Topic: clean AC power...WOW

[Mojowill]

Seriously...all this with a Monster Power unit???  Might have to look into it.  Persoanlly I'm looking into the PS Audio P-300 and Exactpower EP-15 for power and surge protection for just front end components.  Equitech and BPT for balanced power is an option as well.

With the MOV technology for surge protection, I've not really heard great things about these units.  Dedicated lines will make the biggest difference and I was able to do this for my room.  Not in a big hurry to get power conditioning, but I'm glad its worked for you.  Rather cheap system improvements are always nice! 

I always heard the MOV units were fine until a surge hit.  then it was a once and popped deal.  there are sets out there with a different type of surge protecter that can withstand surge after surge.  Furman maybe?  I looked at a lot of these a while ago and have promptly forgotten which brands had the "resettable" surge protectors.

[Nick's Picks]

Ya made me bite again Nick. First the 3000, now this. (made an impulse buy yesterday afternoon)

and have I ever steered you wrong?

[scervin]

Seriously...all this with a Monster Power unit???  Might have to look into it.  Persoanlly I'm looking into the PS Audio P-300 and Exactpower EP-15 for power and surge protection for just front end components.  Equitech and BPT for balanced power is an option as well.

With the MOV technology for surge protection, I've not really heard great things about these units.  Dedicated lines will make the biggest difference and I was able to do this for my room.  Not in a big hurry to get power conditioning, but I'm glad its worked for you.  Rather cheap system improvements are always nice! 

I always heard the MOV units were fine until a surge hit.  then it was a once and popped deal.  there are sets out there with a different type of surge protecter that can withstand surge after surge.  Furman maybe?  I looked at a lot of these a while ago and have promptly forgotten which brands had the "resettable" surge protectors.

It is something like this.  All littlle surges reduce the quality of the protection.  Panamax and Monster are the big players that use this.  Many folks these days are grabbing a brickwall or surge-ex unit to put in front of everything else.

[Terps]

Has anyone on the board used an O-scope or Spectrum Analyzer on the AC input before and after a conditioner ?
How 'bout on the amplifier output with a conditioner in line and also with it out of circuit ?

I don't doubt the benefit, but I wonder just what it is that they are doing.
Is it ripple reduction or harmonic filtering or what ?
TIA.

[coop]

That is a cool idea - why not just use solar for that room only?

     The whole house is solar.  Would be cost prohibitive to do only one room, not to mention a challenge for the designer/electrician.

[MattD]

Sorry, I thought you were testing out an implementation, not that the entire house was solar. Of course, that's the more plausible answer, so DUH to me.

[Nick's Picks]

+T for the solar house!

[santacore]

I've been using isolation transformers on my main play back system for years. An audiophile friend suggested it and after hearing the difference I was sold. It seemed quieter and had increased dynamics. The brand I've been using is ONEAC. Very reasonable price and good quality. It's a heavy box though, got to weigh a good 30 pounds. The only downside is that it makes a steady low buzz sound. Ideally it should be out of the playback room but I have mine tucked away and with med. to loud playback it's not a issue. Fun stuff.

[Kyle]

I've been using isolation transformers on my main play back system for years. An audiophile friend suggested it and after hearing the difference I was sold. It seemed quieter and had increased dynamics. The brand I've been using is ONEAC. Very reasonable price and good quality. It's a heavy box though, got to weigh a good 30 pounds. The only downside is that it makes a steady low buzz sound. Ideally it should be out of the playback room but I have mine tucked away and with med. to loud playback it's not a issue. Fun stuff.

took a look at their website - nice stuff...

which model do you have?

[lds490]

I want to thank y'all for inspiring me to get back into audio after many years.  I found this article on the web about power conditioning.  It is a little old, but not entirely outdated.   

http://www.boundforsound.com/tweak.htm

POINT 1. Transformer based isolation devices are basically useless as AC line conditioners.

POINT 2. Power amplifiers are generally immune to the workings of outboard line conditioners, but respond very favorably to power cords.

POINT 3. Outboard AC line conditioners generally come in two flavors - series and parallel.

POINT 4. Outboard AC line conditioners work best when loaded down with the proper amount of line draw.

POINT 5. If power line conditioning is to be effective, the cords must be oriented to proper polarity.

POINT 6. Power cords make a tremendous difference.

POINT 7. Line voltage.

POINT 8. Dedicated AC lines work.

POINT 9. AC line conditioning comes at all price points.

[santacore]

Hey cmc64,

I've got a couple of the white ones. My big boy is a CS-1115. By looking at the pic's both my unit's must be quite old. All I know is that there's a huge transformer in the big one. Check e-bay for good prices but watch out for shipping charges as these can be VERY heavy. Now you guys have got me thinking about a setup for my home theater. Must resist.

[udovdh]

What about the power cords?
Between the point where the mains cabling enters my house and the outlet where the HiFi is connected there is several meters of rigid copper core cabling. So what negative impact would a decent cord of 6 feet long have?
Or, in other words, what changes when I have a somehow better power cord in place?

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

Or, in other words, what changes when I have a somehow better power cord in place?

It depends.

I have a couple of the venhaus power cords.  They made a huge improvement in the punch and depth of bass I got from my CAL Sigma II DAC.  They had little impact on my Denon 2900.  Nick loaned me a crump cord and I heard no effect on my 2900 but didn't try it on anything else.  I also added a longer one between my MR1200 conditioner and the wall resulting in some additional percieved bass.  I haven't really played with on the preamp.

[nickgregory]

alright, dumb question, is there any risk/effect, to placing the power conditioner on the same shelf as the dvd transport, underneath it, so that the dvd player sits on top of it?

[Nick's Picks]

i can't see why not