings peace of mind. For the model of Krykard that I am using, there is just one output from the stabilizer which leaves me no choice but to use an extension board. Besides, I don't have many wall sockets where the gear is.
Honestly speaking to my untrained ears, even before I got the stabilizer & Barracuda extension, when some of the gear was connected directly to the mains, I could perceive no difference in delay or noise in sound.
For me the stabilizer & Barracuda was more for peace of mind.

If you are forced to use extension cords, don't use stock ones as their wires are thin. DIY an extension cord with 12 awg wire for AV duty is what I am saying to retain dynamics. Unless you try what I am saying, you won't be convinced.

 

[Nitin K]

If you are forced to use an extension cord, don't use stoc
If you are forced to use extension cords, don't use stock ones as their wires are thin. DIY an extension cord with 12 awg wire for AV duty is what I am saying to retain dynamics. Unless you try what I am saying, you won't be convinced.

Sir, thanks for the advice. I definitely don't doubt what you are saying.
I had purchased a Barracuda power distribution extension board from Sound Foundations which is of excellent quality.

 

[Hari Iyer]

Sir, thanks for the advice. I definitely don't doubt what you are saying.
I had purchased a Barracuda power distribution extension board from Sound Foundations which is of excellent quality.

With due respect to sound foundation extension cords, do you know what is the wire AWG of the extension cord and what wires are used? Unless I know all the details, I may never buy anything stock. A good looking product is last in my priority list. I have always been fooled badly earlier by good looking products.

 

[Nitin K]

With due respect to sound foundation extension cords, do you know what is the wire AWG of the extension cord and what wires are used? Unless I know all the details, I may never buy anything stock. A good looking product is last in my priority list. I have always been fooled badly earlier by good looking products.

I don't know the wire AWG. But the quality seems very good & is quite heavy. Infact it was available with Hifimart too & many members have them.
I was really impressed by the quality of the switches used.

Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution Centre

Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution Centre - Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution CentreLogically, AC power energy into your system ends up as the sound it produces.

hifimart.com

 

[Hari Iyer]

I don't know the wire AWG. But the quality seems very good & is quite heavy. Infact it was available with Hifimart too & many members have them.
I was really impressed by the quality of the switches used.

Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution Centre

Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution Centre - Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution CentreLogically, AC power energy into your system ends up as the sound it produces.

hifimart.com

Wow, you must be rich to buy this at this price. Anyways. I am unable to see the wire size from the image, nor anything is mentioned about them.

What I am using is a 12 awg mil spec silver plated copper wire with all brass connections. This is how my power cords and extension board made- flavour 2

DIY Power Cord

Build your own Audiophile Power Cord

www.venhaus1.com

 

[Nitin K]

Wow, you must be rich to buy this at this price. Anyways. I am unable to see the wire size from the image, nor anything is mentioned about them.

What I am using is a 12 awg mil spec silver plated copper wire with all brass connections. This is how my power cords and extension board made- flavour 2

DIY Power Cord

Build your own Audiophile Power Cord

www.venhaus1.com

Sir, I am not a rich guy but I do believe in one time investment in perepherals especially since I don't have the DIY knowledge. Actually "Magma" who is also a Hifivision member here, is the owner of Sound Foundations. & would be able to tell the wire AWG. That's a heavy duty power chord you got. I got a stock one with mine.

 

[raghupb]

I don't know the wire AWG. But the quality seems very good & is quite heavy. Infact it was available with Hifimart too & many members have them.
I was really impressed by the quality of the switches used.

Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution Centre

Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution Centre - Sound Foundations Barracuda Universal Power Distribution CentreLogically, AC power energy into your system ends up as the sound it produces.

hifimart.com

Don't worry too much about wire gauge. Most extension cords (Belkin, GM, etc) have enough thickness to carry 5A of current, which is a lot.
They will most probably match the gauge that's used in the wall. When choosing an extension board/unit, ensure the socket will make proper contact with the mating plug. In most cases, the stock power cable that comes with the component will suffice.

To the OP's query, stabilization followed by some kind of surge protection is always good to have. These can be had in various budgets as per requirements.
Disclosure: I use a sine wave UPS (800VA) for lighting circuit; that's where AV gear is connected to. A vertex servo (for stabilizer) with a couple of Belkin extension cords (for multiple sockets and surge protection)

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Nitin K]

Thanks Raghu, am not worrying at all about the wire gauge & totally agree with you. I was using a Targus & Belkin extension before the Barracuda & my ears could not discern any difference in noise or sound quality. Maybe I don't have the audiophile ears.
I really liked the Barracuda switches & sockets since the sockets also go in very smoothly with a firm grip & the sockets of most of the countries are compatible with it apart from the surge/spike protection it offers.

 

[Hari Iyer]

I am planning to use a separate 6 sqmm cable ( currently they are 2.5sqmm) only for my AV gears. The wire that reaches the terminal ckt breaker from the basement is already 6 sqmm. All my tube monoblocks power switch and IEC connectors are 15 A type and not the traditional puny 6 A types. So in my case it makes sense to use DIY cable unlike others imo. Even if you go for over the kill receptors and wires, all that will be degraded inside the amplifier by puny switches and wires.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Using extension boards, stabilisers etc all reduce dynamic response ime

Which response time did you mean ?

 

[Hari Iyer]

Which response time did you mean ?

I mean dynamic response in my experience ( IME), not time

 

[buswal]

It is always safe to use a proper servo stabilizer to protect your equipment. Huge voltage fluctuation is normal in many areas.

 

[OM_2K19]

Can you brief bit more technically why double conversion UPS is better for AV gears. To the best of my knowledge any inverter circuit output is a PWM wave and it is nothing but a stepped sine wave. A properly designed sine filter, elimination of DC components, attenuation of switching peaks all are involved to correct a PWM to sine wave to certain extend. Not sure how much all those implemented inside a small UPS.

Un treated PWM wave is not good for feeding to any transformer / motor for many reasons unless otherwise it is designed for PWM wave input.

Let me explain, below is the basic flow diagram of a Double Conversion Online UPS, there are many more components involved, but I am omitting them for the sake of simplicity.

AC Mains -> AC-DC conversion -> Battery > DC-AC conversion > Filters > AC Output

As you can see here, the output is not a function of the input but entirely depends on the Inverter circuit. This approach provides immunity against input surges and spikes and offers a clean AC output. That said, they also employ complex passive filtering to clean the SPWM output from the Inverter circuit which makes them more expensive compared to a traditional UPS.

These days, most of the branded vendors utilized MOSFET/IGBT based drivers which helps them to achieve greater power output in a compact form factor. Plus the latest developments in the transformer core material helps the vendors to offer more VI rating without increasing the Size/Weight of the transfers. So they can do a lot in a small form factor.

Another important factor is the Switch-Over time of a traditional UPS. An online UPS provides ZERO switchover time and this is the most important consideration for modern AV equipment since they are very susceptible to it. A large Switch-Over time (>5ms) will cause the AV equipment to restart and can be deadly for the internal processor. Imagine a situation that your device is going through a firmware upgrade and restart happens, scary right?