DC Mains Supply

One common issue is ‘DC on the mains’ – a problem that is well known to affect the performance of audio equipment, especially amplifiers. In theory, the mains electricity we obtain from the sockets in our homes should be pure AC, with a perfectly symmetrical sine wave alternating between positive and negative phases.

DC Voltage

The AC transformers commonly used in home audio equipment cannot tolerate the presence of significant levels of DC voltage without being compromised. Less than 500mV of DC – typical in an average household electricity supply – can be sufficient to cause toroidal transformers of the kind often found in amplifiers to become saturated, which adversely affects sonic performance and may cause audible mechanical vibration.

The audiolab DC BLOCK 6 is a six-way solution for this all-too-common problem.

The Dual-Action DC BLOCK

By blocking, or cancelling, DC voltage found within the AC mains supply, the DC BLOCK 6 corrects the DC offset and rebalances the mains sine wave. But tackling ‘DC on the mains’ is not the only benefit delivered by this dual-action device – it also contains a high-performance audio-class filtering circuit that removes RFI/EMI contaminants from the mains supply. This is effective in reducing 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).

A specialised six-way power optimisation device of such impressive efficacy, DC block 6 is available in black or silver. It comes with a full set of power cables – six IEC C14 to C13 cables to connect its outlets to the user’s system components, plus a cable to plug it into the mains.