@almarg @lak Thank you for your advice. I have heard about mixed results regarding power *conditioners* but not about *regenerators.* This is new to me, and flies against what Paul McGowan has been saying in numerous videos. (I realize he sells regenerators, but I still find him credible.) As for the other lower cost solutions, I'm taking notes!
Extra power or cleaner power?
I'm putting a system together and am thinking through some of the factors which might contribute to the overall sound quality. I realize that testing things out as I go is the best way, so I'm asking this question not to get advice about what to do next but to understand how folks understand and weigh these factors.
Let's start with a predicted factor -- the speakers. From the speaker description:
Anticipated speakers: Salk SS 6M
Response +/- 3db — 35Hz - 40kHz
Sensitivity — 90 db
Impedance — 8 ohms
Amplification — 50 watts (or 30wpc, tube amp)
Alignment — Front slot port
Dimensions — 9 W x 20 H x 14 D
Some (atma-sphere, decooney) have suggested on this forum that even a 60 wpc tube would be great for these speakers. So, here's my question —
Assume that I could get a very good 40 wpc tube amp to drive these speakers to sufficient listening levels (85 db at about 10 feet), for my kind of music (jazz, classical), and peaks in my (400 sq ft) listening space.
With these assumptions, the question becomes one of priorities. I could either spend additional dollars to (a) buy a more powerful amp or (b) spend that money on a power regenerator. Also assume that if I do *not* buy a regenerator, I'd still do *something* to improve the power (some kind of improvement but much less expense).
The question is: with those assumptions, what do you think would add more to the sound quality? More power or cleaner power?
Perhaps this is an impossible theoretical question to answer. If so, I'd like to know that, too!
Thanks!
Let's start with a predicted factor -- the speakers. From the speaker description:
Anticipated speakers: Salk SS 6M
Response +/- 3db — 35Hz - 40kHz
Sensitivity — 90 db
Impedance — 8 ohms
Amplification — 50 watts (or 30wpc, tube amp)
Alignment — Front slot port
Dimensions — 9 W x 20 H x 14 D
Some (atma-sphere, decooney) have suggested on this forum that even a 60 wpc tube would be great for these speakers. So, here's my question —
Assume that I could get a very good 40 wpc tube amp to drive these speakers to sufficient listening levels (85 db at about 10 feet), for my kind of music (jazz, classical), and peaks in my (400 sq ft) listening space.
With these assumptions, the question becomes one of priorities. I could either spend additional dollars to (a) buy a more powerful amp or (b) spend that money on a power regenerator. Also assume that if I do *not* buy a regenerator, I'd still do *something* to improve the power (some kind of improvement but much less expense).
The question is: with those assumptions, what do you think would add more to the sound quality? More power or cleaner power?
Perhaps this is an impossible theoretical question to answer. If so, I'd like to know that, too!
Thanks!
Showing 8 responses by hilde45
Thanks so much for answering my question -- I suspect you just saved me a lot of money, but more than that, you helped me prioritize how and when to spend. The one comment that gave me pause was Tvad's: "I had two 20 amp AC lines, circuit breakers, and the EP-2050 installed for about $1700 total." I was looking at a psaudio regenerator discounted to about that price, and thought perhaps I could save a lot of trouble by just doing one of those rather than running dedicated lines, etc. But it seems there are additional reasons to avoid a regenerator...the comments above seem to suggest that one can spend a lot less than $1700 and it will make a sufficient difference. And thanks @erik_squires for reminding me that room acoustics not be neglected! |
Thanks to further commenters. I'll research what you've added. It's clear that this should be a later consideration, and whatever I decide -- for whatever amount -- the tips about audio hygiene (e.g. how to separate things) seems enduring. Some of you have settled into a final listening space, and have run the lines you need. As my system builds, I have a listening space in mind. But as we also draw up plans to renovate our basement, there may be future spaces for my gear. The renovation presents inexpensive opportunities to run dedicated lines from the get-go, and I'm glad to anticipate that with any architect we hire. Still, in the meantime, I wanted to know if a simple appliance might serve, and it seems that there may be some question about that. Settling the amp, first, is the general (if not unanimous) consensus. |
@djones51 Thanks for the rec. It's hard to know what advice to take, especially when people have different amps, rooms, and expectations for their system. I really do not expect my system to be huge, with huge power requirements. I know that some systems here are enormously complicated affairs, complete with NSA level tweaks. I'm not planning on going there with my hobby, though no disrespect to those who do. I'll look at the Panamax. |
Just following up on my own, earlier thread. I now have my amps — Quicksilver Mono 60s'. Because my gear is located near an outlet with just two plugs, I have acquired a used $500 Panamax Max 1500 conditioner/surge protector (10 outlets), 1800 Watt. It offers a sufficient number of plugs. Everything is plugged into it. (Details: www.cnet.com/products/panamax-max-1500-allpath-surge-protector-1800-watt) So, thinking ahead a little bit —
Of course, the first thing I'll do is get the dedicated line and then try my existing Panamax to see if there's a difference or problem. P.S. I do see many suggestions above which might answer some of my questions, but I'm having trouble synthesizing the specific gear recommendations with a plan for the dedicated line. |