Has a Power Conditioner Improved Your Sound?

@thelonious527 currently using the same PC on my system with great results. I had the opposite with more openness and soundstage. 

Maybe plug one component into another outlet, then listen and repeat until you find the component that is causing issues? Or plug in your amp directly into the outlet. 

On my system there is also a 20a audiophile outlet installed in the wall. 

Years ago my Paps used to go to the same phone repair guy for all his needs.  He sent my Paps home with what he thought was a broken UPS.  So Dad said I could have it if I wanted to try and fix it.  I opened it up later and saw the huge transformer and cars, etc  and realized this was a line conditioner.  More specifically an Ametek PowerVar.  It was the medical version.  I took it home and put it behind my listening rig, and it did in fact make my silence blacker, and felt clearer overall.

But my entire apartment is on a single 20A circuit so my place was a true candidate for a unit like this.

Has anyone had a negative experience with a Furman 15i power conditioner? When installed in my system it seem to roll off the top end. It took the ‘ sparkle ‘ out of the sound . However I did like the Active voltage readout where I could see the fluctuations in incoming voltage. 

Most of the power conditioners I've tried have produced a positive result. The one exception was Richard Gray's Power Company products. I pretty much went all in with this product line and could never get the results I was looking for.  There was a negative review of this in either Stereophile or Absolute Sound (I can't remember now) and the problems sighted were exactly what I was experiencing. I know there were those who voiced their support, so perhaps it is/was system dependent.

@ghdprentice says, 

Noise in audio is seldom heard directly… it is not a crackle or something you can focus on.

Well said. My experience exactly.

Isolation transformers sure do.

I upgraded to a ZeroSurge 8R20W and a hospital grade outlet.  Made no difference whatsoever.  At least I have surge protection.

I have a whole house conditioner in the breaker box because a lightening strike took out a Vandersteen power module that has been repaired...., my whole system is differentially balanced and the results are excellent

I ordered an Audioquest PowerQuest 707 from Amazon. Easy return if it doesn’t work to my satisfaction. Should have it by tomorrow. 

@devinplombier - some manufacturers do not recommend any devices between their unit and AC mains. Simply because they never tested their product with all possible "conditioners". Similarly, Pass and Accuphase recommend using supplied power cables since this is what they tested their amps with.

No.

I have everything plugged into the conditioner. It makes sense to me to provide clean power to all the component, especially the amp(s).

FWIW, I just replaced my Furman with a Tripp Lite LSM606M voltage regulator, noise filter, and surge protector. 6 outlets and 600 watt capacity. Enough for everything I have without power amp but they have larger versions. First impression very positive. On sale at Amazon for $114. 

Maintains 120v and definitely improved clarity and definition. It's brand new so time will tell. 

Sounds like some folks are plugging their amp(s) into their power conditioner while others are making a point of plugging them directly into the wall. What would be the point of bypassing the power conditioner, assuming it is able to supply enough current to the amps?

“So since my system is dead silent I’m not yet connected any power conditioner will add enough to justify the cost or worse degrade the sound.”
@jfrmusic, 

Just like anything else in audio, no two products are created equal or have similar outcome. I suggest you to try few conditioners and decide if you need one or not needing at all. My system is dead quiet to began with, even then I found power conditioner to further lower the noise. It ties everything together nicely and you stop thinking about it and get down to enjoying music. 

All of my components, including Class A, Accuphase Integrated plugged into power conditioner. I can understand your skepticism, you can always start off with a passive power distributor like Furutech e-TP60 or iFi power station with active noise cancellation before spending more money. 

@audioquest4life, 

I am using a pair of Shindo Mr. T in my system. I started off with one and added 2nd one to run digital and analog components separately. One Mr. T easily powered my entire system but 2nd one affords more outlets and easy placement options. 

Where is the link to page 38?

Click the word "here."  

This is likely to start the same old tweaker vs. logic/science debate! 

Is the audioquest powerquest 707 an updated version of the niagra1200?

@ditusa

Where is the link to page 38?

@latik

That's my concern. My system is very resolving and I notice every change. The When I tried the Regenerator I could her the difference in the first 5 minutes and I didn’t like it. I returned it the same day I received it. That was with just my DAC and Streamer and Network Switch plugged in. And yes I would never plug my amp into it. So since my system is dead silent I’m not yet connected any power conditioner will add enough to justify the cost or worse degrade the sound. 
 

@jji666

Yes my system is dead quiet with no music playing. So what noise would the conditioner remove?

If there was noise that a PC could lower, couldn't that be detected just by listening without any source material playing? 

Not saying that is the only reason for these various boxes.  The convenience of timed on/off between amp preamp and source can be useful, as can be surge protection. 

@lalitk,

Which power transformer conditioner are you using? I don’t think you mentioned it in your response. 

@jfrmusic

IsoTek is a good start to explore power conditioning. That’s all they do and they do it extremely well. There are so many approaches to cleaning incoming power, starting with dedicated power lines.

