Good power conditioner overview in TAS

I like the attempt to compare various power conditioners in a given system, but you have to be careful not to draw any absolute conclusions for your own system.

First, the associated equipment used by the reviewer may be less/more high quality than your existing system. Some PCs help offset deficiencies in the build quality/design of the other equipment and, thus, the results can be very system dependent. In particular, lesser quality power supplies in a component can often see more substantial improvements with the right "conditioner".

Frankly, the reviewer's system in this article is a more "real-world" type, but, compared to many, I can see someone saying it's less than normal reference caliber. Thus, your results could vary if your system is using much higher quality components to begin with.

I'm particularly surprised that the RGPC made such a large improvement in that system -- given that he was using a Musical Fidelity integrated amp. I liked and used Richard Gray's products, but I thought the MF products already have a choke regulated power supply, which is similar to what the RGPC does. I would have suspected a less dramatic effect on MF stuff.

As for the Audio Magic, I understand some people swear by them, but it's hard to figure out such high pricing based on parts. Has anyone cracked these open? There must be some unbelievably expensive stuff under the hood or maybe the value is strictly in the improvements it makes.

Jrw7

You have alot of very high quality stuff and powerful amps that need alot of juice. In that vein, you're probably smart to have tried the RGPC and 20 amp BPT stuff for all your equipment versus the more current limiting types of power conditioners/filters. If you liked the RGPC on video, then I, frankly, would pickup a used RGPC 400s for around $400 and just plug your TV into it.

I agree that the RGPC has a more pronounced imrovement on video. In fact, at CES, many of the HT and TV vendors were using it in their setups. For audio though, I don't think you're going to find much better than the BPT stuff, especially for the $$$.

You could look into upgrading your BPT to the 3.5, but I would run it past Chris at BPT first for what potential improvements you could expect.

Other than BPT, I'd recommend installing a 240 volt line and use Richard Gray's new Substation. I would put the Substation in the attic and have all the outlets in your room fed by it if possible. Combined with a few RGPCs, that would be a pretty impressive (albeit expensive) power conditioning solution.

You could also look into new Running Springs Audio conditioner, which has gotten excellent buzz. Also, I recently heard through the grapevine of a "revolutionary" new conditioner that is expected to come out in October, and it supposedly outperformed the $10k Burmeister and Accuphase products.

Again though, I think you may already be at the point of diminishing returns .