Power Conditioning?

arts

arts

Addicted Member
Any thoughts on power conditioners and/or surge-spike suppressors?

The line noise in my area gets much higher in the winter with heat pumps and baseboard heaters etc cycling on and off almost continuously. It's like a constant parade of clicks and pops. My line voltage is at a virtually constant 120.I once checked,and I believe there are 4 or 5 other homes sharing the transformer with me.My heating system is a few large baseboards for milder temperatures,and an oil fired warm-air furnace for when it's really cold.

Anybody suffer similar problems? Suggestions and solutions appreciated!
 
Register to hide this ad
My Son (who is an electrician) told me it is a good idea, for any electronics, to provide "Clean" power. I have not done that. Except for surge protectors on the TV/Surround Sound Receiver, and (believe it or not) the refrigerator. We had a small lightning strike a few years ago that fried the fridge.
 
I've tried a bunch of them. Some work, most don't do much (beneficial anyway). My favorite ones are by Richard Gray Power Company and Furutech. The RGPC has to be plugged in for a while before it "does its thing", but it can really clean up the sound in ways that are very pleasant. The Furutch power strips ETP-60 and ETP-80 both work nicely also. Don't ask me to explain why, I just know what I heard. I've also heard some silly expensive units at Audio Shows that seem to work really well, but they cost quite a lot more than my entire system, so???? Not sure what the point is on those.
 
I have heard of "Whole-House" surge protection. Somehow it is wired into the main box. I will be checking into that in the future. I shut off all power to my Vintage stuff unless I am using it.
 
arts said:
Any thoughts on power conditioners and/or surge-spike suppressors?

The line noise in my area gets much higher in the winter with heat pumps and baseboard heaters etc cycling on and off almost continuously. It's like a constant parade of clicks and pops. My line voltage is at a virtually constant 120.I once checked,and I believe there are 4 or 5 other homes sharing the transformer with me.My heating system is a few large baseboards for milder temperatures,and an oil fired warm-air furnace for when it's really cold.

Anybody suffer similar problems? Suggestions and solutions appreciated!
Click to expand...

I have recently been looking into the power regenerator by PS Audio, which takes the power in cleans up the noise and spits it out to the system stable and clean, there different than your average conditioner and cost a bit more but do actually work. Mr Pig has one and his system is clean and quiet. I currently use a Panamax PM5300 and it does do it's job in protecting my equipment and my system is dead quiet, however I believe it's because of the quality of my gear.

I do not plug my amp into my conditioner from the recommendation straight from Aragon themselves as they say it could rob the current my amp may need. This is where the PS Audio regenerator comes in that I'm interested in because it does not limit an amps current plus it protects it from a possible damaging surge. There are alot of options out there and more than enough to fit your needs, do your homework And the right one will come up.

Audiofreak71
 
I use the one that started it all,The Tice Power block and Titan Combo. They are affordable and offer drastic improvement in sound quality. Cleans the power source then stores it in The Titan (1800watts) where your equipment draws its power from.
These have been around since the early 80s and can be found on the used market. It's best to find them locally cause they weigh 80lbs. a piece and shipping can get expensive.
 
Audiofreak71 said:
....... This is where the PS Audio regenerator comes in that I'm interested in because it does not limit an amps current. ....
Click to expand...
Audition it before you spend. I tried the same model that Mr Pig uses and my power amp caused it to shut down. The inrush current of the amp's psu was just too much for it.
 
SteveA said:
Audition it before you spend. I tried the same model that Mr Pig uses and my power amp caused it to shut down. The inrush current of the amps psu was just too much for it.
Click to expand...
That's interesting, thanks for the heads up. I would be putting my Aragon 4004 mkii @ 200wpc 8ohms. Mr Pigs Musical Fidelity amp puts out 300wpc and has no issues with it but I guess it could depend on the amp.

Audiofreak71
 
does a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) serve all of the purposes of a power conditioner? That would save on the audiophile tax
 
that's a video by a guy who makes his living selling a product that competes against UPSs. Of course he says UPSs are no good.
 
ridgeway said:
that's a video by a guy who makes his living selling a product that competes against UPSs. Of course he says UPSs are no good.
Click to expand...
He also makes some of the best power regenerators. But sure if you want to take the chance with your system on an ups, go for it.

Audiofreak71
 
Audiofreak71 said:
That's interesting, thanks for the heads up. I would be putting my Aragon 4004 mkii @ 200wpc 8ohms. Mr Pigs Musical Fidelity amp puts out 300wpc and has no issues with it but I guess it could depend on the amp.

Audiofreak71
Click to expand...
Mine is only 140 (into 8 ohms) but has a large transformer (2nd box) that I think may be the issue.
 
Last edited:
SteveA said:
Mine is only 140 (into 8 ohms) but has a transformer (2nd box) about the size of a stack of dinner plates.
Click to expand...
Ah OK, mine has dual Torroidal transformers that are big as well. I'd like to go the PA Audio route but don't want to risk it not working, guess I'll have to do some more research.

Audiofreak71
 
Last edited:
I use a Panamax line conditioner on all my expensive gear,also protects against a surge caused by lighting and many others do not.They offer a connected equipment warranty against damage from lighting or surge.
 
ridgeway said:
does a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) serve all of the purposes of a power conditioner? That would save on the audiophile tax
Click to expand...
No. A UPS is fine in a TV system or the like but not really the right thing for an audio system where you are trying to improve upon line power.

First off, unless it's called a full time on line system then the rest of the time (other than in a power outage) you have pretty much the equvilant of a couple of MOV's in line. Like a generic power strip would give you.

For that power outage coverage, what you gain is a device on your audio room that often adds physical noise but always a added magnetic field noise.

Then in the rare event of an actual outage the power you get, even from a so called 'true sine wave' unit is still usually worse power than you get from your original line source! Oh, and most UPS that people get for home use are going to not power for long, so make sure you get everything off right away...

And as a bonus for the money you spent on next to no power filtering coverage, don't forget you need to buy new batteries every couple of years and install them if your comfortable doing so.

And if you don't want the first lighting surge that comes along to destroy your new investment in that UPS, follow the manufacturers recommendation and install a high quality surge protector to protect the UPS from damage.

Which leads you full circle to where you were headed anyway...get proper surge AND noise supression, not a UPS. Recognize what your trying to accomplish and then buy the right tool to effect that change.

EV3
 
peerson said:
I have heard of "Whole-House" surge protection. Somehow it is wired into the main box. I will be checking into that in the future. I shut off all power to my Vintage stuff unless I am using it.
Click to expand...
I've done the whole house surge protection all Power coming in and then 2 surge protectors in succession after an arc fault GFCI as well as an arc fault GFCI in the breaker box....... I Marvel at the people who have the money to invest in all kinds of fun gear and yet you look at their fuse box or breaker box panel and it's the cheapest crappiest and messiest rats nest mix of wires and these types of guys just make me wonder WTF!?!?

P.S. if you have appliances like refrigerators with motors the new arc fault GFCI Breakers don't like appliances with motors and there can be issues with them tripping from The Arc of electricity in the windings of the motors upon startup of these motors
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom