Power Conditioners effectiveness?

[bds0688 10+ year member]

I see these things used often, and I assume mostly for the battery back up feature and surge protection. But overall, is the need for a conditioner present? If so, what are some good brands and price ranges?

Click to read more...

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_conditioner

It should be a filter + surge protector at a minimum.

Electronic devices run off AC usually have a filter on the input, perhaps any combination

of cap/coil depending on the design. A surge protector is really nothing more than a MOV

device which is found in power strips, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_oxide_varistor

If it has other features like battery backup, so be it. This is one thing that never interested

me unless you have identified a problem that needs fixing. Suppose your video plackback

has noise on the screen and you identified it as 'dirty AC', then try a conditioner out.

What if you have some audible noise that you think is due to dirty AC? try it out. But if

you don't see or hear a noise problem, and don't need battery backup, why spend the money.

 

[Se7en 10+ year member]

There's a lot of documentation on power filtration out there but there's a lot of BS too.

I personally think that some protection/filtration is very important which you can get pretty inexpensively. Furman makes some very basic but effective "pro" conditioners which can be bought at guitar center for under 200 bucks.

I've also heard very good things about the "Brickwall" filters although I have not persoanlly heard them myself. They are pretty cost effective. These combined with a dedicated 20 amp line (or two) and you should be pretty well set.

http://brickwall.thomasnet.com/

Which brings me to my next thought, if you own your own house, probably the best thing you can do is run dedicated 20amp lines. When we were doing work on our house it cost me a total of $300 to have 3 dedicated lines installed in my living room. I feel that this made a pretty huge difference in my system.

Probably the best solution and most expensive is not power filtering but power regeneration which is the closest you will find to actual battery power. I know that PS audio makes a regeneration system as does APS Purepower but those systems run around 3k. This is the best that I have ever heard personally.

http://www.purepoweraps.com/

The next step in my own system will be to install a brickwall filter and possibly remove my cheap furman pro conditioner (if it sounds better that way).

The basic audible improvement that you get beyond protection is a much lower noise floor. Background becomes much "blacker" and everything seems to smooth out, espcially vocals, and the overall presentation becomes more dynamic and life like (at least in my own experience). I would also add that especially the case with Class D amplification, Spectron, Tact, Tripath, Nuforce, etc. these amps really need clean power to sound their best. They can get pretty harsh with out it.

You might do a search for power filtration on audiocircle. There have been a number of informative threads on the topic over there.

I hope this helps.

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

Monster Power conditioner guts.

http://www.smarthome.com/images/4426guts.jpg

Blue things on left = MOV

Yellow boxes = capacitors

Donuts = coils

Simple circuit just duplicated for each outlet.

Here is a QSC PLX pro amplifier gut pic.

http://home.pacbell.net/lordpk/proamps/QSC_PLX3402-2.jpg

Top right corner = AC input filter, caps and coils.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

I have used a Panamax for years, mostly for surge protection and the extra outlets it provides

Battery backup seems pretty pointless unless your power goes out alot and you really need to check your email. Your gonna spend hundreds on battery backup which is only gonna last a few minutes powering a computer, not worth it

If your power goes out that much switch from a desktop to a laptop, built in battery backup

 

[bds0688 10+ year member]

I'm more concerned with a sudden on/off situation that would possibly nuke a gaming console, or as in the past, my cable modem.

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

A cheap power strip with surge protector [has MOV's] has been used for ages

to protect the sensitive electronic equipment plugged into to the AC outlet. But

also keep in mind, nowadays, a designer of such 'sensitive' electronic equipment may

install a MOV inside the equipment since it's cheap and easy to do. Since surge protector

power strips are cheap and common, just use one. If you have lightning strikes often,

then you need more protection.

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

IMO they do make a difference, if not offer you atleast some peace of mind.

I used a Belkin for years until recently upgrading to the Audio Class APC Power Center.

My dad uses a Richard Grey which is nice, but it is just a totally passive box.

Knock Monster all you want, but we have been using their rack mount equipment for a while now on our QSC amplifiers and Digital Consoles and it makes a world of a difference in the noise floor and how hot/cool they run. Especially places with bad power.

 

[frzninvt 10+ year member]

Started with a Panamax 1000+, then a 5100 and now 5400 for my HT. I like the fact I can switch on my pre/pro and have the Panamax switch everything else on. The dual high current outlets are perfect for the dual power cords that come out of my Sherbourn 7/2100A power amp.

The 5400 displays actual voltage and amperage draw which is handy.

 

[desertheat 10+ year member]

I would be willing to bet a steak dinner or an IDMAX 12 that NO one on this forum could hear a difference with a power conditioner inline with any modern, well built amplifier unless the home wireing was totally wasted to a dangerous level or they are experiencing massive voltage drops. Either way, it would be a bandaid on a larger issue or the equipment is not worth it's weight in scrap metal.

Sorry guys but I am a FIRM advocate of the 10 biggest lies in audio. And until the day a person can prove any one of them wrong to me... well that will be a cold day in hell. The only item in there that I am on the fence on relates to tube amplifiers. I have heard many tube setups that I really liked such as a pair of t16 otl's, but facts are facts. I liked it because I liked the slight distortion it was producing or how it colored the sound. Well engineered solid state is the best, most relaible way to amplify the exact source material. I have seen enough snake oil, bs and lies in this industry to be sick of it, but still love it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif [/endrant]

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf

 

[bds0688 10+ year member]

Hmm. I'll probbaly just look into a battery back up. Once in a blue moon, we will have the smallest surge/spike. It has taken out a few modems, that luckily the cable company didn't make us pay for. I have my set up currently running off the breaker box's own outlet, 20 amps IIRC. The wiring in the house is dated, and the douche who put the pump in way back when decided it didn't need its own breaker. When the pump kicks on, the lights in the house will dim.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

I'm just worried about those random surges taking out something more expensive than that modem.

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

I would not ever run an HT setup without a power conditioner.

Do I have proof that they work? Nope

Do I feel like it makes a difference? Very much so

Is that all that matters to me? You bet your *** it is.

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

I would be willing to bet a steak dinner or an IDMAX 12 that NO one on this forum could hear a difference with a power conditioner inline with any modern, well built amplifier unless the home wireing was totally wasted to a dangerous level or they are experiencing massive voltage drops. Either way, it would be a bandaid on a larger issue or the equipment is not worth it's weight in scrap metal.
Sorry guys but I am a FIRM advocate of the 10 biggest lies in audio. And until the day a person can prove any one of them wrong to me... well that will be a cold day in hell. The only item in there that I am on the fence on relates to tube amplifiers. I have heard many tube setups that I really liked such as a pair of t16 otl's, but facts are facts. I liked it because I liked the slight distortion it was producing or how it colored the sound. Well engineered solid state is the best, most relaible way to amplify the exact source material. I have seen enough snake oil, bs and lies in this industry to be sick of it, but still love it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif [/endrant]

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf

Meh you are wrong...

There was a clear audible difference in the high end of my 703 when I went fromt he Belkin to the APC.

It should be called the 10 biggest misunderstandings in home audio...

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

I would be willing to bet a steak dinner or an IDMAX 12 that NO one on this forum could hear a difference with a power conditioner inline with any modern, well built amplifier unless the home wireing was totally wasted to a dangerous level or they are experiencing massive voltage drops. Either way, it would be a bandaid on a larger issue or the equipment is not worth it's weight in scrap metal.
Sorry guys but I am a FIRM advocate of the 10 biggest lies in audio. And until the day a person can prove any one of them wrong to me... well that will be a cold day in hell. The only item in there that I am on the fence on relates to tube amplifiers. I have heard many tube setups that I really liked such as a pair of t16 otl's, but facts are facts. I liked it because I liked the slight distortion it was producing or how it colored the sound. Well engineered solid state is the best, most relaible way to amplify the exact source material. I have seen enough snake oil, bs and lies in this industry to be sick of it, but still love it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif [/endrant]

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

Even if you experienced a massive AC voltage drop, it still exists even if there is an AC filter/surge protector connected.

Also, the pro audio application is a variable. That application is different than a fixed home application where the AC line can be

examined and fixed if needed.

Another tidbit, AC filters can cause AC voltage sag as the coils have losses.

ABX time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[ballstothewall 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

ABX time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

I was waiting for that to be mentioned. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif