There are some information here and here, particularly among those who knows, how the misbalance of the power polarity between the components of your systems can screw sound. Certainly the auditable benefits are very substantial and anyone who power polarity-balanced own playback system knows how important it might be. However, there is nowhere and no one mention another phenomena that is even larger then the inner-component power polarity and frankly speaking – it is larger then ANYTHING else in your playback!!!!!!!!!

We in US use 120V power lines but the distribution to our house delivers 220V. Somewhere inside or outside we have a transformer that deliver to out homes one tap of the 220V. The mysteries fact is that only one part of that 120V is useable for audio. Do not ask me why – I do not know – but I have seen it 3 times, including in my own playback, and I witnessed what happened when the very crapy sounding playbacks that were assemble very properly was switched to the another half of the 220V and suddenly the systems some alive.  A few years ago my own playback after I installed the dedicated 20A lines sounded insultingly horrible and I spent a month fighting with it without knowing what was the problems. In the end I called the electrician and requested the flip my dedicated lined to another side of the 220V. The electrician for 40 minutes explained me that I was and idiot but then agreed to do it. The sound instantaneously return back where it should be….

So, do yourself a favor – before convincing yourself the your playback system “Sounds great!”  check if you are on the right side of power phase.

Rgs,
Romy the caT

I was recently informed that some guys whose interests restricted only around a subject how to make the “Bride cut the cake” to sound louder took the above-posted article under thier “scrupulous” collaboration.

<The link removed as the entire thread was vandalized and has no posts anymore.>

Definably I did not expect anything intelligent from that horde (spent all my childhood with pro audio folks and know that crowd too well). Interestingly that all of them, while they interact sound like an idiot is calling to some kind extreme right radio talk show and before he express his typical right wing stupidity he begin to cry that he is good American, and that the show host is good American and his dog is good American … No wonder that the PA installation sound like they sound…

Anyhow, to be shooting against the subject of the thread and trying to find some rational in the lunacy of the pro audio hoodlums:

I have no explanation of the phenomena and I would leave you with a comforting though that 50% of your sophisticated playback installation is connected to the side of the power lines that fundamentally inferior sound then another side. So, when you will have your electrician among then pay him an extra one hour of his time asking him to flip your dedicated lines to the other side of the 220V.

All the rest in the above posted link is juts a noise of the disappointed cretins who can not figure out why thier 8 years in college did not automatically provided them with better Sound in their listening rooms.

Rgs,
Romy the caT

PS: Oops, sorry folks the idiot who wacko that pro forum ultimatum me that if I do not inform him about last name and my social security number then he will delete my posts from there. What an idiot!  He wrote:

” If Romy the Cat can find the cajones to use his real name, I will unlock the topic and let him continue to dig the hole he has started in his litter box, and the discussion may continue. If he chooses to remain an anonymous coward, his posts and all responses to his posts will be deleted, and I will then unlock the topic and the discussion may again continue. If you 'regular folk' get a message that a post you made was deleted, that will be the reason why. The time Romy has to change his name has yet to be determined by the all-powerful, yet benevolent moderator”

Since then a little administrative freak in his power trip journey because entitle to dictate what name a poster should use! Me? Remain an anonymous coward? Wow, this guy is really overwhelmed with ... live.

AndySpalla wrote:

Maybe that electrian was right? What do you think they do in recording studios? One thing is for sure, they don't just use one leg of power, especially since many will require both legs of power.

I do not think I am trying to convince you in anything, I just inform you.  “What do you think they do in recording studios?” Whatever they do… I see thier result when I stop by in a records store and I realize that 99.9999% of thier “products” deserved to be trashed. Anyhow, let live the poor pro audio people alone. They mostly have no expertise, no serious reference points, no cultural references at demanded level and not objectives that would be worth attention. Most recoding studios (with obvious exemptions) are not even at the level AC polarity but they beyond even a level of acoustic polarity between the mixed channels. Anyhow, I do not even want to dive into the bitching about the typical pro audio Moronism....

AndySpalla wrote:

Where is the scientific proof that this actually does something? Why should I pay an electrician to come out if I don't know it will do anything?

Why do you ask me? If you have a diarrhea you do not ask for the “scientific proof” of the fact of own disturbance. You stoop to eat bad food and run to restroom. The very same is here. I’m not wiling to writhe the PhD destination on the subject that I have interest. I juts inform about the existence of the fact, the way in which to deal with it and move forward. I do audio not for the sake of flashing to others with my faulty scientific proofs but explicitly in order to be able to get the Sound that feel I need. In this journey I learned that the phase AC polarity affected me and I've learned how to deal with. My playback installation is connected to the “good” sounding side of my distributor transformer. I have this confidence and I know what I have when it was otherwise. I will live you with this thought,,,

AndySpalla wrote:

Also, what is your position on lifting grounds?

