Furman PL-8 Series II

[yage]

First a little background. I previously had a Monster Powerbar (MPB-1100) and while I didn't feel that that it did anything substantial to clean up the sound, it didn't seem to detract from the setup either. So I was happy that at least I had *some* surge protection for my equipment. But, as luck would have it, after some moves across half the country it was misplaced and lost.

Until I received the Furman, I had been happily living without power conditioning, but listening to the setup one day I noticed a few random pops come through the speakers. This would also happen when the AC kicked on. Finally, another day I accidentally cranked the volume knob way up on my integrated amp, and noticed some hum as well. That was the straw that broke the camel's back and the reason why I ordered the Furman.

The PL-8 Series II is a really unassuming piece of equipment. There are no gauges or LED displays. The two 'knobs' on the front faceplate are actually lights which I can only assume are there to illuminate anything below it if mounted on a rack. Just one switch to turn it on, an LED to show the protection is working, and another to let you know when there's extreme voltage coming in. In the back are eight outlets. In between two pairs is a "Digital components" label. It's not as heavy as a tank, but the casing is all metal. Pretty straightforward.

So far, I've been pretty happy with the performance. The hum is gone and I haven't heard a pop from the speakers since introducing the PL-8 into the system. The Plinius integrated normally has a slight bit of hiss no matter what the volume is and I could tell a bit of reduction in its level as well. Dynamics don't seem to be constricted, though I haven't thoroughly tested this claim as the wife hasn't let me really turn up the volume.

Another good thing was that it happened to be on sale at a store called Hollywood DJ for $129 (normally $159), but no free shipping. I managed to get a price match and free shipping from Music123, though, so if you're in the market for a simple solution to your power problems, this could be a good opportunity.



Cheers!

Harland

 

[infinitesymphony]

Thanks for the review, yage/Harland!

I've been waiting for an unbiased opinion of the new version II Furman power conditioners. I own an original Furman PL-Plus, which uses MOV-based surge protection, and it negatively affects the sound just like all of my other surge and isolation strips. However, these new conditioners use series mode protection, which is the same style companies like Brick Wall use to produce their surge strips designed for audio components.

It's also interesting to note the "digital components" section on the back. I haven't looked at the inside of my Furman, but I wonder if the banks are isolated in either model. I may have to pick one up and test it in my system.

For now, I'm still running out of the wall, but if I were in a case like yours where too many high-powered devices were plugged into the same circuit branch, I'd definitely use a conditioner.