Is an isolation transformer better than a power conditioner?


I was never thrilled with my Shunyata Triton/Typhon pc.

It improves the SQ but not dramatically. And it is two large chassis that take up a lot of real estate. And not particularly attractive. And we’re $18K new! One would expect transformative performance.

Just went to great lengths and expense to run a dedicated AC line. $4.5K of special Oyaide cable, duplexes and cover plates. And $1.2K electrician.

It was also highly recommended that I also go with an isolation transformer. Went from Torus to Bryston to Equitech. Focusing on the balanced power Equitech.

Getting one, I am curious to know if it will “blow away” my T/T as I have been told.

And with the dedicated AC, maybe not plugging my amps into the new duplexes but the Et would be better. Or plugging in the Et to the T/T and the T/T into the wall.

But I sure would like to get rid of the Shunyatas.

mglik

Showing 2 responses by leotis

Would clarify that Equitech is "balanced" power transformer. Not conventional transformer. Noise gets canceled by balancing power to +60/-60 instead of +120/0 (not a completely accurate way to describe it). Most of the noise affecting your system is produced by the reactive power generated by your own gear (depending how terrible your wall current may be). The  regenerators do nothing to mitigate that problem. Plus they limit current so you can't use it for your amps. You can (and should) plug your amps into the Equitech. Dynamic range is not limited (assuming you have the right size unit) and the noise floor is lowered dramatically.

I took Charles advice a while back and now run Equitech on 4 systems. Best audio advice I ever got. Huge improvement IMO. (I had tried Shunyata and PS regenerators), There is a reason so many of the big boys use Equitech.