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I don't know if anyone has recommended this before, but I got a huge "wow" factor after hooking this up to my tube amp. I've noticed that lately the power transformer had been making a louder than usual humming noise. The power mains where I live is terrible and I already have all my audio gear running through a filter bank to get rid of some of the noise. However the DC on the mains was getting worse so I decided to invest a whole $139 dollars on an Audiolab DC Block. Bought it on Amazon and it got here in 2 days. I plugged it directly into the wall outlet and connected the adapter to my tube amp. The transformer humming is 95% gone. I have to put my ear right next to it to hear the faintest hum. But that's not the best part. The music just explodes out of my system now. It's like I just upgraded my amp and speakers. The clarity is amazing and then soundstage is huge. It's definitely not snake oil by a long shot. I'd say even if you don't have a transformer humming issue with your amp, it's totally worth $139 dollars just to hear the way it improves the sound.
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MongoLike said:
I don't know if anyone has recommended this before, but I got a huge "wow" factor after hooking this up to my tube amp. I've noticed that lately the power transformer had been making a louder than usual humming noise. The power mains where I live is terrible and I already have all my audio gear running through a filter bank to get rid of some of the noise. However the DC on the mains was getting worse so I decided to invest a whole $139 dollars on an Audiolab DC Block. Bought it on Amazon and it got here in 2 days. I plugged it directly into the wall outlet and connected the adapter to my tube amp. The transformer humming is 95% gone. I have to put my ear right next to it to hear the faintest hum. But that's not the best part. The music just explodes out of my system now. It's like I just upgraded my amp and speakers. The clarity is amazing and then soundstage is huge. It's definitely not snake oil by a long shot. I'd say even if you don't have a transformer humming issue with your amp, it's totally worth $139 dollars just to hear the way it improves the sound.
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is the adapter a female three to a female three? does it come in the box? Did it come with the power cord pictured?
 
Mather said:
I have a SurgeX 1810 which does have conditioning, but I'm not certain it's the same kind
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it sounds like he is running a conditioner, I'm running a cheap conditioner, lots of people who reviewed it on amazon are running a conditioner. I think it does something different. I think it blocks the DC noise. I'm no engineer though and do a lot of googling on stuff to figure out what the hell y'all are talking about.
 
I’m skeptical of magic black boxes, but this one seems legit, particularly when used with a tube amp. I did some checking around and found this accurate and informative clip on another audio site:

“DC blockers can lower audible hum in transformers IF these hum because of DC. Sometimes a give away is that a device hums a bit more or a bit less over the [course] of a day or even longer.

This device does have a common mode filter and surge protection (for short pulses) which may or may not help in certain cases with other mains gremlins.”

Edit: Sorry for the big change - I did a copy and paste on the wrong quote.
 
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Angsty said:
I’m skeptical of magic black boxes, but this one seems legit, particularly when used with a tube amp. I did some checking around and found this accurate and informative clip on another audio site:

“DC blockers can lower audible hum in transformers IF these hum because of DC. Sometimes a give away is that a device hums a bit more or a bit less over the [course] of a day or even longer.

This device does have a common mode filter and surge protection (for short pulses) which may or may not help in certain cases with other mains gremlins.”

Edit: Sorry for the big change - I did a copy and paste on the wrong quote.
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I wonder if I could just slap one of those going into my conditioner. It says to go component to component on the website but of course it does, that means you have to buy five instead of one. Don't see why it wouldn't be fine going into the SurgeX
 
Angsty said:
I doubt you’d see the same benefit in your brand new NAD that a tube amp user would see. Tube amps can have a very different power supply design. The DC block is also not likely to help a device with a switching power supply, like a CD player.
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I wasn't gonna rush to get one anyhow.... the NAD seems dead silent. We'll see - probably just buy a better conditioner when I start shelling out the big medium bucks on kit.

Ever since the AC/Range fun two years ago/last year (who knows... does time mean anything anymore?)... I've worried a bit more about my power than i have since I bought the house and fixed the internal grounding issues that made everything whonky when we moved in.
 
Mather said:
I wonder if I could just slap one of those going into my conditioner. It says to go component to component on the website but of course it does, that means you have to buy five instead of one. Don't see why it wouldn't be fine going into the SurgeX
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Audiolab sells one box with six dc blockers in it:

Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker | Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker Review | Audiolab Stereo & Video Center

Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker. Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker Review. Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker sold at Audiolab. Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker is part of our top brands we sell.
www.audiolab.com www.audiolab.com

The DC blocking claim is fine, but the “radical improvement in mains quality” seems to be hyperbole, to me.
 
Angsty said:
Audiolab sells one box with six dc blockers in it:

Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker | Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker Review | Audiolab Stereo & Video Center

Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker. Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker Review. Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker sold at Audiolab. Audiolab DC Block 6 Direct Current Blocker is part of our top brands we sell.
www.audiolab.com www.audiolab.com

The DC blocking claim is fine, but the “radical improvement in mains quality” seems to be hyperbole, to me.
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If the SurgeX has a DC blocker then I'm fine. I don't have space for another giant thing
 
MongoLike said:
I don't know if anyone has recommended this before, but I got a huge "wow" factor after hooking this up to my tube amp. I've noticed that lately the power transformer had been making a louder than usual humming noise. The power mains where I live is terrible and I already have all my audio gear running through a filter bank to get rid of some of the noise. However the DC on the mains was getting worse so I decided to invest a whole $139 dollars on an Audiolab DC Block. Bought it on Amazon and it got here in 2 days. I plugged it directly into the wall outlet and connected the adapter to my tube amp. The transformer humming is 95% gone. I have to put my ear right next to it to hear the faintest hum. But that's not the best part. The music just explodes out of my system now. It's like I just upgraded my amp and speakers. The clarity is amazing and then soundstage is huge. It's definitely not snake oil by a long shot. I'd say even if you don't have a transformer humming issue with your amp, it's totally worth $139 dollars just to hear the way it improves the sound.
View attachment 174647
Click to expand...
I got one of these for my main setup actually since we have an old ass house with old wiring. There was a little hiss that was bothering me. My office setup has a hiss too so maybe I’ll try this up there and see if it fixes it too.
 
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