Audiolab DC Block Direct Current Blocker Mains Conditioner (Black)

Product Information

The device is designed for use with a single audio or AV system component. Audiolab recommends that it should be used with the integrated amp or power amp component within your system to obtain the most significant benefit.

With a quieter mains signal being feed to your amplifier, the whole system benefits. A quieter amp means less distortion relayed to other components, helping reduce distortion and enhance music dynamics. I’m replying out of courtesy to explain with rationality and fact, rather than try and convince. I think a lot of people would also make the same assumption so please don’t take offence but I think youre missing the point of a DC filter and what it actually (not supposedly) does. DC doesn’t make your cone hum. It doesn’t hiss and it doesn’t whistle, so no matter how close you get, you won’t hear it. The Polish brand Ferrum launches the "Power Splitter", a matching accessory for the external power supply Hypsos, with which it is supposd to power two devices simultaneously.Additionally, this dual-action device is said to boast a high-performance audio class filtering circuit that removes RFI/EMI contaminants from the mains supply. We are informed that this reduces both differential-mode noise (exacerbated by cheap switch-mode power supplies used by many home appliances) and common-mode noise (aggravated by airborne interference from phones, Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth). Wiring, PCB design often are far from optimal. But lets face it. Only very few people are really bothered by ground loops and they all can be solved by finding the loop(s) and breaking it/them. You don’t ‘hear’ DC - there is no audible noise, like static or white noise. Maybe you’ll hear the transform hum a little bit that’s a vibration that you’re hearing, caused by DC. You often do not need super low noise regulators, you often do not need the lowest possible ESR caps. They are all design choices made by requirements, availability of parts and price.

And in even shorter summary - that’s why I’ll be inclined to try one in my system to see if it can help improve performance. While studying various designs I stumbled across a TEAC DAC, that I personally found interesting as it took a grip of the dirty USB cable shield. It lands the USB port at separate pcb, hard coupled to chassis by a screw and just millimeters from the port, minimizing the lead reactans, the entire PCB is grounded to chassis. This is an example of a good design. Others in that DAC could be questioned in my opinion. Could not see, e.g. any signs of a grounded lead out from an electrostatic shield in the transformers. Audiolab's new midrange product line is said to incorporate technologies from the new 9000 flagship models and consists of an integrated amplifier, a streamer as well as a CD transport. The Power Box RS2 Phono promises high-purity "linear" power supply for Pro-Ject turntables and phono preamps at the same time. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 29th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)Would such a circuit affect ambient noise in your room? - absolutely not, unless your transformer is humming and you can hear it! A DC filter would stop that, for sure. Calling it a "power strip" would not do it justice. According to the manufacturer, Chord Company's Master M6 and Studio S6 power distribution units, called PowerHAUS, can do much more than ordinary or even high-quality power strips.

Not to worry though, I’m not selling it and it’s probably not for tabletop speakers. But proven principle of physics isn’t snake oil and the principle of removing DC from an AC power supply is known to affect audio equipment and I suppose that’s all I’m trying to clarify. Many many years ago. I replaced my cheap bell wire with a QED79 cable. Connected it up to my Pioneer SA608 and Kef Celeste III speakers. Didn't hear a difference. However, DC on the mains will definitely affect a transformers performance and it will, in many cases cause a transformer to hum or vibrate. A real phenomenon and a real factor in the ability of a transformer to operate to optimum capability - which is important in audio systems.

Known for its amplifiers and digital source components spanning four decades, Cambridge-based Audiolab is now releasing its first product designed to improve the quality of AC electricity, the dual-action Audiolab DC Block.

There is a very slight hum coming from my turntable. I only know this, as when I approach my hifi to change records. I can hear it. I've never noticed it when playing music.

The science absolutely guarantees that removing DC improves a transformers ability to do its job, and therefore it is very likely to make an audible difference in audio equipment. I bet your speakers were designed on a clean mains supply, for sure. Mains electricity has a fundamental influence on the audio signal as it passes through a system, from source to amp to speakers. The mains supply in a typical dwelling is subject to interference induced by a range of issues, causing the AC waveform to distort before it reaches each component and can create noise in the audio signal. This can degrade sound quality. Second, it reduces the potential problem of popping or thumping when you turn on the power amp. If nothing is coming out of your preamp or other upstream device, such pops won't be too bad, but if said upsteam device has a DC offset, big pop/thump. The new power conditioning accessory "Sparkz TC3" from Ansuz Acoustics is designed to reduce noise in the power supply chain thanks to various technologies, and thus improve the sound of hi-fi components.The actual problem is not that everything should be designed as optimal as possible. It should be designed good enough. Admittedly, it's quite a basic circuit to filter it and I've obviously never auditioned this audiolab unit but if your transformer is affected by DC, which it almost certainly will be if you have a fridge, washing machine and dish washer on your home mains, and if this circuit is correct (which I'm sure it would be), it's not snake oil to suggest that it would work. It's physics.