Power conditioners and power regeneration


There are so many different options on this subject it’s unbelievable. But in the meantime it seems to me that between two companies that I’m comparing, they seem to do the same thing with power conditioning, and as far as I can tell there is no audible difference. Comparing two different conditioners, the elite 20 pfi and the aq pq2. On the other hand, I’ve heard that power regeneration is good, but it also can generate noise. Besides plugging into the wall, which I know works great, I still would like some protection to my amplifiers against brown out or surges. Has anyone else experienced any difference with these 2 products?

pureclarity

Showing 1 response by texbychoice

Been at this hobby for a long time trying all kinds of "improvements".  Other than protection from power surges, never thought much about power conditioning.  After all, each piece of gear powered by AC includes filtering to clean up the AC.  

Why did my system sound different in the daytime, evening, or day of the week?  It took a long time to be confident there really was a difference.  AC varied some, but surely a couple volts can't be the issue. 

Found a nice used PS Audio Power Regenerator to try.  Connected all my gear to the unit and picked a track with a piano passage harshness present every time.  Whoa - clear notes, no harsh edges.  Tried another track with some harsh edges.  Gone again, nothing but clean and clear notes.  Tried several more tracks. Same result.  Would not describe as jaw dropping difference, but no doubt harsh edges gone.  That was with solid state amp over several weeks.  During that period, time of day made no difference in the sound quality.

Switched to my tube amp. Spent a few weeks listening.  Again, no difference based on time of day.  Prior to the Power Regenerator the solid state amp and tube amp both sounded good, with not much difference.  After, the change in sound quality with the tube amp is substantial.  There is depth, body, and clarity not present previously.

As always, be your own judge of whether a different piece of gear or tweak works for you.