Power Supply

I have. I own both a homebrew battery system and am also a StromTank dealer, as well as a Synergistic Research dealer.

I started out with just a line conditioner on a dedicated line for a number of years, and I had progressed to the PowerCell SX before considering a battery system. I followed one thread on here that talks about creating a battery system and did the same, using two LifePo4 batteries and a Giandel inverter. The improvement was significant in terms of focus, imaging, and soundstage.

I upgraded to the PowerCell 14 as it came out in July, and the improvement continued with regards to soundstaging, image delineation, and straight out dynamics as they are now also designed as supercapacitors that deliver more instantaneous current than the wall can provide. The difference of having a battery system became smaller, but the benefits were still audible.

I recently became a Stromtank dealer and have a few units on my floor, which replaced the homebrew design. I didn’t think I would hear any improvement, but I was surprised when I did. I learned that the inverter in the StromTank operates with a much lower noise floor than a typical Giandel inverter. 

So now, I have a PowerCell 14 hooked up to a StromTank battery supply. Maby audio enthusiasts likely wouldn’t think to or have the financial means to prioritize having both a battery supply and quality conditioner working together in the chain, but doing so will elevate your total system performance to new heights you would have otherwise not dreamed. 

Hey Jerry,

Great comments.

Yes, the StromTank converts the energy stored by its LFP4 batteries via inverter back to AC. The rated THD per their website is “<2%”. While that is greater than PS Audio’s <0.5% (0.1% is not guaranteed), I can easily say that in my experience, PS Audio products are sonically inferior to the StromTank and Synergistic Research PowerCells… and by a large margin.

In my experience, I’ve found that not everything that is measurable is audible, and not everything that can be heard is measurable. While the inverter itself may remove distortion, there’s no telling what is happening after that stage, how electromagnetic activity after the inverter, how much instantaneous current is being delivered, etc. I owned PS Audio regenerators prior to switching to SR, and have also extensively demoed the P20 against the PowerCell SX a few generations ago and found the PowerCell to be far superior in performance with regards to dynamics, imaging, staging, and natural timbre/tone. This was well before the time that I became a dealer by trade, and I was a PS Audio fanboy prior who was very active on their forums. The PowerCell has since gone through many improvements that make it even significantly better than it was then, and the P20 has not changed a bit. And this is all considering that the PowerCell does not have batteries contained in them.

I’ve found that PS Audio PowerPlants are good with source devices, but amps don’t do so well on them. Many other PowerPlant owners have also preferred to plug their amps directly into the wall instead. The PS Audio forums now have threads that talk about power products that their customer base are now raving about that trump their P20s.

Regarding the isolation of the charger in a StromTank, I will have to ask the StromTank team. I do know there is a button to completely turn off the charging and access to the grid, but I don’t know what the circuitry entails.

When I was using my homebrew solution, the Giandel inverter generated around 3% THD, and I had a connector that I could disconnect to easily remove the charger from the chain.

FWIW, TAS just posted a review on one of the StromTank units yesterday. I haven’t yet read it myself but it’s on my list to get through today. You might find it interesting.

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/stromtank-s-2500-quantum-mkii-battery-power-pack-and-sinewave-converter/

Ok, editing this post, I did read the review. While the reviewer mentions having experience with many other power solutions, he doesn’t make any comparisons against the StromTank. I wish he did! Looking past that, his experience is mimicking mine.

Perhaps what he mentions towards the end in terms of the plusher sound is where the PowerCell 14 is improving upon in terms of dynamics and current delivery. Regardless, being fortunate enough to have both on my floor is a blessing, and I don’t think I can live without either of them.