What should I expect after installing a new power management system?

What is wrong with the power in your area that would require you to spend this kind on money on power conditioner?  

Try and A-B everything you plan on spending money on. Just make sure it makes a difference for you. And leery about them. I must have clean power because all the stuff I tried didn’t work.

I agree with @raysmtb1. And before you bother, why don’t you audit (or have a good electrician audit) your electrical system, starting from the service entrance. You can’t pull the meter though the power company can. Look at what Fremer went through when he had problems with a Generac installation- they found corroded contacts at the meter and all sorts of other stuff.

I haven’t used a power conditioner in a long time, so my experience with the latest crop is nil. I do have a very good power system, though and spent money on it to get it right. Frankly, the infrastructure where I’m at now is far better than what we had in NY and I probably could have skipped the big iso-transformer. But my speakers are 104db and you can hear every gremlin if it is there. I’m always worried that filtering is going to throw baby out with bath water.  I know that some folks like the effect of conditioning, but no one’s situation is exactly the same. Is this a new location for you? I went through this when I moved from NY to Texas.

My house was built in the 50s with mostly ungrounded circuits.  When appliances or the community well next door kick on, lights dim.  Early on, I ran power up from the basement so there was no noise when the refrigerator cycled on.  A used PS AUDIO regenerator cured all these ills.  My tube integrated , Rogue Cronus Magnum II, is silent, and after a year the bias on the tubes had not moved a bit.  I’m a believer for those with terrible AC.  Les expensive than an electrician and dedicated circuits.

To paraphrase the hippocratic oath, do no harm.  A power system that limits spike current will kill your systems ability to respond to dynamics, especially on bass.  I don't use a system.  I do use very heavy (10awg) power cords.

Power cords are simple.  they are big pipes for current.

Power conditioners are a differnt animal. they all have inductive loads that resist voltage and current changes.  It surprises me that high end systems can be designed that limit current.  Just make sure you choose one that does no harm.

Jerry

Don’t waste your money or time! Snake oil! But, If you are going to get one,

don’t forget to buy a $5k fuse and $20,000 cables.

I’m looking at the transparent Power conditioners they seem to be the no limiting type and don’t add all those stupid capacitors which to me seems really dumb to do. I mean why would you want to put a mini amplifier into a power conditioner, who knows what the heck happens to electron flow within all these cylindrical electrical doodads.

Most peoples amps offer the ability to handle demands as needed. The audio quest Niagara box has got to be one of the most ridiculous Power conditioners I have ever seen. Add the PS audio reconditioners add volume as you pass current through this box, what the hell is all that about?

And the synergistic conditioner is also a very complicated box and doesn't provide surge protection. It says clearly in the spec area to disconnect it during electrical storms. So if I'm out to dinner I have to run home. Utterly insane

Candidly, what you can expect is a smaller bank balance. If anything, invest in installing dedicated 20 amp circuits to each outlet used to power your system. 

I would like to see a power amplifier measured for noise, distortion and slew rate when connected to a power conditioner or power regenerator. I doubt you’ll be able to find such a measurement. If the power conditioner is doing it’s stated job, noise and distortion should be lower, slew rate unchanged.

has anyone run across this type of power conditioner testing.

Would slew rate not be covered under full power frequency response? I don’t see how it would not @fundsgon . Audio Science recently tested a PS Audio Powerplant with connected amplifier and measured noise and distortion. The results are "interesting". Not as interesting as the backlash, but interesting. I don’t consider this test to be definitive though. It see it more as a test of the adequacy of the amplifier, than of the relevance of the Powerplant. The amplifier was adequately designed and did not require the Powerplant. If you have a finicky tube amplifier, the results could be different. I expect for noise, that the results will be depending on all the connected equipment, not a single piece. This is another area where Audio Science, one of the only doing this level of testing, also appears deficient. Unfortunately, our hobby eschews measurement leaving us to gamble on the end result or hoping that independent sites stumble on a result relevant to us.

Thanks Deluded, that’s probably the measurement I was looking for (full power frequency response). 

Ill check out that test on Audio Science.

I have not used any power conditioners since I do not think the power to my outlets is particularly dirty or noisy. But I believe the free flow of electricity improves the sound quality of audio equipment.

Since I am not worried about 'noisy' electricity, for me 'clean' power means unrestricted power. The simpler the better so nothing interferes with the 'flow' of electricity. But if I lived in an area with regular thunder storms or power surges I would use a surge protector nonetheless.

I don't know what the equipment the OP is considering promises to do. I would question/diagnose whether anything is needed beyond facilitating for the free 'flow' of electricity from the wires in your wall to the power jacks on your components. 

In my desire to optimize the sound of my system I have added audio grade power cords, power strip/boxes and wall outlets. In the interest of electrical hygiene I plug noisy SMPS's (i.e modem, router, etc) plug into a basic power strip fed from a regular 14 ga extension cord going to a different outlet than my audio equipment. In my biased experience mo-better-cleaner power contributes to a reduction in noise floor and an increase in clarity, transients, soundstage, impact, and base.

When an aftermarket power cable improved the sound quality of my Bluesound Node streaming to external DAC I just about threw my hands up. I don't fully understand it, but I believe it, and I like it. 

@fundsgon , there are 2 threads, and a video. You will need to read both threads (first post) to get the full story.

 I mostly eschew tweaks and like so many find snake oil afoot.  However, when it works it works and in a very deliberate non-argumentative way.

When I installed a Decware ZLC conditioner, the POSITIVE effect was immediate; blacker background, greater separation of instruments and vocals.  It is a subtraction device.  Subtracting whatever seemed not there, but clearly was.

I sent one to a friend and he confirmed same findings, the effects as dramatic for him.  We laughed at the craziness of electricity and the hobby.

I don’t think some posters realise the benefits of power conditioners. Amps should not be plugged into the majority of power conditioners, they will limit current. Low-current-draw components can experience vast improvements in SQ mainly by filtering RFI/EMI, and reducing the noise-floor. Many are capable of isolating noise produced by digital devices so that it doesn’t contaminate the mains.

There are some conditioners that claim to accept amplifiers without limiting current such as PS Audio’s regenerators. I have no experience with these but my balanced power conditioner has increased the performance and enjoyment of listening to music.

@celtic66 , can you tell us what else is in your system and how it is connected? Do you have both a turntable and DAC?

I failed to mention that the amp should use a heavier power cable (~ 10 gauge) than sources for unrestricted power delivery to the transformer and to keep the capacitors charged.

So I watched the VIDEO on ASR. What a shite show, PS Audio really tripped over their dicks responding to ASR. From the review, the P12 does a good job regulating voltage, but doesn’t do much at removing noise or distortion. 

Please clearly explain "subtracting whatever seemed not there, but clearly was."

What’s really revealing in all these comments is the absence of testing. When I was at a dealer they had a couple options set up for comparison and this wasn’t really helpful. I asked if anyone looked at EMI or RFI results before and after inserting a Power System and I received a deer in the headlights stare.

There are other things to consider Beyond EMI and RFI but still there is Limited AB testing related to a power system. The whole industry has a problem with AB testing for speakers and preamps and amps and cables. It is difficult to do it in light of differences in gain settings and volume comparisons and going back-and-forth between components. But still it would be nice if this occurs more frequently by the dealer as he’s better suited to handle this. I wanted to test a very low power amp versus a exceptionally high powered amp end it wasn’t set up to do that. And I couldn’t compare preamps because he didn’t have any because I needed to order them first. This is so ridiculous

After installing a new power management system, you should expect a smaller balance in your bank account.  

Improvement in performance, if any, will most likely be based on the psychological need to justify they expense.  

I've used many power conditioners but have had the best success with Plixir.

Plixir doesn't limit current and is balanced. Use for your DAC, Streamer, Pre etc.

Plug your power amp straight into the wall.

The use of an AudioQuest Niagara power conditioner has definitely improved the sound quality of my system. Together with a good power cable you can significantly lower the noise floor and help to diminish the RFI and EMI that can really limit the clarity and the depth and breath of how your music sounds. 

Hello, emergingsoul

If you can get a "Niagra quality" power management center and appropriate power cables installed in your system for evaluation, I would do so.

I would suggest, however, that you either a) wear some Depends, or b) have an extra change of underwear close by.  I do not want to be responsible for what happens when everything in your system with a power cord sounds remarkably better -- all at the same time.

Or, you may hear no difference at all.  But, I'm leaning more towards jaw dropping.

The inductor in a circuit will change the phase of the current to lag the voltage. A big ass coil will have resistance bug great for power if it’s sized correctly. At a frequency depending on the value of the inductor operates at and several key thing wire size, DCR. If you want it to remove a high frequencies if a small inductor is required , the power loss will be out of the frequency that the amp does care for. Best to use a huge ferrite beads i the signal path. Wether current to voltage phase makes a difference in sound I don’t know. However Nelson Pass has proved that it affected the sound stage by moving it forwards are back. 

Whe music is recorded, the signal goes though mixing boards, mic, recording systems then made into the media you like. Who know the phase then.

New ideas and regarding wave theories regarding electrons could explain why cables function they way they do.

cheers 

@jew16384 ,

Do you have a link for this? I would like to read it. This was for  power cord?

However Nelson Pass has proved that it affected the sound stage by moving it forwards are back.