Michael Fremer Updates His House Ground For Sonic Performance
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- From Fremer:
"I used to have major ground noise issues and other problems with my electrical service that I tried to solve as most audio enthusiasts do, with power conditioners and dedicated lines. Those produced some improvements, but there still were issues.
The proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" was the installation of an auxiliary whole house generator and its transfer switch, that when power goes out, removes the house from the grid and connects it to the generator.
Following the installation, I was shocked to hear the unexpected sonic deterioration to my system-it was like a milky, gauzy film had been overlayed upon the music.
I wrote about it and two guys came to the rescue, volunteering their time and expertise: Rex Hungerford of www.kingrexele... and Ed DeVito of audio-ultra.com. They were working together at the time this video was shot, but since then they've gone their separate ways. My local electrician Craig Bradley did much of the work since Rex is licensed in the state of Washington and I'm in New Jersey. I also got a great deal of support and help from Garth Powell at AudioQuest. I thank them all.
As you'll see in the video, much of the improvement was the result of a big upgrade to the house ground, which previously was kind of a mess.
The sonic improvement made by this "from the roof" upgrade caused more than a few industry veterans who visited to exclaim "This is the quietest system I've ever heard." That's not how it used to be!
If you live in a private home, I urge you to consider this kind of upgrade, which admittedly will cost thousands of dollars, before you invest heavily in in-room power conditioners. Those may also help depending upon the situation but first start with a firm electrical foundation!"
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All I can say if it makes him happy that is all that matters.
No, not to far for obsessive audiophiles! I installed a new ground rod and a continuous copper path through my panel to the 4 dedicated feeds to my system. Big improvement! Thank you Michael!
I think you should really run proper copper aaaaaalllll the way to NY to the power plant! Gotta start at the beginning!
Thanks for this one, I was/am just contemplating the ground situation in my Palace.
Re the thumbnail caption "have audiophiles gone too far?" - In a word, yes.
Man, your wife must love you. Tidy your room!
I think this video was posted before on UA-cam. It is good.
Being an engineer, the answer is a definite YES. Aluminum wire, not my favorite.
I did the same on my 90 year old house, dedicated lines to my system and all.
There was certainly a sonic improvement not to mention piece of mine. 🤓
I'm surprised the external ground (earth) cable isn't sheathed and in conduit before it is buried. In Europe all ground cables need to be insulated - since 2017 in the case of mains cables, double insulated.
look at all those illegal TV cable connections outside naughty naughty Mr fermer
Rex is the man! Come down to my house please!
Thank you!!
Most GENs deliver dirty power. I installed Solar and a huge battery bank and put the whole house on the batteries. Perfect sound 24/7. Sol Ark (Deye) inverters.
👍 Generators are dirty. Inverter/generators, though, are clean, and safe for electronics in a home (appliances and HVAC, chargers, TVs, networking, etc.) although I wouldn't fire up my "good" system during an outage anyway.
i heard about that too
from someone whos generally against those audiophile quirks
hes a music producer, and he swears on an additional disconnected power battery
if i remember, he was using a battery from stromtank.
extremely expensive.. atleast 10.000 bucks. But he says the sound is like transformed and crystal clean.
Can u tell me which system do u use to do this? I cant spend 10.000 bucks.. atleast for now.
A Audioquest power cable from the the Electricity Generator all the way to Michael Fremer house will definitely make remarkable difference to Vinly sound quality. It will be like Easter 🎉
Lol
what one man implied confirmed what i thought the grounds were daisy chained
Installed a generac generator on my home and heard zero degradation in sound quality. This is on Revel Salon 2 speakers and benchmark AHB2 amps.
Did they find the electrical ground was dirty?
Absolutely, it's really insanity that can be done because he works for a "high end" magazine. Obviously, the lp is a limited format sonically. An AR XA was certainly fine, a LINN LP12, too. Redoing home power supplies, etc. seems just bizarre.
The best sound I ever heard was from paired KLH9s, classic Marantz tube amplification in a 1960s NYC hifi show. All wired with ZIPCORD! I say this as a licensed psychoanalyst and am quite aware of various obsessions. A McIntosh MAC7200 is perhaps all most people need!
so you're not just some idiot
We’ve been priced out with wages not keeping up with inflation and price increases that are not seen in other industries. It’s a shame.
I thought Aluminum wiring was illegal now ? Why would it be coming from the transformer to your house ?
So imagine how much better it would sound with high quality UK plug and sockets system, probably the best in the world, no plugs hanging out of the wall as in the US 👍👍👍👍
It will affect the sound, as the power coming in will create a lot of electrical noise in the line and affect the amp circuit which in turn ruins the amp output circuit and sound.