I’ve tried many popular and big brands power conditioners costing upto $20K. While they effectively lowers the noise floor, each of them added some sort of coloration. If you own a high resolution system, you can easily discern changes to overall transparency, tonality, dynamics, etc. each time you introduce a new element. While I appreciated the next level of reduced noise floor, I did not care for coloration being added to the sound.

Next, I decided to try transformer based power conditioning. To my surprise, it did some things better and more importantly added zero coloration. I have two dedicated lines in my audio room so that helps but plugging my electronics directly vs power conditioner netted in more transparency and increased dynamics. The longer I listened the more I was drawn into music. Music simply sounded more alive.. I was over the moon with what I was hearing for a fraction of price but more importantly, no coloration. Each note rendering effortlessly without accentuating any element around a central note. It’s more explosive on loud passages and quieter on quiet passages. The scale of the music is also more diverse, some recordings sound bigger, others smaller.

A good power conditioner reduces or completely eliminates unwanted RF and crud that comes in from the power grid. You need to find one that does it with least bit of coloration to the music.

I primarily use them as surge protection. I have lighting/surge protection for the house, but add more for expensive equipment. Sound improvement? Haven’t noticed. YMMV. There are no a big RFI or EMI sources where I live and mains are clean. Nothing fancy, mostly in $200 range.

But effect may also depend on type of your equipment and how good are their power supplies. Some tube gear has pretty simply power supplies and may be more sensitive to the noise.

I, too, had my doubts about power conditioning until I tried a Audioquest Niagara 1200. It did what ghdprentice mentioned, in revealing a lower noise floor allowing for more info to come forward, completing the picture, so to speak. 

Before that I tried Brickwall and some other brand that when compared, sounded better going straight into the wall outlet. 

All the best,
Nonoise

I had my doubts that adding a power conditioner would substantially improve my already highly resolving system. However, I recently decided to try a Shunyata Denali. It proved to be a major upgrade. It's not going back. Improved soundstage, imaging, detail, and separation. YMMV

I use a Niagara 5000 and 7000 in a couple of my rigs.

If you don’t feel like spending all that much, get the powerquest 707.

In addition to the filters and protection, these units maintain/supply a current reservoir on the high current outlets for your power amps. It is like an adrenalin shot for any poweramp and can make your amps slam like crazy on demanding tracks at high spls. After you get used to it, you won’t be going back.

P.S. Only the Niagara 3000, 5000, 7000 and the Powerquest 707 offer the above mentioned. Other AQ models don’t.

As quiet as your system may seem without using a proper Power Conditioner, believe me, it can get even quieter.  Over the years, I've tried  several conditioners, and the one that ended up being a keeper for me was the Audioquest Niagara 3000.  The Audioquest Niagara 3000 is a non-power restricting device that has two special "High Current" plugs on board, which are designed especially for amplifiers.  I have everything plugged into my Niagara 3000, including my amplifier, with excellent results.  If the Niagara 3000 is beyond your budget, just go for the the Niagara 1200, which is just a downsized version of the Niagara 3000.  I'm pretty sure that my Niagara 3000 will be my last Power Conditioner.  Happy listening.     

The PS Audio Regenerator 12 has a dial on its home screen that shows improvement on a scale from 1x to 100x. Typically they show around 10+x. Has anyone hooked up a PS Audio  12 to a PS Audio 12? I'd expect to see the improvement of 10x on the first unit & 1x on  the second. If the second shows 10x that would lead me to believe that the meter could be just pasted onto the unit.

We have tested many of the leading power conditioners regenerators are not the panacea they do truncate dynamics

we have found  isoteks and audio magic products  conditioners really improve a systems performance without limiting dynamics

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect NJ

Isotek and Audio magic dealers

When power conditioner threads come up someone usually makes a statement that one of the functions of a well thought out transformer is to eliminate or at least significantly lessen the impact of noisy power on sound quality.

Then inevitably no one continues discussing this concept further.  Can someone expand on whether the elimination of noisy power’s impact on sound is, in fact, one of the functions of a good transformer.

This post was not written by AI.

Yes power conditioners have always improved the sound of my system. This is true for the vast majority of people but not all. There is a very small minority that seem to live in exceptional locations with good power.

I have used a power conditioner for over 30 years in different locations. Isotech is an excellent choice as is Shunyata. You want to plug your amp directly into an outlet (preferably a direct line) and the rest of your equipment into a power conditioner in a different (preferably a direct line).

Just a comment on noise. Noise in audio is seldom heard directly… it is not a crackle or something you can focus on. It is the noise floor that unless you have a lot of experience is pretty invisible until it is lowered. The background becomes darker and you can hear deeper into the music. A power conditioner will also remove a layer of subtle distortion and also make the music more dynamic.

Any thoughts about how to test if there is much noise or interference to begin with? If you don't have a problem, a solution won't do much more than drain your wallet.

my PC serves more like guard dog and does EXCELLENT job... the good old Panamax MAX1500 having it since past century.