[sdiy] Low Voltage?

[Ron Malleis]

Hi all,

I've noticed recently that the voltage in my house (well, guesthouse box :^)
has been quite low.  I'd say this started to occur about 2-3 weeks
ago -readings are regularly registering between 110-104 volts -104V is about
the lowest I've seen, when there was a moderate amount of power being
consumed (nowhere near the amount of gear I've had running simultaneously in
the past with no low readings).  Just took a test RIGHT NOW and I read
107.4V.  I've taxed the circuits more heavily in the past, and NEVER had
readings this low (maybe 113 at the lowest?  I've been living in this place
3+ years now, and am curious as to why this has developed.  I took a test of
my landlord's circuits a couple weeks ago, and similar readings were
measured. It doesn't seen to matter what time of day or night I
measure -it's consistently in this range.  Is this the fault of the power
company?  Anything else that could be causing this?

At times, I've also noticed some "popping" type noises in my audio,
beginning at about the same time that the low readings started, and I've
NEVER had a problem with this before (example -pulling the ceiling fan chain
to change fan speed). Also, some 60 Hz type buzzing occurred for a couple of
days when this all started, but that hasn't returned.  I've always had a
VERY quiet setup, so this is alarming to me.  In terms of line
filtering/power conditioning, I'm using Furman Rack Riders (these seem like
glorified power strips/surge suppressors to me) but as I said, I've never
had any of these problems before.  I know that low voltage can be damaging
to gear, so any help is VERY appreciated.

Thoughts?

TIA,

-R