Change power cord to the Ultra

[rccarguy]

I didn't ask how to recognize it. I asked him how he did it.

It is the same design as the Emotiva AVR, it just has additional PCB for XLR. It's a Tonewinner AT300.

 

[onlyoneme]

It is the same design as the Emotiva AVR, it just has additional PCB for XLR. It's a Tonewinner AT300.

I thought it was another guy, sorry. Too many pills obviously.

 

[midi97]

Anyone test to change to a better power cord on the Ultra?

I was using the standard 0.75mm²x2 18 AWG cable, and then I connected the “QED Qonduit P-MC performance” 16awg power cable using a C14 to C7 adapter. The change in sound was noticeable. The loose bass became firmer, and the density increased.

I am using the Wiim Ultra as the source and utilizing the USB output to connect to the Audiolab 8300CDQ as the DAC. It's worth trying with affordable cables.

 

[MKUltra]

I have to try changing power cables on my computer. I can probably make it compute better (occasionally I run Windows Calculator and it tells me that 2+2=5) and have the monitor show clearer pixels and more accurate colours.

 

[Musician]

I was using the standard 0.75mm²x2 18 AWG cable, and then I connected the “QED Qonduit P-MC performance” 16awg power cable using a C14 to C7 adapter. The change in sound was noticeable. The loose bass became firmer, and the density increased.

I am using the Wiim Ultra as the source and utilizing the USB output to connect to the Audiolab 8300CDQ as the DAC. It's worth trying with affordable cables.

I have recently put ferrite chokes around each of the power cables for the Ultra , my dac and my HYPEX amp . Two on each cable . For the ultra I have multiple turns of powercable around a big ferrite choke . The sound is different for sure , less dynamic and slightly cleaner . Exactly what Rob Watts from Chord says the effect will be .

RFi and EMI contamination will give a false impression of more detail to the sound .

On ASR they have shown that using multiple cableturns around a ferrite choke lowers the noise 10 dB from 1 kHz and up. At 20 kHz its 25 dB. So not just at 500 MHz .

Read more here :

RCA cable Magnetic interference measurement and comparison

Cables are cables and there is no difference?! I designed a test to see if they perform significantly different in therms of "magnetic shielding" or Leakage inductance. This test dose not test for ground loop currents but interference from close by magnetic in homogeneous magnetic files. The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

This might not do any difference on the internal electronics of the treated gear, but it will lower eventual noise coming out from the power supply, backwards to the grid polluting other components .

Maybe this is something for Onlyoneme to investigate - how much pollution does the Ultra put back to the grid ?

 

[onlyoneme]

You did not pay attention to what you read:

"If low impedance Common mode (ground loop) Noise is the Problem, Ferrites and "good cabel" make a difference."

 

[Musician]

You did not pay attention to what you read:

"If low impedance Common mode (ground loop) Noise is the Problem, Ferrites and "good cabel" make a difference."

Agree .
Now, the question is …
Is ground loop noise from the ultras coaxial spdif out , rca analog out , or power supply an issue in the Ultra ?

Your measurements on the Ultra got better results with a low pass filter used, why is that ?

 

[onlyoneme]

I think it's an HF pollution from the PSU, unrelated to the ground loop effects, but I'm not an electronics guy.
The influence of cables in the ground loop conditions, both IC and power ones, is obvious and I published measurements of that in the past.

 

[slipthru]

I've bought the MCRU power cord to try. Bass is firmer and slightly more detail.

 

[slartibartfast]

Just think how much better any power cord would sound with one of these.

Quantum Science Audio (QSA) Silver Extreme Level UK Mains Fuse - 3A, 5A & 13 Amp

Future Shop proudly presents Quantum Science Audio (QSA), a leader in the audiophile fuse industry with extensive research in 'Bottle Neck Distortion'. QSA fuses are designed to enhance audio systems, a crucial component historically overlooked. These fuses focus on reducing 'bottlenecking'...

www.futureshop.co.uk

 

[Musician]

I think it's an HF pollution from the PSU, unrelated to the ground loop effects, but I'm not an electronics guy.
The influence of cables in the ground loop conditions, both IC and power ones, is obvious and I published measurements of that in the past.

