2. digital
  3. 190336-188464

Power Regenerator or Conditioner for Digital Sources

Ok I'm having a difficult time deciding. I want to clean up the power going into my Aurender N20 and my MSB Discrete DAC. Those components seem to me to be the most sensitive to power issues. When I plug them into an inexpensive APC Power strip I get a slightly harsh upper frequency range. When I plug them into my Cullen Power Box that has no surge protection just straight from the wall power they sound much better especially the DAC which is the more sensitive of the two. However summer time power issues do have their effect

So I am considering either a quality power conditioner such as the Isotek Aquarius V5 or a PS Audio Stellar Power Plant 3 for just these two components. I need three receptacles as my DAC has two power supplies. My Amp will stay plugged into the wall where it sounds the best.

Anyone own either of these power units? Experiences with them?

Alternatively there is the Puritan 156 Conditioner at a lower price however recent reviews on Alpha-Audio where they did extensive power conditioner tests strongly favored the Isotek Aquarius V5.

 

 

 

jfrmusic

Showing 3 responses by audphile1

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,443 posts
 

OP,

I had the Puritan PSM 156 in my system long enough to determine it actually degraded the sound. I used it for DAC and preamp only.  
I tried 3 different power cords with it, Classic, Ultimate and AQ Hurricane. It seems to impart this strange “pinched” quality to the sound. This persisted even after I had 2 dedicated lines run for my system.  The Puritan effect just didn’t sound natural to me so I sold it. I ended up running everything direct to wall. I would highly recommend running a dedicated line or two for your components. Start there. Best bang for your buck. Try the power conditioner after.
 

One more item to note is that the power cord feeding your power conditioner has to at least match the power cords you have on your components. 
 

If you decide to try more power conditioners add Shunyata to your list. 

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,443 posts
 

Right now my system sounds wonderfully refined and musical. So after 5 months of buying , burning in and evaluating equipment I’m just going to listen to music


That’s a great place to be!!!

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,443 posts
 

Yep don’t fix problems that don’t exist. Nothing good ever comes from it. 

More to discover