That's right. Thanks for the clarification. |
I want the cheapest thing that works well, but would pay $3000 if it was worth the improvement. I was thinking of a Power Plant 300, but am totally open to suggestions. I want to optimize the perfomance of by Transort & DAC. I did buy a $3,000 digital interconnect (Stealth) so if a conditioner made a real difference I would be willing to invest. I just feel a bit sceptical about the product category, but I'm open to new ideas on the subject. Thanks. |
I do hear about complaints with certain aspects of the Power Plant - noise from the fan being one of them. The idea of a pure 117V, 60 hz current sounds appealing, but I do wonder if there is a price to be paid for all the "processing" of the current - but I just don't know. I'm going to take a look at the Audio Excellence and Ensemble products and learn more about them. I find this product category difficult to hands around, and where there is generally little consensus. Thanls for your input. |
Thank you all for your input. I've done a lot of research since I first asked the question and have come to choosing between the Running Springs Haleys and the BPT 2 Ultra +. I currently have a CAT AMP that I would plug into the wall direct, with all else plugged into the line conditioner. I'm contemplating selling my separates and going with a 30 watt integrated (Ars Sonum)which I would plug directly into the conditioner - I don't think there would be any current limitation issues. So, that is where I am at the moment. Thanks again. |
Cytocycle, thank you for an excellent assessment and analysis of the power product landscape - it is real helpful in clarifying the issues. I have dedicated lines and Virtual Dynamics power cords that I believe are good enough. I need two outlets for my transport and dac that will isolate their "digital noise" from the rest of my equipment without doing any harm. I'll look into the isolation transformer products - I don't even know what they are at this point. I have CAT amplifiers and was told emphatically that they should be pluggued directly into the wall. Thank you all for your repsonses so far. |
The Power Wing seems interesting, the more I read about this the more it seems that passive conditioning would be the way to go. Do any of these companies offer 30-day trials? |
Krell_Man, do you have all your equipment plugged into the Power Wing? |
That's great news. I'm willing to try it. Thanks. |
Thank you Phaelon. I'm going to invest sometime researching some of the pieces that others have had some sucess with. My leanings are toward believing that what will work best is a high quality passive power strip with good wire, connectors, and outlets - that is what I would compare any of these active approaches to them. My sense at this very early stage is that active devices can obviously affect the sound as a tone control might. I get the sense that as such, how good a piece is might be very dependent on the system it is used with. I'm not sure if I'm right, but if I am it really requires more experimenting than I have thought it might. I assume that like other components, active power conditioning and/or filtering will tend toward the musical versus neutral divide - if you know what I mean. My system is on the neutral side with CAT amp, Placette Active pre, and Merlins. I suspect I would need to choose power conditioning the leans towards "relaxation" and "warmth". |
What is the primary benefit of good clean power? Is it less extraneous noise? or does it affect that actual sound staging, tonal balance, etc? that is, does it remove errors of comission? I don't know if I'm clear with my question. I find it easy to describe the different sonic signatures of amps, preamps, source, and speakers - but I'm not sure what clean power does. I assume the disigners of those "core" products are making voicing decisions. Does that kind of thing apply to power? If I'm not clear, I'll try to reworded it, but I'm hoping my questions are not too obscure. |
Thanks for your comments Bob. It is the very fact that you sometimes think your system sounds best direct into the wall that makes me wonder about the affect of conditioning. They obviously protect the equipment from spike and surges (or should) and that certainly has some value to it. I would also think that if you had very dirty electricity coming into your house that you might need some conditioning. But I can't help but thinking that putting all these filters and electronics between the straight power from the socket to your equipment might come at a price. I have consistently been told by manufacturers of amps I have owned to plug it directly in the wall - now I do understand that the current demands of an amp are much greater than for my pre and digital gear, but it still makes you wonder. I am curious about these products and will give them a try, but I do so cautiously. |
Holy ^%&%! It did not take long to hear the improvement the RSA Haley brought to my system. I was hesistant to plug in the CAT JL2 into the conditioner because it can run at 900watts, but the Placette and Accustic Arts only run 30 Watts between them and the Haley is rated for 1800 watts. Well they are all plugged and everything is better. Amazing improvement in micro detail. You hear it in all things percussive - piano keys, drums, snares, the singers breath. Bass seem to have more room filling bloom and tuneful. I'm starting to think of this thing as a component upgrade, not simple power. It brings out a considerable improvement in the perfomance of my system. With the Mongoose power cord this thing lists for $1,600 - it is worth every penny if you have a system that has fairly expensive components. Let's put it this way, I like it alot. With only five hours on it, I expect it will only get better with some more burn in. |
Thank you Clio09. I'm a snake oil sceptic, but "good" power conditioners are worthwhile - I suspect there many out there that do more harm than good - the RSA Haley is not one of them - I recommend that everyone at least try one. If you electrical situation needs one, this is a good one. I suspect the BPT is as well. |
Jafox, I did not try a lot of permutations. I started off with the front end in the Haley and the JL2 direct. I would say this provided most of the benefit. I then begrudgingly plugged the CAT JL2 into the Haley - no harm done! At least that I could tell. I did not notice much of an improvement either when plugging in the CAT - I think Ken uses an isolation transformer in the power supply and suspect the CAT has very good built in conditioning - but it is nice to have everything plugged into one box with a common ground for all the pieces. |
The Jaco can allow 2400 Watts of current draw and Haley 1800 Watts, which may be the same thing as saying 15 amp/ 20 amp - otherewise the same units. You would probably need the Jaco if you were using HT, or had two, very large monobloc amps - otherwise, the Haley should provide enough current for most applications - assuming 6 outlets would suffice. |
