Should I plug my outboard gear into an online UPS?

Icarus · 7th October 2010

Title says it all. Will powering my entire rig (preamps, mics, monitors, computer,etc) on a double conversion ups help to decrease the noise floor? I'm not experienced in these matters, but I'm trying to come up with a one-shot solution for my rig. Thank you.

audibell · 8th October 2010

If a $35 Office Depot UPS saves your PC from crashing during a remote recording, the sin wave/noise-floor becomes irrelevant, non?
The more esoteric effects have to be methodically observed and evaluated over time, like mic arrays. I used to use a UPS when I recorded to just a Panasonic DAT. And I still duct tape the plug onto the wall socket. UPS. Don't leave home without it.
rgds,
WalterT

Icarus · 8th October 2010

Thanks. I understand the importance of a ups, but my question is not ups vs no ups, it is what can I do to clean my power up?

audibell · 9th November 2010

OK. The assumption is for recording or PA, or both? I wouldn't sweat about UPS for a PA, just use a star pattern for power distribution. The UPS is principally to allow a graceful shutdown of your recorders/computers; beneficial voltage regulation/noise reduction is a side benefit. Any UPS with a meaty transformer is going to introduce mechanical noise (low freq buzz) into the room, which affects classical/unplugged remote gigs if you record/monitor in the same space. A clean and low noise floor is a combined absence of many contributors, which I'll let the electricians here expound upon; check the tab headers in this forum for more on that.

I take power from one outlet only, to a UPS large enough to handle my amperages - mostly solid state preamps and recorder/computer. Don't connect any floor monitors or cameras to the audio system unless you have an isolation transformer on each spur - use a splitter or a DI box and "lift" the ground. In the hunt for spurious noise, some people open up their gear and check that the chassis ground screw on the PCBs isn't loose and the power safety ground is good. Some link all the chassis grounds in their rack, others leave signal grounds "floating", open at one end.

I have found a quality UPS and iso transformers will cure 95% of power line "noises" - it's the last 5pct which takes experimentation and thorough knowledge of the physics to cure. There's a book worth of experience in just this subject on this forum - use the tag headers which SteveR has provided at the beginning - it's worth spending the time reading through it all - you will get good results. And, of course, a $3,000 solid platinum power cord, with a 5lb strontium90 plug at each end, will solve ALL your audio problems, just remember that the electrons only flow right WITH the arrows, not against.

rgds
WalterT

gsbe · 16th December 2010

WalterT speaks as though he has been through the Bill Whitlock school of grounding. Good advice here, especially with regards to the ISO when connecting to other worlds and the bit about chassis vs. floating ground schemes. Even manufacturers under the same corporate umbrella (think dbx and Crown) don't always share the same grounding schemes for their analog inputs and outputs which can cause serious buzz/hum problems that only ISO transformers like the ones made by Whitlock's company can solve.

How can one gauge quality in an UPS unit? I've never understood what goes on inside the box...I simply enjoy the results when the power cuts off.

7th October 2010	#1
Icarus Gear nut Joined: Jun 2007 Location: Berkeley, CA Posts: 105 Thread Starter	Should I plug my outboard gear into an online UPS? Title says it all. Will powering my entire rig (preamps, mics, monitors, computer,etc) on a double conversion ups help to decrease the noise floor? I'm not experienced in these matters, but I'm trying to come up with a one-shot solution for my rig. Thank you.

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8th October 2010	#2
audibell Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2006 Location: New Orleans Posts: 293	If a $35 Office Depot UPS saves your PC from crashing during a remote recording, the sin wave/noise-floor becomes irrelevant, non? The more esoteric effects have to be methodically observed and evaluated over time, like mic arrays. I used to use a UPS when I recorded to just a Panasonic DAT. And I still duct tape the plug onto the wall socket. UPS. Don't leave home without it. rgds, WalterT

9th November 2010	#4
audibell Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2006 Location: New Orleans Posts: 293	OK. The assumption is for recording or PA, or both? I wouldn't sweat about UPS for a PA, just use a star pattern for power distribution. The UPS is principally to allow a graceful shutdown of your recorders/computers; beneficial voltage regulation/noise reduction is a side benefit. Any UPS with a meaty transformer is going to introduce mechanical noise (low freq buzz) into the room, which affects classical/unplugged remote gigs if you record/monitor in the same space. A clean and low noise floor is a combined absence of many contributors, which I'll let the electricians here expound upon; check the tab headers in this forum for more on that. I take power from one outlet only, to a UPS large enough to handle my amperages - mostly solid state preamps and recorder/computer. Don't connect any floor monitors or cameras to the audio system unless you have an isolation transformer on each spur - use a splitter or a DI box and "lift" the ground. In the hunt for spurious noise, some people open up their gear and check that the chassis ground screw on the PCBs isn't loose and the power safety ground is good. Some link all the chassis grounds in their rack, others leave signal grounds "floating", open at one end. I have found a quality UPS and iso transformers will cure 95% of power line "noises" - it's the last 5pct which takes experimentation and thorough knowledge of the physics to cure. There's a book worth of experience in just this subject on this forum - use the tag headers which SteveR has provided at the beginning - it's worth spending the time reading through it all - you will get good results. And, of course, a $3,000 solid platinum power cord, with a 5lb strontium90 plug at each end, will solve ALL your audio problems, just remember that the electrons only flow right WITH the arrows, not against. rgds WalterT

16th December 2010	#5
gsbe Gear nut Joined: Jan 2009 Location: Southwest VA Posts: 86 2 Reviews written	WalterT speaks as though he has been through the Bill Whitlock school of grounding. Good advice here, especially with regards to the ISO when connecting to other worlds and the bit about chassis vs. floating ground schemes. Even manufacturers under the same corporate umbrella (think dbx and Crown) don't always share the same grounding schemes for their analog inputs and outputs which can cause serious buzz/hum problems that only ISO transformers like the ones made by Whitlock's company can solve. How can one gauge quality in an UPS unit? I've never understood what goes on inside the box...I simply enjoy the results when the power cuts off.