Is their any way to keep voltage steady?


I have a Tice Powerblock which has a voltage meter on it. I notice when the meter is close to 120v the system sounds and looks {TV} better , than when the meter dips to around 115V. I have already added two dedicated 20amp circuts with 12 gauge wire and "better" wall sockets. Anything simple I can have my electrician do?
darrylhifi

Showing 4 responses by sean

Darryl, you would need to have some type of line regulator or regenerator installed. There are units that will do this for you, but it would be phenomenally expensive to power a large amplifier. If you were looking to do this for strictly the line level components ( no amps or a VERY small amp ), there are pieces available. While they will maintain the voltage, i have no idea as to what they would do for the sonics. Sean
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I used to be able to purchase commercial grade Sola brand voltage regulators rated for 120 volts / 500 watts continuous ( enough for ALL your line level components ) for less than $300 including shipping. If i remember correctly, i think that these units weigh appr 65 - 85 lbs. I can't seem to remember where this was from though, so i can't verify availability at this point in time. I will do further research on this and ( hopefully ) post some results within the next 48 hours. Keep in mind that this is not some type of device that you plug into the wall, as it would work best with a direct run to your breaker box. Sean
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Most power companies are running anywhere from appr 115 to 123 volts with the median figure being between 117 - 120 volts from what i can figure. To me, that is a good thing. Slight sags are not as noticeable that way and most all equipment is designed to handle those voltages. Sean
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Dweller, the devices that i and others have mentioned are typically adjustable ( to some degree ) as to what voltage you want out of it.

Some of the better devices ( read that as "more costly" ) actually employ isolation transformers and may even separate different banks of outlets with filtering. I know that some of the Tripplites have isolated outlets, so you could power your digital gear from one set of outlets and minimize the "hash" from them being transferred over into the other outlets. How well any of those type of devices work for audio is anybody's guess though.

As to the website that i was looking for, i forgot to look for the info that i had at work. I'll staple a note to my forehead so that i remember to write it down tomorrow.

I was able to find out that the "500 watt" Sola weighs 59 lbs and is "harmonically neutralized" i.e. it has filters. The info that i had also says that current limiting kicks in at around 800 watts, making it notably more powerful than it's rating ( 60% headroom ).

Out of curiosity, how much do the Monster AVS2000's weigh ? Sean
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