Advice on power conditioner


I am looking to spend $200, new or used ( or nothing if it's not worthwhile)on a power conditioner. I live in NYC and only have 2 components; audio refinement int. and rotel cdp to worry about. Also, if I use an upgraded PC on the amp should it be right to the wall?
thanks in advance, as always-
Adam
128x128wombat3
Try finding a used Chang Lightspeed.They work well and don't add or subtract anything. Should be available used in your pricerange.
I would suggest picking up the parts for Chris VH's power cords and building models 1 & 2. VH-1 for your CD player and VH-2 for the integrated. I think that Ernie aka Audiogon member "Subaruguru" is selling kits to make these at a very reasonable price. He might not have all of the necessary parts, but he can probably get you most of the way with a lot less hunting for parts.

My next step would be to pick up four Audioprism Quiet Lines and install these at various points around the house. These are parallel line filters and will not limit current in any way.

If you are not up to building power cords, i would look for a used Monster Cable HTS-2500, HTS-3000 or HTS-3500. These can all be had for less than $200 and work pretty reasonably for the money invested. You could also hook up your TV and VCR ( if you have one ) as there are plenty of outlets and isolated filters to do so. Sean
>
I'm with Sean on this one. Or you can get a new Monster Cable HTS-1000 or HTS-2000 for $149 and $199 (retail -- you can do better), respectively. They're hard to beat for the money -- and they're better than the Chang. At least they were in my system, which at the time consisted of Rowland and Audio Research.
Equi-tech or Richard Gray which do very different things are the best way to go. Look up their specs. The others impact the sound in adverse ways.
I would strongly agree with Sean concerning the Chris VH power cords. I have put together a mix of models numbering about 16 of these, and tried them on a host of different equipment, all with great results. If Ernie has put together a kit with all of the parts, so much the better for you.
Regarding the Richard Gray units, I had three of them. They strangled my amp. My Pass X350 and my Rowland Model 10 sounded like tiny triodes. When my A/C kicked on, the 60-watt lamp I had plugged into one of the units dimmed. So much for incredible power reserves. The Monster is better for lots less money.
No doubt about it -- Monster 2000 (or the latest model #) is the way to go. Online, you can find it for around $130 or so. Also, I would say plug the amp into it -- I live in Manhattan and the sound improved substantially with the amp plugged in. Also, no need to use the so-called high current outlets in the unit -- they don't handle any higher power but do have less filtration. But, in NYC you want more filtration, not less.
Concur with the Chang Lightspeed recommendation: probably the 2500 would do the job just fine for an integrated, but if it's a high output unit then maybe go for a 6400. Stereophile recommended, neutral character, contains integral MOV line-transient protection. Used-priced on Audiogon it's a no-brainer.
Try the amp with upgrade cord both ways - straight into the wall & then through the Chang, even trying out the different levels of filtration (digital level filter vs. analog level filter). The 2500 MKI's two digital outlets are unfiltered yet are transient protected, the 2500 MKII's digital outlets are filtered & the analog outlets are filtered somewhat more, all with transient protection.