Zaphod Beeblebrox

Not really. The Quad II amplifier has taps for 15 Ohms and 8 Ohms (7 Ohms, in reality). So, it can be used with 8 Ohm speakers. The real reason is that it is an highly over-rated amplifier. Save your pennies and buy a Weston Acoustics amp. You won't be sorry and nor will your descendents.

First off: It's not the occasional Chinese bit of gear and it is not restricted to Chinese gear. Any company who wants to save a few cents can use lightweight transformers, with inadequate iron (like those that are designed for 60Hz, not 50Hz) will happily do so. My answer is exactly what it was previously. It depends. Valve equipment and other products that lack regulated power supplies may benefit from a stable, precise mains supply Voltage. Valve equipment is particularly sensitive (unless regulated filament supplies are used). Australian designed equipment rarely has an issue with slightly higher than usual mains power. Equipment designed elsewhere may. I have found that mains regenerators may be helpful with valve equipment or poorly designed products.

That depends. I've worked on some Chinese stuff that was rated at 240VAC, yet the power transformer was saturating at around 210VAC. Not only did it sound worse at 240VAC, but it was seriously overheating. My previous comments remain. If the equipment does not employ regulated power supplies (like many valve filament supplies), then it should be operated close to the rated supply Voltage. Too much and reliability (and probably sound quality) will suffer. Too little and sound quality will suffer. Equipment that employs regulated power supplies, will usually tolerate a wide variation in mains power Voltage. IOW: One size does not fit all.

I've briefly scanned the article and found a number of significant deficiencies. I will read it more carefully later and report in full. Here are the problems I've found already: * Using a CD player and music is a seriously bad way to judge a mains power cable for a whole host of reasons: 1) CD players are susceptible to external vibration. Is it vibration or the power cable? 2) CD players interpolate errors during the read process. Read errors are a normal factor with CD players. Successive reading may cause more or less errors. 3) Music is a horrible way to measure a result. * It would have been far better and far more conclusive to isolate ONE item under test, not several (power cables, stands and CD players). * A preamp would have been a more reliable test product, along with standard S/N, distortion and REPEATABLE test signals.

As others have stated, an overheating problem could indicate an output transformer fault. If so, you could be in for a world of pain. Move on. There are better choices available. Find a nice Weston Acoustics amp and pass it down to your great grand-children. They are built to last forever.

Equipment that is sensitive to mains power variations (ie: Stuff that lacks regulated power supplies, valve filament supplies, etc) may certainly demonstrate differences (improvements?) when mains power is more stable. None of which is unexpected. I've measured and heard it myself. However, we are, at present, discussing the claim that a mains power cable change can elicit an audible and measurable change in bass performance.

Yeah, I published some real-life figures awhile back. The actual Voltage drop DIFFERENCE is less than a handful of millivolts.

Yeah, it looks like a MIL-spec, ceramic IC. Could be a resistor array? Either way, I can't see it being much use.

Although it is very early days for Convoy with Levinson, I've had the need for information about a Levinson product I have on the bench. I was directed to Convoy and found that, as usual for Convoy, the response was extremely helpful, rapid and courteous. I was surprised, because there is frequently a 'teething period' where things are very messy during a product transfer. Kudos to Convoy for making the transition (for me, at least) painless.

Well, IMO and the opinions of most (all?) who have experienced the upgrade, yes.

Yes. Any extra inductance in the mains power cables can mitigate noise on the power line. That said, the biggest part of the problem lies with radiated noise, not noise conducted via the mains wiring.

Uh-huh. What "blinkered beliefs" do you think that I suffer? Again: I take no issue with a person who believes in whatever snake oil that floats their boat. However, when someone makes a bogus claim about a power cable making an audible and measurable difference to a system and exhorts another to indulge in that same delusion, I take issue. I am not making any claims. I am simply asking that those who make extraordinary claims, to justify those claims.

OK.How would you suggest I do that in this case? Serious question. Again: Happy to do so. Please tell me how I should respond when presented with a (unproven) claim that a mains power cable change will not only provide an audible improvement in bass performance, but that improvement WILL be measurable. When I read that twaddle, my brain almost exploded. I thought that by requesting some evidence to back that claim, that I was being nice. I don't suffer fools, liars and cheats. At all. None of us should. Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof.

I do and have for more than 20 years. Probably not, but it is the least expensive (in most cases) method of dealing with external noise issues. Far, FAR more effective than any 'power conditioner' for instance. Just get your electrician to run 6mm cable. Reasonably priced and it will deal with any conceivable power need.

There is ZERO information on the web site about how this technology works. As a consequence, the only recommendation can be: Avoid it.