Shame you have such a poor plug/socket system, I’ve just experienced 3.5 weeks in the US travelling, with plugs hanging out of the socket. 😵💫
Oh yes.
The rats nest of conduits/cabling/random socket positions in the basement was just hideous. 😩
He should have just built a garden room with single electrical supply line junction box and have the sockets laid out symmetrically, making maintenance & upgrades easier.
Why is it so important to use copper from the service splice down to the meter base (10 feet) when the entire neutral supported feed going across the street to the utility is aluminum ?
In another universe he has 200+ cats.
I'd also check with insurance companies if anybody covers record collections and gear and see about including a rider/writer.
You F*ckin kidding me Fremer!
A man in Japan did this many years ago and thats where fremer got it.
That's all nice. Bit the questions is how much would all this coat to Joe smoe that doesn't live in Jersey and have all these connections? Most electrical folks doing this work will probobly be like your generac and be like the freaking crazy? Followed by no we can't do that. Still interesting and I don't doubt it makes a difference.
Where could it possibly cost more to do this than NJ
House looks like poor construction - maybe standard for US?
Yes, that's the way they construct houses on the other side of the pond.
Placebo is a hell of a drug.
So is blissful ignorance. Don’t ever hear a world-class system as you will go home with an even bigger inferiority complex.
Lol, it is actually.
this isn't new I saw this quite a while ago
Get your hearing checked, Fremer. A lot cheaper. We are all dealing with age related hearing loss. You may be at risk of bias confirmation. Though I am sure these are all fine upgrades, my guess is they are not cheap.
Not cheap but necessary if you want to avoid an electrical fire…Money well spent👏
He's been this way for decades. It's greed and conflict of interest, not his hearing.
I see no greed or conflict of interest. Please explain such allegations.@@johnnyrabenold6133
Super capacitor should be the way to go, use it to power up everything
This was on UA-cam before.
Holy shit? Aluminium wire?
Do you guys in the US use that for power?
RIDICULOUS!
Those who can; make music those who cant do stuff like this.
Over, time all of this different electrical work that was done turned out to be a real CF.
Why do you ride it, time for new shingles and you should treat them with Bleach Oil for a beautiful silvery look.
Why not truly fix the entire setup instead of piecemeal minor fixes that yield far less than optimal results that are possible? I fixed my ENTIRE setup to far beyond current world class standards a long LONG time ago. That's why my power cords and networked power are light years beyond even the supposed state of the art today.
“My mental problems they didn’t read about” lmao
Please Mr Fremer, a gimbal is about a hundred bucks! For a guy who doesn’t hesitate to dish out exorbitant sums of money on various sound equipment and gizmos the refusal do address the arguable lousy image quality with the dizzying swaying really hard to understand - or come to term with.
Next question: How much does it literally cost per KW hour to run a system that draws a lot of power? I usually only listen at 80dbs average so it can't cost too much for a 4 hour session. Or so I think. But I didn't just come into town on a turnip truck either. More like a rutabegga truck.
Literally the house that lies built.
That’s harsh.
_daaaaaaaamn_
Lies?
What the biggest example?
@@FOH3663 there are so many. There were stones that you put on top of or around your gear for quantum tweaking. There was a company where a phone call was made and quantum effects are transmitted over the phone to your audio equipment. He endorsed this stuff. There have been all kinds of snake oil products that he has endorsed.
Lol
What happens to all his HI-Fi gear when the lord comes a calling?
Gets tossed in the bin by someone who doesn't know crap about it. Happens all the time.
10:05, you turn into a pillar of salt.
This is what happens when you have to much money to burn. He is a narcissistic, entitled person who thinks unless you have a system that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars you are not a true music lover.
What that was probably like a 40K job?
I re wired my entire house with new main from the pole... new breaker panels 1 200 amp and 1 100 amp ... seperates for my audio room and it qas under 20k... he is doing a hell of alot less then that
To play a 50 cent record.
Hope this is all tax write-off since it relates to your profession.🤞🏼
If I were you I'd have my plumbing inspected for weakening over time. Most of it is probably 70 years old. That is the real danger to your set up and collection.
Old film , it not new
Please keep the subtleties on ALL your videos more longer , it disappeared before we can read it !!!
Please take in construction that your subscribers are from different countries and many of them English is not their mother tongue ...
Money for modernization but no solar as the user auditions power hungry equipment backed up by an expensive fossil generator. All he had to do was average out his bills for a monthly kilowatt draw and match it to a solar array but he didn't. Technology fashion victim.
Gernerator workers well for providing electricity during a storm related power outage. Solar panels during that situation, not so much.
Yea, let's put up a panels in a place where it's cloudy half the year just to be edgy. Solar's a joke, lapped up by followers. Not leaders.
I did the same….. did`nt make difference 🫣
Because it was a DIY job.