I do not use the ground that comes from the AC lines

The caT

Romy the Cat wrote:

AndySpalla wrote: Also, what is your position on lifting grounds? I do not use the ground that comes from the AC lines The caT

AndySpalla wrote:

Mr. Bessnow,  What ground  DO you use?

CORRECT AC POLARITY

June 17, 2009 — puristaudio
System set-up

"I wanted to talk about a tweak that costs little or nothing to do, while having the potential of paying big dividends in terms of sonic improvement. It involves a simple test (with some simple test equipment) that will allow you to determine if your equipment, and wall outlets, are “polarity correct”.  Almost all of your audio equipment has a transformer in it that serves as a source of power for the circuits inside. Not all manufacturers hook up their transformers so as to minimize voltage leakage to the chassis, otherwise called the “chassis to ground potential”. One can measure this by purchasing some testing equipment. What you will be measuring is the amount of voltage running around in the chassis of your audio equipment. The preferred voltage is the lowest voltage, which will save you from making dreadful subjective decisions such as “which polarity is more tuneful and in touch with the musicality?”   First thing you will need is a polarity testing plug which will set you back about $3.99. The second piece of test gear is a multimeter (VOM) which reads AC volts below 500; mine cost all of $45.00.  The polarity testing plug can be purchased in almost any store that carries even the most meager line of home electronics. It’s a 3-prong plug with three little lights on the back. You take the plug and insert it into each of your wall outlets, and the lights on the back will tell you if your outlets are wired properly in the wall. Many outlets, even in new digs and mobile homes, have the positive and neutral taps wired in reverse and grounds are oftentimes left open. The polarity plug will let you properly assess the orientation of the outlets that you use and make any necessary adjustments. This is the first step toward proper polarity.  The next thing to do is check the chassis voltage of your equipment.  With your multimeter in hand proceed as directed. Each component to be tested must be totally isolated. Disconnect interconnects, antennas, power cords and grounds. If the component to be tested has a two prong directional cord, plug it in. If the component to be tested has a three prong cord, steal a “cheater plug” from wife’s mixer and use it to float (lift) the ground of the chosen piece of equipment. Set your multimeter to AC volts, connecting the probe to a true ground (I use a true earth ground consisting of an outdoor earth rod with a cable running from it into my listening room). You can also go to the ground connection of the outlet if you have three prong outlets, or you can run to a drain pipe as I had to in my bedroom. NEVER connect to a pipe carrying electrical wiring or anything flammable like natural gas, and NEVER connect to an antenna which can be struck by lightning.  Connect the red probe to the chassis ground terminal if it is a preamp you are testing, or to a sheet metal screw on the chassis on almost everything else. With the screws you may have to scrape a little paint off the screw to make good contact. Good contact is essential to an accurate volt reading off the chassis. Now plug the component in and turn it on. If you haven’t been electrocuted, you should have a voltage reading on your meter. Write it down. Turn the component off and reverse the AC power cord in the wall outlet. With a cheater plug, the neutral side of the plug is usually wider than the hot side and reversing can be difficult. In the past I have taken a pair of metal snips and cut the neutral side down so that it will fit into the hot side of the outlet. Once the polarity is reversed, turn the component back on and make a second reading. Choose the power orientation that reads the lowest. (Note: Some equipment, especially power amplifiers, should be left off a few minutes before firing them back up with the AC polarity reversed.) Easy? And with some experience you’ll get to the point where you will be able to tell the proper AC orientation by simply listening to the equipment; the meter won’t be necessary. At that point you will have earned your golden ear.  Some audiophiles, when reversing a power cord, choose to leave the ground open or floating, alleging that the system sounds better that way. In some cases it is true, but remember, by floating the ground you may be defeating the UL rating for the device and maybe even voiding the warranty, which could be disastrous if for some reason a fire results. Play it safe.  YOU ARE DONE. The real trick here is to get each and every component in a system oriented properly. If your system has two components oriented wrong, the correction of one may not be enough to bring on earth shaking improvements – get the entire system right before passing judgment. Proper orientation makes one’s system generally sound fuller in the midrange and more dimensional in the lower midrange. Clarity and depth of image will increase in good ways. Look for less strident and cleaner highs also a lowering of the noise floor. If on the other hand you test everything and find all the plugs properly oriented already, you could consider the entire ordeal as time wasted, or, you might consider it an average day for an audio manufacturer.   Just a note if your not comfortable dealing with AC then don’t try the above post."

Ref:  http://www.puristaudiodesign.com/jimscorner.html

• Works without a battery, thus is always ready for use !
• Its liquid crystal display safely senses and indicates the voltage relative to your body (=ground), that is present at any object touched with its screwdriver blade.
• It measures 12V to 230V, AC and DC in 12, 36, 55, 110 and 220V indication steps and also can indicate the presence of electric stray fields.
• Very sensitive and safe: Its leakage current is less than 3µA.