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[Brandt]

so i suspected this to be the problem of my x10 woes and proved it tonight...

one of the power strips that my Dad uses for his stereo equipment is being a signal sucker. this thing is about the size of a shoebox / cinderblock and the power cords going into it and plugging into the wall are as thick as garden hoses...ill have to get the exact specs on it tomorrow when i can see back there...but yeah...all I have is those wimpy 5A XPPF's but I dunno if those things are going to do it for this monster of a power strip.

Also, what can I say to my Dad in order to let me introduce a filter into the power signal going to his equipment...These audiophiles are crazy about that, they have like hospital grade power cables, gold capacitors, silver wound transformers...etc...

[Brian H]

I would not even think of using an XPPF. They overheat if you even get close to their five amp rating.
Smarthome makes a ten amp FilterLinc and ACT makes a fifteen amp AF120.
http://www.smarthome.com/1626-10/FilterLinc-10-Amp-Plug-In-X10-Noise-Filter/p.aspx
http://www.act-solutions.com/PCC/pdfs/PCCSpecs/Af120si_spec.PDF

I have a feeling this maybe a hard sell to your Father if he is that much of a purest.
Though the added filter would most likely doing less signal removal from the power line than the one in use now.

[Brandt]

Ok I talked to him...This is the device:

http://www.changlightspeed.com/cls6400.htm

His main concern is that the filter would limit the amount of amperage that is available to his equipment, but I told him if the filter is rated as high as the breaker switch in the panel than it wouldn't affect it. The big test though is installing the filter (as he is willing to try it) and hoping his 'golden ears' don't hear a difference in the music.

[Brian H]

I hope it works.
X10Pro makes a wired in one but it is fairly large and is bulky.
XPF is a 20 amp wired in filter.

[Brandt]

So I installed the af120 last night without telling my dad to see if he'd even notice.


sure enough, I came home from work today and it was sitting on the table next to my laptop..lol

He said he definitely heard something was wrong...then he saw it and took it out and said it was much better the way it is suppose to sound.


So no X10 filters on high-end filtering power strips on audio equipment....I guess maybe just get past it with brute force x10 signal with a booster?

[Brian H]

Sorry to hear that.
I didn't think anyone would have such good ears to hear it.
Maybe he saw it and just decided you can't mess with my stuff.
Maybe a signal booster would help, but then again; maybe he will hear distortion any time you send a signal.

[dave w]

pom,

Your Dad's amp isn't by any chance and old Carver "cube" is it? The cube and any other amp using 120V as its supply rails could get influenced by coils in the filter if played at high level. Just curious.

[Brandt]

No its not a carver. Not sure what the amp is off the top of my head, but his external DAC is a Mark Levinson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Levinson and the CD transport is a Theta http://www.thetadigital.com/index.shtml

[dave w]

o-o-o-o-h-h-h, Levinson...pretty serious audiophile isn't he(?). Spring for a XTBIIR repeater.

[Brandt]

With the increased x10 signal voltage of the XTB-IIR, will he notice that signal in the sound every time it fires off?

[Brian H]

Depends on the audio equipment being able to not pass the 120KHz burst on the power line.

[dave w]

With the increased x10 signal voltage of the XTB-IIR, will he notice that signal in the sound every time it fires off?

Probably not.

Think of like this, if X10 coding could be heard in high end audio systems then it would really be present and detectable and noticeable in the cheap stuff. Everybody would have complained, and no one would have bought X10 for the last (almost) thirty years. So there would be no X10.  Nah, I don't think you have a worry about X10 coding being noticable.

The reason I ask about the Carver is because it did not have a conventional power supply of huge power transformer and massive filter caps. These components  tend to level out the current being drawn by the amp when deep bass thump really sucks the power. The Carver did not have big filter caps to provide power for those momentary pulses, so it would draw that power straight from the powerline. So the average current drawn by the Carver might be less than 5 amps but a kittle drum beat might cause it to draw 10 amps for a fraction of a second. The X10 filter could effect the sound by limiting the current during those high current pulses.  It could also be like Brian H said, your father saw the filter and just felt it would influnce the sound.

The 120hz burst of the X10 signal is a totally different animal.

Good luck

[dave w]

pom

I dislike the X10 XPCR because I have had quality problems with it and the Leviton version. However after thinking about your situation, it may be a "semi" solution. You can get a XPCR off Ebay very cheap. So if it does somehow interfere with the sound system (which I really don't think it could) you haven't broken the bank.
My $0.02.