Power Conditioning on the Cheap


This is my first post here after a bit of lurking, so please be gentle.  I realize this subject must come up a fair amount and I've read erik_squires blog posts on the subject, but I was hoping to get the community's opinion on the relative merits of a few relatively basic power conditioners.  I've narrowed my list down to a few options at a range of (fairly modest) price points.  From low to high they are:

Furman PST-8D

ifi Power Station

Furman Elite-15 PF I

Shunyata PS10 w/ Venom Defender

Audioquest Niagara 1200

In a perfect world where I didn't have a limited budget I would probably buy something higher up the line from Shunyata, but since we live in a decidedly imperfect world, these are my options, although I would welcome other suggestions that fit within this price range.

I should also probably mention that while I value subjective reports on the sound quality of various products, generally speaking I give more weight to objective measurements or at least arguments based in sound science.  More embarrassingly, I also place a certain amount of value on aesthetics.  Aesthetic taste being inherently subjective, (a debatable point, but for the sake of argument lets just assume that it's true) lets just say that when I lust after completely unobtainable equipment it tends to be from companies like Soulution or Pilium rather than Dan D'Agostino or darTZeel.

incorporeus

Showing 1 response by audioguy85

The Furman PST-8, for the money, is very good. You mentioned the PST-8D, be advised that that model is dedicated to digital sources only. I’m not certain if you are aware, Garth Powell is the designer of the Furman PST-8. He used to work at Furman. He is the same guy that designed the Audioquest Niagara 1000 and 1200, as well as the more expensive models.

I will agree that it is advisable to run a dedicated circuit to your hifi. It can be done cheaply (if you are proficient in electrical work) by running a 12/2 romex (yellow) from a 20 amp breaker to a high quality receptacle (audioquest Edison for example). Then you will also need to buy some high quality power chords to take full advantage of your new found better quality power.