As many have said I believe the first line of defense in the quest for pure power is to optimize your existing AC power delivery system.Everyone,even apartment dwellers can check circuits and outlets for possible noise contributing problems.It's easy to trace a circuit in your home.With a tester and a little leg work you can check whats plugged into the same line as your audio gear.It might be that fluorecent light,dimmer switch or computer upstairs thats adding noise.The goal is to minimize the sources of interference before going to a conditioner.This initial step will also help a great deal in getting the most out of whatever unit you choose.An excellent product for those that can't install dedicated lines are the Audio Prism Quietlines,they simply plug into outlets near your system and shunt noise to ground,inexpensive and quite effective.I'm fortunate to be a homeowner with access to my panel and experience wiring houses.I needed to increase the service size in my home and had an additional line 'from the pole'run in where I installed a seperate small panel with audio only circuits.This is the ultimate AC delivery system short of building a power plant in your backyard ( Iv'e considered a small solar powered system) or going to some battery powered system.One last point is that no matter how refined your AC system may be your dwelling is still connected to the same power grid as every house,business and factory in your area and is subject to all the fluctuations and disturbances they generate.If someone can build a power regenerator (like the PS audio units) that run cool,produce perfect 60 cyc. sinewave,and are affordible,thats the way I'd go.....
POWER: conditioners vs filters vs cords
OK. I've heard a lot of contradictory stuff on power accesories. I'm going to throw this out to the roundtable and hopefully clear up some of the fog. I've heard the following: 1) Most full blown conditioners ($500+) do everything better. They stabilize input power, clean up ground loops, filter noise and insulate against power surges. However, some compress dynamics. 2) Most surge supressor/filter units ($200-$350) clean up ground loops, filter noise and insulate against power surges. (but a good power conditioner makes the system sound better overall) 3) Good power cords kinda clean-up ground loops and kinda filter noise; their major advantage is a blacker background, better dynamics, soundstage and imaging. 4) If you have a full blown conditioner, better powercords are redundant and offer little advantage. Am I on the right wavelength here? I have a minor intermittent ground loop, and I know my power is a bit on the dirty side, infrasonic garbage wise. So the question is this: I want to improve my sound quality by cleaning up my power supply without blowing a small fortune. I'd like to invest between $200 to $400(list price) but I wouldn't be adverse to bumping the price to $650 if it REALLY makes a difference. What do you recommend? Your opinions on any part of this subject are welcome and product recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks, Morbius2130aol