Power conditioners.

I do not, and never have, used a power conditioner. Are they worth the investment? I've seen a lot of them listed on eBay, and that makes me think I might be able to snag a good deal while also wondering 'why are people ditching these'?

Comments

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    edited November 2017
    I do not, and never have, used a power conditioner. Are they worth the investment? I've seen a lot of them listed on eBay, and that makes me think I might be able to snag a good deal while also wondering 'why are people ditching these'?

    Last place I'd buy one..... Do you know if they have taken a good hit? Nope
    They right ones are worth their weight in gold, others not so much.

    I'd only buy use if i knew you real well.
  • I don't know. You have to wonder how often these things get stressed with a voltage spike.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    edited November 2017
    one thing to look at, how much $$$$$ do you have is your gear. What part of the country do you live in? Are there are thunderstorms in your area? If yes, then a good power conditioner/surge protector is a must. I don't know how many times I've seen people hooking up $1.000 TV and $2k in audio to a Costco $10 Cyberlync surge protector.

    My mom lives in Oklahoma, Everything in her house is plugged into these

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002YDZWO/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_12?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    She has yet to have anything fry so I got one to try. Yes the picture did get a little cleaner on my TV and maybe a little help on my audio.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    Kind of depends on what you're wanting it to do. Do you want true power conditioning? Or, are you just looking for equipment protection? Some designed just for protection can actually degrade your SQ.

    As mentioned, beware of used unless you know its history.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    edited November 2017
    Real power conditioning/surge protection costs money. Look at products from PS Audio, Shunyata and SurgeX, all proven to be worth the coin.

    Another thing, power amps should be plugged directly into the wall.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


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  • I have a Furman Elite-15 PFi power conditioner and I've been quite happy with it. It also has 45 amps of AC power reserve which improved my amps performance and sound when compared to being plugged into the wall or my old Panamax 5100 which is now in my garage.
    "Make a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Light
    a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."


  • [quote="F1nut;

    Another thing, power amps should be plugged directly into the wall.[/quote]

    Why is that? Do conditioners restrict current?
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    edited November 2017
    Yes some do restrict current. Many amps also have power conditioning type of device just past the incoming power cord, not all but some. 20 amp circuits and wire do not impede the juice your amp wants to pull.
  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    I have the Ps Power Plant 3 and I use the amp circuit on it and am happy with the results. Some can restrict peak current.
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,505
    I have a P5, I cannot figure out (possibly because I am short on time), which combination of electronics plugged into it yield the best sound. Right now I am testing out the amp and preamp into the wall, while the Emm Transport and Emm DAC into the P5.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Moose68Bash
    Moose68Bash Posts: 3,842
    I use a Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One 5.0 power conditioner in my main system and plug all components into it -- CAT 600.2 amp, PS Audio DirectStream DAC and PerfectWave Transport, MacIntosh C220 tube pre.

    Before I installed the power conditioner, I had a lot of noise in the background. After installing it, the background is black.

    As others have said, good power conditioning is expensive, but it is worth every penny in SQ improvement, in my opinion.
    Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.

    Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One.