Hi group.

I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a whole lot better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the rest of the time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains supply? It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity supply is at
it's lowest demand.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it sound as good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If they would, would I be better buying, say, one really good mains cable
for the source? Or spread the cost and buy 4 cheaper ones for each of my
components?

I have a Linn system. Mimik, Wakonda and 2x LK 100's going into a pair of
Keilidhs.

I would appreciate any advice.

Cheers.

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 21:35:15 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

Hi group.

I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a whole lot better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the rest of the time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains supply? It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity supply is at
it's lowest demand.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it sound as good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If they would, would I be better buying, say, one really good mains cable
for the source? Or spread the cost and buy 4 cheaper ones for each of my
components?

I have a Linn system. Mimik, Wakonda and 2x LK 100's going into a pair of
Keilidhs.

I would appreciate any advice.

Get some sleep, that would be my advice.

"Adie" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 21:35:15 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

Hi group.

I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a whole lot
better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the rest of the
time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains supply?
It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity supply is
at
it's lowest demand.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it sound as
good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If they would, would I be better buying, say, one really good mains
cable
for the source? Or spread the cost and buy 4 cheaper ones for each of
my
components?

I have a Linn system. Mimik, Wakonda and 2x LK 100's going into a pair
of
Keilidhs.

I would appreciate any advice.

Get some sleep,

I do. Through the day. Best time to sleep when, like me, you work
nights.

that would be my advice.

Cool. Now we've sorted the sleep thing, how about some advice on the hi-fi
thing?

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 22:57:59 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

"Adie" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 21:35:15 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

Hi group.

I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a whole lot
better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the rest of the
time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains supply?
It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity supply is
at
it's lowest demand.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it sound as
good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If they would, would I be better buying, say, one really good mains
cable
for the source? Or spread the cost and buy 4 cheaper ones for each of
my
components?

I have a Linn system. Mimik, Wakonda and 2x LK 100's going into a pair
of
Keilidhs.

I would appreciate any advice.

Get some sleep,

I do. Through the day. Best time to sleep when, like me, you work
nights.

that would be my advice.

Cool. Now we've sorted the sleep thing, how about some advice on the hi-fi
thing?

It could just be that it's quieter at night, less background noise.

"Adie" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 22:57:59 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

"Adie" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 21:35:15 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

Hi group.

I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a whole lot
better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the rest of the
time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains supply?
It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity supply
is
at
it's lowest demand.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it sound
as
good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If they would, would I be better buying, say, one really good mains
cable
for the source? Or spread the cost and buy 4 cheaper ones for each of
my
components?

I have a Linn system. Mimik, Wakonda and 2x LK 100's going into a
pair
of
Keilidhs.

I would appreciate any advice.

Get some sleep,

I do. Through the day. Best time to sleep when, like me, you work
nights.

that would be my advice.

Cool. Now we've sorted the sleep thing, how about some advice on the
hi-fi
thing?

It could just be that it's quieter at night, less background noise.

No, it's more than that. It's tighter and more rhythmic. It's just toe
tappingly better in a subtle sort of way. Mainly in the '3D ness' of the
soundstage (sorry, that's the best i can manage to describe the difference).

Possible causes:
a) The dog snores during normal hours
b) After a couple of glasses of Talisker the hifi sounds subtly better
c) Free from the company of significant others in the house, a euphoria
sets in
d) The neighbours upstairs stop playing reggae after midnight
e) The electrons in your system are descended from what we call
"vampire electrons", a whole load of which came over from Rumania in a
ship one dark night and got into the National Grid. These electrons are
useless during the day (tend to just chill, etc).
f) You suffer from photophobia and are more relaxed during the night.
Have a medical checkout and make sure you can put your chin on your
chest at all times.
g) It's all to do with satelites and UFOs
h) When in a vacant or pensive mood the money you spent on your system
flashes upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude, and then
your heart with pleasure fills.

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 23:52:55 GMT, "Jay Kaner" wrote:

No, it's more than that. It's tighter and more rhythmic. It's just toe
tappingly better in a subtle sort of way. Mainly in the '3D ness' of the
soundstage (sorry, that's the best i can manage to describe the difference).

This is audiophool tosh.

"Jay Kaner" wrote in message
...

"Adie" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 22:57:59 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

"Adie" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 21:35:15 GMT, Jay Kaner wrote:

Hi group.

I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a
whole lot
better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the
rest of the
time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains
supply?
It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity
supply
is
at
it's lowest demand.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it
sound
as
good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If they would, would I be better buying, say, one really good
mains
cable
for the source? Or spread the cost and buy 4 cheaper ones for
each of
my
components?

