Hi Tangrineth.
Good point about the mains supply.
I also collect hi end audio and if you ask any hi fi enthusiast,One of the worst causes of a bad systems sound is the mains.
Late at night its brilliant---Due to the load and stress on the system being far less.
During the day it will be worse due to sheer demand.
Also there are 2 main differnces with USA & UK mains.
We use a ring system (i think) which differs in output configeration.Also the earth system is totaly different.
Try any hi fi late at night and it will sound great
I guess video game systems and tvs will look far better after about 12 AM aswell.
Some people go the lengths of having there own power supply tottaly cleaned and part regenerated,the effects are quite amazing.
Theres so much dirt fed through the mains that i doubt people are even aware of it.
With the psu plugs that you plug into items i always recomend using some sort of BRASSO copper cleaner which cleans contact pins(i know its sounds small but does make a difference).
Also allowing the tv to have its own power supply(instead of an extenshion block etc) will also help tremendously.
Thanks for the post,
Cheers,
Ian(uk)