Power Conditioning: How Do You Know You Need It?

Xti16 ... My biggest rub with Dedicated Lines being touted as the Holy Grail and cure all is they offer no Isolation for the equipment either from it's self or other appliances

Install a dedicated line and then go turn on your furnace or AC and your dish washer and watch all the chit chat that occurs back at the main panel box because Neutrals and safeties are tied together .... this reminds me of the early 50's when some phone systems had Party Lines and you went to make a call only to find someone was using the phone

But let me say some positive things about dedicated lines ... replacing a branch circuit which has 3 or 4 outlets on it with a dedicated line can offer some improvement and I think that's what you've experienced

By removing the 3 or 4 outlets ... even if nothing is plugged into them ...you will lower the impedance and increase the deliver capabilities on that line ... also by removing the outlets you remove a possible entry point for RF and that may have accounted for most of your success in lowering your noise floor

Also if you run 2 dedicated lines and put your low level devices on one line and your high current components (amps and PCer) on the other ... the higher power(ed) power supplies in the amps and PC will not modulate the low level components power supplies as badly ... but this requires two lines and double the cost

As far as using two lines to isolate your analog from your digital ... IMO it is pure Kaf Ka ... [did you see the movie Congo (;-) ]

I'll buy two lines to keep power supplies separated, but not for isolation

Bear in mind many here either own a condo or rent and have to abide by the rules of their lease and/or association rules, which may not allow modification or addition of dedicated lines

Thank goodness as you've pointed out there may be more than one way to skin a cat in lowering the noise floor

I Bi-directionally filter my two low level components a CD player and external cross over for my Subs and then plug the two Foundation Research LC1's filters into an Exact Power EP 15 for linear power delivery ... I also plug my 500w main amp and 350w Sub amp into the same EP15 with no side effects I can detect

My next two moves will be to install a DC offset circuit and ground break circuit into the EP 15 and add a Environmental Potentials 2050 ( as Lifeengineer recommended ... good call, great piece IMO) at the main panel box to block the grunge from the pole and I'm done

The purpose in my post was for Jiminlogansquare to understand the problems in power delivery, where and how they occur, and in a broad sense how to generally fix them before blindly throwing big bucks at a PC which would only partially treat the overall problem

Xti16 ... I agree with you and Yogi Theory and Practice can be very different

Rgds, Dave

PS ... Jiminlogansquare welcome to the site ... there are a lot of good guys here who will share their knowledge and experience

Jiminlogansquare,

New PS Audio PPPs are on sale right now for $500 off....$1699.00. I would not want to do without mine!

All the best!

Jiminlogansquare,

That is, how do I determine whether the AC coming out of my wall outlets is actually dirty, before dropping two large on a device that I might not actually need?

The equipment to examine the frequency intensity and distribution on your AC lines is relatively expensive and complex. Even if lines are dirty, the end result depends on the ability of your componants power supplies to deal with it. I agree with those above that argue that there are substantial sources of noise within your home that most likely make the investment in power conditioning worth while.

For some systems, dedicated circuits do the job, and for others various power conditioning equipment is adequate. I have found that it is not necessary to spend "two large" on an all out solution. A combination of a dedicated subpanel, dedicated circuits and a used isolation transformer and do an outstanding job for far less.

Take a look at my system for details on this solution.

Hi, and thanks to all who have posted responses; much appreciated. Since making the OP, I have done a little experiment to determine whether I have a noise problem -- practical,not theoretical. Here is what I did. With my playback source on pause,I turned up the volume on my amp (Cambridge 840A v.2) and listened for noise. At -0 db,I could clearly hear some fuzz; but I usually listen at -30dB. At -20 dB, I had to be within 5 feet of a speaker to hear any noise. At -30 db, I couldn't hear any noise even when I pressed my ear directly against the speaker; I think this means I have a 0dB noise floor at my usual listening station ("The Con" is a good 12 feet from the speakers). I am pretty well satisfied that any noise in my system, AC-induced or otherwise, is a theoretical concern, at least with regard to audible interference/background noise on playback. Now, as to effects on soundstaging or other effects impacted by line noise, I suspect there is more to be said. But as far as creating/assuring a dead-black, 0dB background ... I think I'm actually already there. Thoughts?

I would not jump to that conclusion so quickly. First, you have all sources turned off. Second, equipment at rest does not have the same behaviour as when being driven. Third, the interaction between your equipment is not in play. I thought my system was quiet until I put in the iso and dedicated lines. The first time I listened and the music hit a momentary quiet spot, I felt like I was going to fall into the speakers. It was a dramatic change.