One aspect that dawned on me. Power conditioning on the cheap is like preamping or amping on the cheap… it may be a necessary step to get to where you want to be… but it is leaving sound quality on the table. Very appropriate step on the way to better sound.
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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After getting the cheapest PS audio power regenerator the experience was jaw dropping in 3 seconds. So I have to disagree with Stuart k. It depends on the resolution of your equipment. Serpently filter all your digital and a computer equipment. I have the regenerator on my low level amplifiers that is preempts and such. The high power equipment received isolation transformer with very low inductance. That's about the cheapest way to get around it |
I have a PST-8 and a Green Wave dirty electricity filter. They work very well together. There is a video that demonstrates this on Youttube. They combo has made a dramatic difference in my system. The video also demonstrates that the PST-8D is not worth the extra $$. Erik_Squires’ posts were helpful and informative while making this decision. |
@buddyboy1 I had read that the power quest was very similar tech to Niagara 1000/1200, and one Amazon review claimed they sounded the same. I was putting together a small system when away from home and picked up the power quest 3 and Audioquest entry level cable from Best Buy. I also found a deal on a used Furman reference 15, for not too much more than power quest. I found the Furman, though probably 10-15 years older to have much more effect. I should have returned the power quest, but kept it to plug my computer into. Maybe I’ll try it again as a filter for my home computer, which acts as my Jriver server. |
This is what I use. Plugged into the wall. Furman RFI power strip with voltage cut off at 145v. Tripplight 1800W RF, spike voltage regulator isolation transformer plugged into the Furman. The furman will take the first hit and limit over voltage to 145v. The Tripplight regulates 85v to 145v to 120v. The power conditioner has event lights on front. I have seen it regulate low voltage and high voltage. Absolutely no change in sound quality. Normally it is apparent after a thunder storm showing an electrical drop. I highly recommend this combination. I run a rack with a primaluna integrated. |
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