You don’t know what you don’t know… until you do.
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.
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If you monitor the voltage coming in from your distribution panel, you can determine if you have line sags or over voltage. The range allowed for your line voltage is quite large, so any changes will readily show up on a voltmeter. What you can't see are short term voltage spikes or HF noise - most DMMs are not fast enough to catch them. |
There are two transformers in a Puritan PSM-152 to allow free flowing amperes. |
Let me talk about what I’m most familiar with. The difference between the Furman PST-8D and Elite 15i (which I own) is mostly in convenience features. Both offer active noise removal (LiFT) and top end surge protection and noise filtering (SMP). The Elite adds:
Both are actually tested as surge protectors. I live in South Carolina, and we get serious thunderstorms here. The idea that I am going to let my precious gear connect directly to the incoming power without surge protection is absurd, never going to happen. I’ve already lost an unprotected laptop last year. Sometimes these storms sneak up on you too, so the counter argument that I should always unplug gear during a storm isn’t that worthwhile. I could be asleep or miles and miles away. The other idea I see floated around is that somehow having a dedicated line (a good idea) makes you immune from noise and power problems. No, it only reduces how susceptible you are to noise in your house, somewhat, and with a heavy enough gauge may help minimize voltage sag. That is, what sag you have control over. The idea that the transformer outside on a pad or up a pole is "ideal" is one I will never ever comprehend. |
@erik_squires +1 No need to spend a ton of money and dedicated lines are great (I have 4) but you are right, only keeps you off the household grid.
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