exactpower ep 15A

PB, I'll try and take a minute to look into the two balanced models you mentioned and post any pros/cons I might discover. If I forget, feel free to email me and remind me ;-)

As for your other quandries ;-) here's my approach:

1.) Put in those dedicated circuits - biggest bang for the buck in audio! Here are the finer points:
a.) Two separate 15A circuits near your sources; not for extra capacity but to keep analog and digital separate.
b.) One 20A near the amps/speakers in the center of the end wall OR (just as an alternative, but especially if you are running monoblock amps) two 15A circuits, one on ea side of the room.
c.) Believe it or not, Romex is better than twisted wires in a conduit because the latter creates inductance, and RFI is better taken care of at/by the equipment itself.
d.) If your receptacles will be more than 20' from your breaker panel, go up one wire size from code to make up for voltage drop over longer distances. I.E. 10AWG versus 12AWG.
e.) Make sure the breakers for all your ded. cts. are on the same side of the neutral buss in the breaker panel box to insure they are all in phase.
f.) Use Hubbell hospital grade receptacles (with the green dot) because they have clamping connectors for the wire, as opposed to screw terminals (NEVER use 'push-in' connectors!)

2.) Voltage fluctuations: Once you've installed your ded. cts. you need to check the wall voltage at different times of the day (and night/evening.) It should not vary more than 5% over all (117 - 123 VAC) If it's higher or lower by more than just a volt or two (115 - 125 VAC), more than just once in a great while, and just for a few seconds, then you'll need voltage regulation, especially if you have tube gear. There are many inexpensive ways to do this. The least expensive being a voltage regulator(s) (duh! ;-) of the proper capacity. But, if it's a serious problem (like it's just too high or too low too much of the time,) I would FIRST talk to your utility company - they might need to replace a pole transformer!

3.) Subs with digital, or ICE, or Class D amps, should go right into the dedicated circuits' wall outlets. They create more noise than they are affected by it, and you don't want them dumping digital hash and in-rush current surges into your carefully balanced or regenerated power, from which they won't benefit anyway. They CAN benefit from big 10AWG power cords however ;-)

4.) If lightening and/or huge power surges are a problem in your area, the ONLY intelligent practice is unplugging your entire system. Seriously! Lightening can jump right across open circuit breakers and still fry your system -- so unplugging is the ONLY way except for: big isolation transformers. They will electrically separate your stuff from the grid (lightening) smooth out power surges, and eliminate a lot of noise. If I still had a house of my own, I'd combine dedicated circuits with isolation transformers, and be done with it!

Neil
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I love my EP and my SP but I'm afraid Exactpower as a consumer product may be dead. The company was sold last year to Middle Atlantic Products Inc. They will be marketing full building systems under the Exactpower name but NOT using the patented Exactpower technology, which was light years ahead of stuff like the PS Audio Power Plant Premier. Sad, very sad.

The new website for the consumer products is now http://www.exactpoweraudio.com

The original website, http://www.exactpower.com is now being used to present the commercial products.

But keep checking. I've been talking to the president of Middle Atlantic trying to convince him that promoting the consumer products is the key to success in the commercial/industrial sector. Wish me luck ;-)

In the meantime, I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying even a used EP-15A, as they're very efficient and quite reliable when "used as directed" ;-)

Neil
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I think Dave is right, plus the guys in the old Exactpower plant in Chatsworth CA (MAP is in NJ) are about to be let go I fear. So unless you can fix them yourself, you're out of luck, at least for the time being.

I hope that if I can't get MAP to start making the consumer units again, that maybe they'd be willing to license or sell the patent to someone who will.
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Zephyr, it's true one of the key parts suppliers for the Exactpower audio units went under. However, balanced power is still perfectly legal, and you need only check with Equi=Tech, the original supplier of pro balanced power units, and the first to get UL certification for domestic units.
http://www.equitech.com/
I'm sure Balanced Power Technologies' units are perfectly legal as well.
http://www.b-p-t.com/
In fact both companies are now working together to promote balanced power.

Anyway, MAP's new products under the Exactpower name are quite unremarkable, and if you want a conditioner/filter unit, there are many better ones to choose from -- just don't use them with amplifiers ;-) I'm primarily upset that MAP has apparently turned its back on some brilliant power regeneration technology, and I just wish they'd sell it to someone if they're too shortsighted to realize its potential.

Next time (whenever that is) I have a conversation with MAP's president/owner, Bob Schluter, I'll ask him why he bought the company in the first place -- if he wasn't intending to use it's one truly valuable asset?

