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I recently got a Monster MPB1100 power bar; for $50 it was worth the gamble. In short, it works; I used to have slight static when using RCA connection and about a fraction of that when using XLR, but now it is completely gone. I haven't noticed any change in my amp either; but it was plugged into a cheap surge protector before.
I believe this worked for me since my apartment is very old; all the outlets are two prong. I wouldn't be surprised if it was like my previous apartment with cloth insulated wiring.
Get some power conditioning if you live in an old residence!
Here's my story, in case it might help someone as lost as me:
I purchased this very basic surge protector to protect my equipment more or less half a year ago. This was before I received my MPX3 SLAM. So, I connected the MPX3 into this surge protector, as I had done with my computer and my DAC.
Well, long story short: today I spent some time reading about power conditioners and power cords and so on, and ran into this: "Even though the HTS series of power conditioners have plugs marked for amps, I've been told by numerous sources that amps should never be plugged into any of these types of conditioners verified by James Tanner, VP of Bryston. My Bryston 6B ST is currently plugged straight into the wall. The issue is that the EMI/RFI filters employed by surge protectors are current limiting."*
(*link:http://www.htguide.com/forum/archive...p4/f-5/t-14699)
After reading this I went and unplugged the MPX3 out of the surge protector and connected it into a normal power outlet, and voilá, the dynamics increased very significantly. And so did the detail. I've been listening all night to tracks I didn't even like anymore. The difference is really night and day, like I'd just spent another 1000$ in upstream components.
So turns out that the surge protector was screwing up my listening experiences for almost half a year...
Audio equipment should come with warning signs for people who have no clue about electricity...
Conclusion: Don't connect your amp into a power surge protector. It'll screw up the dynamics and detail.
PS Audio's response is a bit disengenious. I'd love to hear his comments on PS Audio's UO (now called humbusters) or UPC, both of which are generate no detectable heat during operation and have no published specs that I'm aware of.
Isn't the UPC's niche, a surge protector that doesn't screw up your sound?
I'm using a pretty high-powered speaker amp these days (PS Audio GCC-250, which sounds amazing compared to other amps I've used with my speakers) and have found that it sounds best plugged into the wall. There is a very slight loss of impact plugged into a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet, and the UPC-200HB (which, admittedly, is not for high powered amps) I tried completely sapped this amp of its impact.
But the surge thing (which never happens here, but still...) has me worried. So, forget the power conditioning (I think mine is fine, given that I didn't hear any improvement with the Ultimate Outlet), is there a basic surge protector out there that will not affect the sound?
By the way, I have a couple of PS Audio's new toy, the Noise Harvestor. I'm not sure it helps with line noise (although I think it is doing something), but that blinking light is a fun way to monitor noise on your power line (I see it blink when I turn on a TV elsewhere in the house, or flash very quickly when the microwave is on, etc.).
__________________
FLAC >> Benchmark DAC1 USB >> Qualia 010 headphones (sale pending)
-------------------------------------------------- >> Jeff Rowland Model 201 monoblock amps >> Dynaudio Confidence C1 speakers
A simple surge protector should be invisible. Its the filters that plug up the path to the amp. I believe BPT builds star grounded blah de blah power strip with an option for surge protection. That's about as simple as it gets but $$$.
I decided to give Monster another go since once my Stello stack arrives I don't have a plug for it
This time around I knew the further up the Stage I went the worse it gets. But Stage 1 gear is ugly so I went Stage 2 Add to that Monster has introduced a Pro line that adds some features while removing others and I went with this beauty:
You give up the telephone and cable circuit in exchange for a high power bank, 2ft. longer cord, a voltage and current metre and improved aesthetics.
Mattigol, who has a very similar setup to my future setup (MPX3 -> W5000), really liked this one. Any comments?
I just finished organizing a powerbuy for this filter. it's very well build for the price and just filters enough to be very effective. You will probably loose a bit of treble sparkle but you win a darker background, better instrument detail and seperation, with to my ears no loss of dynamics.
But i read that amps under 100 watts don't have that much of a problem, really heavy amps way over 100 watts can have some problems with filters becoming a bit tame and slow.
One more thing, i tested several powercables on the filter;
the standard one sounded ok, but not that good, a better commercial powercable did much better, more transparent and smoother, but my own homemade powerkabel with furutech rhodium connectors and high quality cable was best! Very detailed, transparent and smooth. This was all done by just changing the powercable and lsitening to the setup hooked up to the filter, so also for filters; bad power in is bad power out. With a good powercable the filter performs even better!
Yes, i like the filter, it does very well for the price, apperently according to some post i read on the web, just as good as power conditioners up to 900 euro's!
A simple surge protector should be invisible. Its the filters that plug up the path to the amp. I believe BPT builds star grounded blah de blah power strip with an option for surge protection. That's about as simple as it gets but $$$.
I decided to give Monster another go since once my Stello stack arrives I don't have a plug for it
This time around I knew the further up the Stage I went the worse it gets. But Stage 1 gear is ugly so I went Stage 2 Add to that Monster has introduced a Pro line that adds some features while removing others and I went with this beauty:
You give up the telephone and cable circuit in exchange for a high power bank, 2ft. longer cord, a voltage and current metre and improved aesthetics.
I am constantly underwhelmed by the products of monster, i tried their cables and stuff but found them way too pricey for what they did!
Linear Mode