Thanks for the answer.
Would there be a higher SINAD from the DAC-RCA analog output if one puts ferrite chokes around each channel of the rca cables ?
Is there a higher SINAD on the spdif coaxial out if doing the same ?

When you measured the analog RCA output on the WiiM Ultra, at what frequency was the SINAD the lowest ? 50 kHz or higher ?

 

[LennyBruce]

Just think how much better any power cord would sound with one of these.

Quantum Science Audio (QSA) Silver Extreme Level UK Mains Fuse - 3A, 5A & 13 Amp

Future Shop proudly presents Quantum Science Audio (QSA), a leader in the audiophile fuse industry with extensive research in 'Bottle Neck Distortion'. QSA fuses are designed to enhance audio systems, a crucial component historically overlooked. These fuses focus on reducing 'bottlenecking'...

www.futureshop.co.uk

Just change to European sockets and rely on a RCBO for protection. No need for any fuses.

 

[slartibartfast]

Just change to European sockets and rely on a RCBO for protection. No need for any fuses.

It would need to be an audiophile RCBO

 

[LennyBruce]

It would need to be an audiophile RCBO

Now that's a business opportunity.

"Pure copper DIN rails to ensure sinusoidal performance and finest earth protection. Enclosed in Highest grade Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Polymer to ensure audio loop bypass. Opens up the soundstage and loosens bass."

 

[castalla]

Now that's a business opportunity.

"Pure copper DIN rails to ensure sinusoidal performance and finest earth protection. Enclosed in Highest grade Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Polymer to ensure audio loop bypass. Opens up the soundstage and loosens bass."

Sounds more like a remedy for constipation

 

[LennyBruce]

I need to get some of this stuff. Looks like a bargain at £200.

 

[Realisticandcredibility]

Now I have tested with another power cord and the sound tightened up a bit with more detailed sound. But with this change I think it is more important with cleaner power because when the sound is tightened up then you hear more in the mids and highs and then it is even more important with clean power to get more deep and blackness in the sound. So I will test that later.

 

[antlestxp]

anyone with these amazing gains do a blind test?

 

[Realisticandcredibility]

Now the bass has arrived. The power cord was new, so it needed to play for a while to play at its best. Earlier it just tightened up the sound and make it more detailed but with a little less bass but now the bass has arrived and the sound is more mature and natural.

I’m too lazy to change back just to compare with original cable, but since it was difference directly when I changed it and now even better I say, Ultra can be a little better with a better build cable. This one costing only 50€, so it’s not expensive.
If you have the possibility to test I recommend to do so. But if you loaning a new cable you need to play it for a week or so. Then I think that everyone will NOT hear difference depending on your equipment. The whole chain (cables included) must have high quality, if some part of it hasn’t that high quality then you will not be able to hear it. The sound will not be better than the weakest link in the system. But it’s free to test.

 

[slartibartfast]

Now the bass has arrived. The power cord was new, so it needed to play for a while to play at its best. Earlier it just tightened up the sound and make it more detailed but with a little less bass but now the bass has arrived and the sound is more mature and natural.

I’m too lazy to change back just to compare with original cable, but since it was difference directly when I changed it and now even better I say, Ultra can be a little better with a better build cable. This one costing only 50€, so it’s not expensive.
If you have the possibility to test I recommend to do so. But if you loaning a new cable you need to play it for a week or so. Then I think that everyone will NOT hear difference depending on your equipment. The whole chain (cables included) must have high quality, if some part of it hasn’t that high quality then you will not be able to hear it. The sound will not be better than the weakest link in the system. But it’s free to test.

The world has gone mad if power cables need to be run in, or anything apart from speakers and styli for that matter.