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AUDIO FORUMS >> General Discussion and Support >> Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
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Message started by SteveL on 02/11/19 at 18:22:56

Title: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by SteveL on 02/11/19 at 18:22:56

I have a simple system using a Zen UFO2 amp, ZSTAGE, PS Audio Directstream Jr DAC and Sonore ultraRendu. This system sounds outstanding during the day, but many times in the evening it doesn't sound as good. I suspect this is not uncommon for other city-dwellers, and wondered if anyone with a similar situation has tried the ZLC? And if so, did it improve your nighttime sound quality significantly?

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by Lon on 02/11/19 at 18:29:19

Only Steve could answer that at the moment. No ZLC are yet out in the field, the first for a customer is finally being built and should ship soon I would suppose. . .

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by SteveL on 02/12/19 at 00:50:08

Thank you.

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by Steve Deckert on 02/13/19 at 00:06:52

Usually it's the other way around. Typically the sound is better at night and diminished during the day. First thing I would do is measure the voltage at the wall outlet during the day when it sounds good, and then again at night when it sounds bad so see if there is a large change in voltage.

If the change is less than 5% it's probably something else, like wifi traffic or other RF coming into your listening space. Could be LED lights, FLO lights, WIFI ROUTERS, MODEMS, BRIDGES, or some other appliance that runs at night. If it is any of these things, best to relocate the source of the problem first, but yes, the ZLC would lessen the negative effects.

Steve

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by Lonely Raven on 02/13/19 at 18:55:38

Quote:

Could be LED lights, FLO lights, WIFI ROUTERS, MODEMS, BRIDGES, or some other appliance that runs at night

This can be a bigger issue than people realize. Especially if you're running digital music over WiFi.

Funny thing - I had a "customer" (just a friend of a friend who offered me a few bucks to help with their home audio) who was having lots of issues with his system. It sounded great most of the time, then would just go to hell randomly and he couldn't figure it out. And what's worse, it didn't fail or break in any way, it would just get..."itchy" or sound off.

Turns out he had these old school dimmers throughout the house that were putting lots of noise into his electrical system. Hell, some of them I could hear these transformers humming from across the room (oddly enough, neither he nor anyone in his family could).

Add to that, his wifi would drop whenever someone used the microwave, because his wifi router was just in the room on the other side of the kitchen. I had him swap out his dimmer switches with more modern ones and move his router to a different room and all his issues were cleaned up!

These days it's helpful to be an audiophile nerd and IT guy at the same time. :)

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by Lon on 02/13/19 at 19:09:15

Lonely Raven wrote on 02/13/19 at 18:55:38:

These days it's helpful to be an audiophile nerd and IT guy at the same time. :)

Only if you buy into this new-fangled computer audio BS. ;)

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by ScottNC on 02/13/19 at 20:19:05

The first ZLC is in packing, the next 7 are being worked on.
I wonder if they aren't getting batched up to help with the production and hasten the delivery. I can only hope, #10 is moving on up! [smiley=10.gif]
I'm close to getting off the list (for now), probably help with the server demand on the forum...with me out of picture ;D
Scott

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by Lon on 02/13/19 at 21:38:15

Yes, we should see some impressions trickle in next month. I wonder if Steve hired some additional help, if so I would think it would make sense to sick them on the ZLC as it would be a simpler build.

Too bad mine won't come in before I move my system and add my second system as I would love to evaluate it as the system sits now. But it will be nice to have . . . it may end up being the power conditioning for my new second system.

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by ScottNC on 02/13/19 at 21:47:09

I'm betting we both see ours before the end of this month! [smiley=10.gif]
Maybe...

Title: Re: Experience with Zen Line Conditioner?
Post by Lon on 02/13/19 at 21:50:40

We'll see. It will still be too late for the change over I'll be making at the end of next week.