Not sure for power conditioner my amp or not.


Hi, I have an VTA ST-120 I built using KT88C’s for my 2 channel. I have all my equipment running through a Torus Power TOT MAX Toroidal Isolation. I have heard 2 different versions on what to do. As far as what to plug my amp into. The wall or the TOT’s? I know this isn’t a "power conditioner" such as PS Audio sells. Should I keep everything plugged into the TOT, so all my grounds are the same and it has the optional surge protection? Or straight into the wall? I tried the wall once, but didn’t hear a difference really. But I didn’t test for long and not sure I ever got to the point of drawing too much power from the amp. Which is the best way to leave it? Thanks! Scott

VTA ST-120

128x128smoorenc

@vonhelmholtz 

Great sensible advice.

I plug my amp and everything else into the Black Lion PG-2R. Dedicated high current plugs, regulator and high surge protection. No difference in sound between directly into wall or conditioner. Trust your ears and balance it out with your priorities. Nobody can possibly have the golden answer for your specific system and location.

@laps 

This is certainly sound advice, but we must also recognize that there is a difference between conditioners in any manufacturer’s line of power devices.  Before even asking the question, you should have a conditioner that is designed to deliver very high current for short periods of time and that is what the Shunyata Denali and Everest bring to the table.  This is also partially why these units can be sold at a much higher price point.

I think the argument is that everything likes to be cleaned up, but an amp likes to be plugged directly into something huge even more, to sound huge.

The theoretical best place to set up a stereo should probably be in a dedicated room with a bank of outlets AT a nuclear power plant. You’ll probably want it to be your own personal power plant, too, so that you don’t have to feed anything besides your own personal stereo with it.

Now that we can have silent battery operated cars, do they have enough juice to start equipping with standard power outlets? Hmm, vision requirements will still make it difficult to make an automobile the right place to set up speakers. But if they’re from lower, or you’re ok with letting them be on the ceiling... Hmm, there won’t even be a sweet spot in a car, too cramped. But still, after it’s silent, and your battery gets big enough...

The government will be right not to allow personal nuclear reactors, but there should be no reason you can’t have your own personal any other type of power plant. Just keep working on getting rich, someone will probably eventually make speakers that cost more than a nuclear reactor, anyhow. I’d like to see a supercar that’s actually a sound isolated cube van, designed to be a mobile listening room.  That would be very affordable, too, really. A supercar (or custom sound isolated electric cube van) is around 1 million, and the best stereo setup so far is probably less than 2 million. You could make it to that easily, by only being a single billionaire... By then, you’ll probably have a 2nd identical version of your home reference system in your $40 million personal jet, and be complaining about the background noise of the engines in it.  No, with jet engines, you'll probably want to pay someone to design and make you an uber pair of closed-back headphones, which, outside of the Orpheus and that $40k Sennheiser set with the marble amp and dac included, have only reached $6k so far.  And those Senn's are open-back, anyhow, so no good for jet engine travel.  They may all be open-back, at 6k, so far, anyhow.  I guess people will always be arguing that open backs will sound bigger and less reflective, so too bad for jet engine people.  Nah, the IEM people always want to argue that that presentation can be given with great care, someone will come along with $900k IEM's, eventually.

I just read the topic on this I did not read any comments but I know some manufacturers do not like power conditioners to be used with their products I would call customer support first I know Denon for one does not recommend a power conditioner

You guys are great, I just got up and moved the plug on my little office Peach Tree Nova 300 (integrated) to a wall outlet and huge diff. Not kidding. During -While playing Dark Star 2-27-69 thru some Harbies 30.1's so diff was apparent to me. anyway...Does anyone ever ask this question about Integrated equip anyway?