PS Audio Noise Harvester

Early B.

I received my Noise Harvester today.

For those who are not familiar with it, here it is...

http://www.psaudio.com/products/noiseharvester.asp

OK, so I plugged it in and the damn thing starts blinking like hell -- maybe several times per second. I tried another outlet -- same thing. Then I begin to grow more skeptical about whether this thing actually works. I turn on my music to find out...

I pop in my typical reference CD and lo & behold -- the damn thing works. The differences are very subtle, of course (I only have one of them), but noticeable within the first few seconds of the first song I played. The sound is a bit cleaner with a hint more detail. It's a keeper.

Who knows -- it may make a bigger improvement after 100 hours of break in (ha ha).

I will say, however, I doubt you'll notice much of a difference, if any, on less than stellar recordings. It's a good tweak for the critical listener. Will I buy more of them? Nope. I'm too cheap.

Pearsall001 -- what's been your experience with the noise harvester?

RuSsMaN

That blinking is supposed AC line noise being converted to light.

There are several similar devices on the market. Audio Prism used to make the 'Quiet Line' that was a Stereophile recommended component for quite a few years, sold for $24.95 each. I've seen some guys use several in a room at a time.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=14351&section=

Edit - found the AP link - I don't think they are sold any more retail:
http://www.audioprism.com/quietline.html

Early B.

Thanks for the link. Just ordered a Quietline.

pearsall001

Pearsall001 -- what's been your experience with the noise harvester?[/QUOTE]

Early, I second that on your findings with the NH. Not a bad price considering what it does. I might go for another one, but I'll wait to hear back on your findings with the Quietline product.

Early B.

pearsall001 wrote:

Early, I second that on your findings with the NH. Not a bad price considering what it does. I might go for another one, but I'll wait to hear back on your findings with the Quietline product.

Oops. My bad. I ordered an Electroclear QRT Noise Reduction unit (the first link in Russman's post.)

Pear -- I'll post my results here.

PolkThug

Hmmm, even if the noise gets "converted" to a blinky light at that plug-in, your gear plugged in below it will still see the noise, would it not?

Early B.

PolkThug wrote:

Hmmm, even if the noise gets "converted" to a blinky light at that plug-in, your gear plugged in below it will still see the noise, would it not?

What noise?

It has been converted to light.

wingnut4772

Boy am I skeptical on these things.

Early B.

wingnut4772 wrote:

Boy am I skeptical on these things.

Yeah, so am I, that's why I try them. If the harvester didn't work, I'd simply return it. I bought this one from a reputable e-tailer (audioadvisor), so returns would be hassle-free.

Early B.

My harvester gave out on me after one day of service. Well, I assume it did because the light no longer blinks. Gotta return it.

polkatese

Could it be that the harvester has done eating all the noise gremlins, Early?

can't help it

John K.

Yes EB, possibly it works even better than advertised and has permanently cleansed your line of noise! Just kidding, of course, and we should keep in mind that the power supply section of well-designed audio equipment has a transformer, rectifier and filter capacitors which supply clean DC; no "noise harvesting" is necessary.

PolkThug

Early B. wrote:

What noise?

It has been converted to light.

In order for your gear to not see the 'noise', the harvester and your gear would need to be plugged in, in a series, not parallel. (assuming that it actually works)

strider

Musicdirect.com has the Quietlines for sale for $29.95.

http://www.musicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AQUIETFIL

wingnut4772

strider wrote:

Musicdirect.com has the Quietlines for sale for $29.95.

http://www.musicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AQUIETFIL

I checked that out. They are currently on back order.

Early B.

Early B. wrote:

My harvester gave out on me after one day of service. Well, I assume it did because the light no longer blinks. Gotta return it.

False alarm.

I called Audioadvisor today and the CS guy told me to try it again because sometimes the harvester does not appear to be blinking at all, but it's blinking faintly and can only be seen when all of the lights are out. Other times it'll blink like crazy. So I reinstalled it and now it's blinking like crazy again. I'll keep watching it, though.

PolkThug

sounds exciting!

Early B.

I received my Electroclear QRT Noise Reduction unit yesterday and hooked it up along with the Noise Harvester. Frankly, I couldn't tell the difference. I'll take the next day or so and switch them out (i.e., A/B them), then I'll have a better idea if the Electroclear works as well as the noise harvester. I can already tell you, though, the big advantage the noise harvester has -- that darn blinking light. At least I know it's doing something. With the Electroclear, you just have to assume it's functioning.

F1nut

John K., you are SO effing clueless!

univera

PolkThug wrote:

In order for your gear to not see the 'noise', the harvester and your gear would need to be plugged in, in a series, not parallel. (assuming that it actually works)

Can you explain this? I am trying to figure where this is suppossed to be plugged in. You say in series, so I assume that means in line, before the gear from which you are trying to keep the noise. If one is using a power conditioner already, would this plug into the wall with the power conditioner plugged into it? Why wouldn't a conditioner take care of these commonly found line issues in the first place?

You don't plug your fridge, etc into it and then it into the wall? Seems that would work as well since it would harvest the noise at the source before it circulates throughout the entire line.

Johncan

I have one... it only blinks when I run the vacuum cleaner or when the air conditioner is running. Other than that it rarely blinks. I guess I have fairly quiet AC lines.

John

dorokusai

A complete waste of money but glad it worked for you.