When that patent goes public in 15 years or so, look for a whole slew of efficient domestic power regenerators -- and we'll REALLY need them by then! Or perhaps someone will develop an even better solution . One thing is for sure, stone age products like the PS Audio Power Plant Premier which use generic and very inefficient technology, are going to be replaced very quickly now.

I'm tentatively getting together with Bob at the end of July, so I'll have a better idea what he's thinking then.

Poonbean, balanced power has application primarily with low power devices (not usually amplifiers, in other words) that handle small signals (like preamps, mic and phono preamps, video equipment, etc.) They work great with equipment that already has balanced circuit topology or dual-mono topology (like a lot of the BAT stuff for instance.) It provides quiet, noise-free power without filters and chokes (as in 'power conditioners') by dividing (balancing) two 60 volt power cycles of opposite polarity around a ground. This causes the noise to be the same on both of the cycles but of opposite polarity, and guess what happens when it comes together? The two "noises" self-destruct!

The thing to remember is that there are certain power utility uglies that balanced power can't fix. The worst is voltage fluctuations -- a particular problem for tube gear, trying to maintain bias in the power tubes and constant heater(filament) current. And digital RFI can still get into the power outlets, unless the receptacles have capacitors across them. So that's when you need regeneration.

To answer your questions:

1.) No, but I haven't really delved into their individual peculiarities. Equitech was the first to get BP UL certified for residential use.
2.) Not if some of the outlets are "digitally filtered" which they usually are.
3.) I have my system arranged that way, with a balanced power unit near the front end and a regenerator for the sub/stats/amp. You could just use two balanced power units, one at each position; each plugged into dedicated circuits, and forget the regenerator, but before doing that, check your power outlets at different times of the day/night to see if you're getting fairly constant 120VAC.
Tethering a balanced power unit off of a regenerator is not a good idea as it can cause in-rush current problems for the regenerator.

Zaikesman, as you know if you've been reading the various Exactpower threads, I did finally get MAP to initiate a repair service for existing owners, although (and I totally understand) Bob was not in a position to do warranty work. The EP-15A's are excellent units, and if the EP-20A ever materializes, it will be, as Bob says, "absolutely bulletproof!", and after he explained its features, I assure you it will be -- including taking a direct lightening hit!! Bob is a very talented engineer, and I have enough engineering chops myself to say that with complete confidence ;--) I could never understand why Paul McGowan (PS Audio) didn't jump on Exactpower to secure the patent. It turns out Bob bought the company to keep a personal friend of his employed -- what a guy, huh?!

Now, RE: "hanging" other devices (such as balanced power transformers) off an EP-15A. I know in the original literature for both the EP-15-A and the SP-15A balanced power unit, Exactpower advocates using them together, and I was told as much by Brent Jackson on the phone long ago. And in theory, there is no reason why this shouldn't be OK. HOWEVER, there is a serious design oversight (as opposed to design "flaw") in the EP-15A's: the first models had NO in-rush current protection. The later models added a little thermistor, but it is still insufficient protection if a big amp(s) or a large capacity balanced power device with a huge toroidal transformer (like the SP, Equi=Tech, etc.) are plugged into the EP-15A. With modern three-phase 120VAC, it depends WHERE in the three-phase power cycle you randomly happen to turn on the EP-15A. There could be a.) no harm done, b.) a blown fuse on the EP, or c.) one or more chips in the EP could get fried (as the momentarily overloaded EP-15A desperately tries to take itself off-line! ;-(( Another similar/related problem comes up for customers who live in places where the utility power suddenly turns off, and then instantly back on again -- causing large in-rush current conditions before any protective circuitry can re-set and engage.

The bottom line is: neither Bob nor I would would recommend hanging anything off the EP-15A's. Nor would we recommend turning on an EP-15A with attached equipment (especially amps) in the "on" position themselves. Let the EP-15A come on and boot up first, then turn on the attached devices. Bob has designed a module for the 20A model that actually "remembers" WHERE in the three-phase AC cycle the unit was turned off (or lost its power) so that when power is re-applied, the internal circuits' last settings are automatically synched-up with the new incoming AC power to avoid damaging them -- pretty slick, huh?

If, except for "thunderstorm season", you're someone who likes to leave their system powered up 24/7 (normally an OK thing) BUT, you have a problem with constantly interrupted utility power (as I described above) I would STRONGLY recommend purchasing a large capacity (20A, 1800+ watt) external in-rush current protection device; they're around $400 and up, or about the cost of fixing your fried EP-15A (that's IF it can even be fixed ;--((
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