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Power Conditioner?

post #1 of 7
2/15/08 at 2:03am
Thread Starter 
What exactly is a Power Conditioner and how does effect the performance/SQ of the source/amp/dac/heaphone chain. Not too technical here, please, just basic concepts and of what is does and what's it's impact. Maybe a list of some good ones and ones to avoid. Good and not so good synergies. Is it a pretty much agreed upon component or a snakeoil controversy?
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post #2 of 7
2/15/08 at 6:04am
Power is controversial, so there are no easy answers. A lot of the effects of a conditioner will depend on the quality of the power sections within your gear. Equipment with well-designed power sections will see less of an improvement from conditioning the power, because the power is being filtered within the component. Cheaper or inferior components may benefit from additional filtering outside of the gear.

But like the gear itself, not all power conditioners are created equal. They have different designs (series mode, MOV, etc.), and perform differently. How they perform will also depend on the quality of power coming out of your wall, and whether or not the power conditioner is prepared to correct for the deficiencies that your wall power presents.

***

All disclaimers aside, in a home environment (as opposed to an apartment, where the power situation might be out of my control), I've found the effects of inexpensive power conditioners to be entirely negative on my mid-fi gear. A bigger improvement could be made by creating a dedicated circuit for audio.
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post #3 of 7
2/15/08 at 7:44am
Audience makes some of the best ones on the market. They also range from $500 for a single-outlet isolated unit to $4000 for 12 outlets (6 isolated banks) but they all use the same high-quality filtering methods. I'm borrowing my neighbors Audience aR1p which is the single outlet model. It blows away my API PowerWedge I which is about 10 years old. The new API power conditioners are very good, too. So are the Shunyata Hydra models.

But those are all very expensive and high-performance conditioners.

If you are looking for something more reasonable, the Belkin PureAV PF60 is supposed to be a good 13 outlet power center with voltage meter, and can be had new for $270 online.

Don't be afraid to buy a used power conditioner that has been well taken care of. You'll get the best deal that way, and it will have already been thoroughly burned in -- just as long as it's not too old with outdated technology.
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post #4 of 7
2/15/08 at 7:44pm
Power struggle
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post #5 of 7
2/15/08 at 8:09pm
I have used Panamax power conditioners for many years. My house was built in 1960 and there is ALOT of static in the lines. Because of this I have a conditioner on each computer and one for the receiver/amp/tv/etc.

So in a nut shell, it removes static from the line, improves the quality of the electrical input and your A/V signals will benefit. Surge and Spike protection are side benefits.
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post #6 of 7
2/16/08 at 3:51pm
How about PS Audio's Power Plant Premier?
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post #7 of 7
2/16/08 at 5:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by OverlordXenu View Post
so what's your point, have you ever actually tried any of these things or are you just a mindless surrogate for Dan and his data. Must be great to be Dan abd have all the answers, carefull the guru you follow he may just be a false one or not as nearly smart as you'd like to think.

Most of the article revolves around power surge protection that can damage gear not filtering or regeneration. .

Personally having tried someof the lower end models if I were to spend any money in this area I would want one that regenerates and could supply peaks. My experience tended show that the lower end filters restricted the dynamic contrasts

Most of us with decent gear have power supplies that filter out noise in the ac and protect against the ebbs and flows of power. A well built power supply in your gear is more than half the battle.
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