A question of power


I have never used power conditioning as have never felt the need to. But as I move up the fod chain of equipment (still not very high) I am thinking about what unregulated power does to equipment.

In testing for the power at my home, I exceed 120 v quite regularly! I know most people have a problem with sag, so this is where my question is focused... does an overage (say, up to 131 v, which is the highest reading I have over the one day I tried it) do bad things? To the sound, to the life of the equipment, whatever? Might it even improve the sound or is that wishful thinking? Incidentally, the lowest reading I got yesterday was 127 v.
kck

Showing 1 response by bombaywalla

if i'm not mistaken, USA voltage is spec'd to +/-5% of 120V (someone correct me if i'm wrong). so, your voltage readings are a bit on the high side. take some measurements over the course of 1 week & see if you have consistently high readings. Of course, do double check that you are reading the #s correctly & that your equipment is correctly functioning.

power conditioning......hmmmmmm.....where to begin!!!
to get the voltage to 120V always you'll need a voltage regulator/re-generator like the one PS Audio makes (or some other brand). Most other power conditioners (like BPS, ExactPower, Richard Gray, Chang Lightspeed, Blue Circle, etc, etc) do not regulate the voltage; rather, claim to "clean" it up.
Do a search of these archives to find info & there is a ton of it here!
Each method - power conditioning & power re-generation - has its pros & cons. You'll have to educate yourself & decide.