I have a Linn system. Mimik, Wakonda and 2x LK 100's going
into a
pair
of
Keilidhs.

I would appreciate any advice.

Get some sleep,

I do. Through the day. Best time to sleep when, like me, you
work
nights.

that would be my advice.

Cool. Now we've sorted the sleep thing, how about some advice
on the
hi-fi
thing?

It could just be that it's quieter at night, less background
noise.

No, it's more than that. It's tighter and more rhythmic. It's
just toe
tappingly better in a subtle sort of way. Mainly in the '3D ness'
of the
soundstage (sorry, that's the best i can manage to describe the
difference).





The real answer is probably much more simple.

Your hearing works by the movement of very fine 'hairs' (for want of a
better description) within the ear canal. Gradually during the day
these hairs become lazy/tired and your hearing decays, but whilst you
sleep they are not really in use and you are in a quiet environment,
so they rejuvenate. If you then listen to your hi-fi when you wake up
the hairs will be at their most sensitive so your perception will be
that the system sounds better. Haven't you ever noticed how much
sharper your hearing is when you wake up from a long sleep?

If the hairs are constantly battered by high sound levels - in the
workplace, disco, even iPod - the hairs gradually loose their ability
to recuperate and deafness sets in.

You learn all about this phenomina when you go on Health and Safety
courses.


--
Woody

harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com

On 2006-07-09, Jay Kaner wrote:
I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a whole lot better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the rest of the time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains supply? It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity supply is at
it's lowest demand.

If there is some real difference - and human beings are quite good at
hearing things differently depending on mood, stress levels etc. so you
should be careful - then it's something of a leap to conclude that it's
the mains supply.

You will find a few sceptics in here and I'm afraid I am one of them.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it sound as good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If it's really a mains problem then the issue is what is the specific
problem?

- RF interference?
- Mains spikes?
- Under/over voltage?
- Harmonic distortion of the mains waveform?

A good designer of audio kit will have dealt with the effects of all of
those issues in the PSU of his kit and in the PSU rejection ratio of the
electronics. Amp designers such as Bryston and Plinius issue specific
advice that either you don't need mains conditioning for their products
or that you should not use series mains conditioners at all [1] [2].

Even if you have to protect poorly designed kit then different power
conditioners do different things. Simple series filter conditioners
(e.g. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/nuukspot/...nditioner.html)
remove spikes and RF interference.

If you need to deal with voltage variations (and the audio designer should
have dealt with +/- 15% tolerance for UK mains) or waveform distorions
then you need an entirely different and more expensive beast.

I would appreciate any advice.

My advice is to be skeptical of mains conditioners and special mains
leads. Almost all installations will not need any mains conditioning.
I suspect that most of those that do just need inexpensive spike
suppression (but you didn't mention clicks).

If you really do need mains conditioning then you need to investigate
precisely what you are protecting the kit from to determine what you
need.


[1] http://www.pliniusaudio.com/questions/index.asp: "We have found that
any mains conditioner, or filter, that acts in series with the mains
(and most work this way) will starve the amplifier and negatively
affect the sound. Try plugging the amplifier directly into the
wall socket."

[2] Bryson 4BSST manual: "Power line conditioners will not improve the
SST amplifier performance, in fact most of the time they restrict
the flow of current to the amplifier, reducing performance at higher
output levels"

--
John Phillips

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 21:35:15 GMT, "Jay Kaner" wrote:

Hi group.

I am very happy with my hi-fi. The thing is, it sounds a whole lot better
in the early hours of the morning (2-6am) than it does the rest of the time.

Am i right in thinking this has something to do with the mains supply? It
seems logical that it sounds at its best when the electricity supply is at
it's lowest demand.

If it has, would buying mains conditioners/cables help make it sound as good
as it does at those times, the other times of the day?

If they would, would I be better buying, say, one really good mains cable
for the source? Or spread the cost and buy 4 cheaper ones for each of my
components?

I have a Linn system. Mimik, Wakonda and 2x LK 100's going into a pair of
Keilidhs.

I would appreciate any advice.

Cheers.



No. The difference is in you. Your diurnal rhythms cause massive
changes in the way you receive and perceive sounds, particularly ones
that have emotional impact. like music. Add to that the effect of the
acoustic environment which is also very different at different times
of day and you don't need to go poking around the mains to find the
reasons for the difference in your perceptions.

And of course the power supplies in audio equipment are designed to be
insensitive to anything the mains can throw at them. If mains is to
have any effect it certainly won't be in the sound of the system,
although in a pathologically bad case it may result in audible clicks
and pops.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com