Any one measured the EMI/RFI attenuation performance of audiophile power conditioners?


Hello,

I was looking for a very good/robust power conditioner which will clean up reliably very noisy/dirty power supply that I have in my aprtment. While looking for one I went through catlogs of AudioQuest, Shunyata Research, Synergestic Research etc. but no one published charts showing attenuation performance over frequency range like you get for EMI filters from Schurter or Schaffner etc. which are in the industry for EMI/EMC compliance.

Since audio is very subjective, but contrary to audio reproduction Power and EMI/RFI reduction is completely objective and can be clearly demonstrated via attenuation charts.

Hence I am asking if anyone has measured the actual performance of these audiophile power conditioners. I am not denying someone saying they hear improvement after using XYZ product, but since I am talking about power conditioning or EMI reduction it's as objective as it can be.

I am not at all surprised to see all the manufacturers not publishing the performance data, else it would be used in other industries and research fields where it's far more critical and have far more stringent requirements on the performance of conditioner/EMI filters. But I am shocked to see even products ranging above 5-10K are following the same practice of not publishing the results.

Please note I am not a measurement fanatic, but I know where I can chase the measurements and where I can rely on my hearing to gauge the difference.

Regards,

Audio_phool

128x128audio_phool

@tvad I live in India. @cleeds From your comments I can completely understand that you have no idea whatso ever about Indian HiFi scenario. And since you have no clue about the scene hence your ignorant remarks.

My system is rocking and I don't even feel for a second thst there is any component that I don't like in my chain or I should have tried to listen to some component before buying.

Besides coming to the original point, for power conditioner there is no part of it's performance which is subjective. Every aspect of power conditner objective and it can be measured. Hence allowing audiophile power conditioner manufacturer not to publish complete specs when they cost so much is completely absurd & there is no room to say you can decide the performance by audtioning it at home. Besides I have shown in the table how murky this audiophile power conditioner business is. If you still want to support this practice, then may god save you.

Audio_phool

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@tvad I don't post there, neither I take Aamir's reviews very seriously as I don't find much value in his methodology. It's a bit like gun in the hand of a monkey (take this as an idiom and not the literal comparison) & now he has a following. I am very much aware of subjectivity in this hobby but at the same time I very well know where I can be objective.

Audio_phool

From your comments I can completely understand that you have no idea whatso ever about Indian HiFi scenario. And since you have no clue about the scene hence your ignorant remarks.

It appears you make quick assumptions about people as you do about audio components. I wish you the best of luck in your efforts.

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I don’t see any Furman power conditioners on your list audio_phool.  That’s a well known name for power conditioners.  In fact, I had a Furman PF15 elite on my stereo system for several years.  I tried it with my big Pass Labs X350 amp that I had back then but it didn’t work well with the power conditioner.  So I leave my amps plugged directly into the wall.  

I brought home the AQ Niagara 5000 with a Hurricane power cord to audition with my current stereo two years ago.  It was quite a step up in sound for me.  Despite being very expensive I kept it.  So I moved the Furman power conditioner to my Home Theater system.  I was using just a MP Surge protector on the Home Theater system.  The Furman power conditioner amazed me by how much it improved the television picture.  The colors are brighter and richer and the images much sharper.  My experience with these two power conditioners has been quite positive.

If you can find a way to correlate sound quality to specifications- especially EMI reduction specs, more power to you.

If you can find a way to correlate sound quality to specifications- especially EMI reduction specs, more power to you.

This is an important point. 
 

I may be the only one in these threads to have owned an OnFilter EMI filter, and it absolutely worked as Vladimir said it would. However, after using it with and without several highly regarded power conditioners (which I thought all produced worthwhile improvements), I could not discern any audible effect brought by the OnFilter. My conclusion was chasing low EMI regarding high end audio was not worth my time or resources. 

@tvad You have made a very good and important point that you could not discern any audible effect between several regarded power conditioners. This is in turn related to correlation between EM reduction and sound improvements.

@tonywinga I forgot to look up Furman. anyway I have looked up it's specs and they are as below.

Prestige Series P-2400 AR Power Conditioner : Filteration performance
10 10dB @ 10KHz, 40dB @ 100KHz, 50dB @ 500KHz. No mention of mode or load.

Prestige Series P-2400 IT Power Conditioner : Filteration performance
For Differential mode 10 10dB @ 10KHz, 40dB @ 100KHz, 50dB @ 500KHz

For Common mode 80dB @ 20KHz, 40dB @ 20KHz to 1 MHz No mention of load for both modes.
 

These specs are in line with other Audiophile grade power conditioners, nothing very different.
The reason why I don't really want to correlate SQ with EMI reduction is because of multiple factors which are as below.
1. EMI/Filteration Performance :- This is obvious factor which doesn't need any explanation.

2. EMI/RFI on power line :- Now we don't really measure how much polluted our li nes are before we even use an power conditioning. So if a line is very clean then  even if best power conditioner is used it will not really have any impact on SQ.

3. Power Design of the component :- Some companies recommend plugging directly into the wall outlet. In those case & other cases here power stage is very well designed and takes care of dirty power is naturally going to sound same as with any power conditioner.

4. Personal bias and hearing ability :- Everyone has differnt hearing ability and not everyone can distinguish the changes which are subtle. Besides bias is very true and it can change one's perception to a large amount the way he percieves changes in SQ.

So if you consider all this you will understand why it's not a great idea to find correlation between SQ and EMI reduction.
While all said, I am not going to challange your experience as that what you have heard/experienced.
I think vk_onfilter has also described the impact of EMI filtering in line with my view in one of his earlier post

Audio_phool