James, do you know the essential difference(s) between regenerators, conditioners, and balanced power units. They are apples, oranges, and grapefruits.
Once upon a time conditioners (and isolation transformers) were all we had. Balanced power units were not UL approved for domestic use, and regenerators if approved, were very expensive, cumbersome and inefficient.
All that's changed. I now totally reject any conditioners as an inherently flawed solution, compared to the other three which are all UL approved and extremely effective.
My personal approach would be to install dedicated circuit(s) first, if your housing situation permits. Biggest bang for your audio buck (along with room treatments ;-)
Next would be a regenerator. The two current biggies are the Power Plant Premiere from PS Audio and the ExactPower (now a division of Middle Atlantic Products.) The ExactPower is the better of the two IMO (higher capacity, more efficient and cooler running) because of it's patented feed-forward technology. ExactPower also makes a matching balanced power unit.
The ideal configuration for the quietest system with the best dynamics, is a regenerator powering the big stuff (amps, subs, projectors) and also powering a balanced power unit which supplies all the low powered and sensitive front end stuff. You can get away with just the regenerator if funds are limited. Conditioners KILL amplifier dynamics - which is why I advise against them (they're OK for low powered stuff, but using balanced power is much better, ask any professional.)
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Let me dispel a few myths and some bits of misinformation:
1. "Surge protection" (so called), as provided by all of these 'power grooming' devices is no better than what already comes built into your components, if they were constructed in the last 10 years, and some even earlier. That is to say, they add nothing to what you already have in the component itself. AND it's not enough to really protect your equipment from a real HIT, like a lightening strike -- to protect yourself from that, you need to unplug your system from the wall -- period. The only exception to this strategy is using an isolation transformer which PHYSICALLY as well as elecrically separates your stuff from the power grid.
2. A 'battery back-up', part of a class of devices better known as an UPS (uninterruptable power supply) can be added to any system. They are commonly for computers to save critical data, or finish critical transmissions, before allowing the computer to shut down if power is not restored soon. But computers are relatively low power consumers compared to even a 100W/channel SS amp. You won't be listening to your music very long if there's any kind of serious power outage.
3. Every regenerator product I know of has voltage support (voltage regulation for over/under line voltage) So does a (much cheaper) device called a Variac. If you have a tube amp that need accurate line voltage to maintain accurate tube bias, but essentially no other big utility company problems, one of these along with a big isolation transformer (for REAL surge protection) would be just the ticket.
4. Regeneration. OK, we're not talking about motor-generators which use gas or electric motors to drive a generator and make fresh power. And, except for the ExactPower (which I'll get to shortly) ALL REgenerators use the same generic method. They take ALL the AC power from the wall, turn it into direct current (DC) and then turn ALL that DC into fresh AC. It works! BUT it's terribly inefficient; which BTW is why all the high-capacity regenerators (except the EP) have to have cooling fans and add significantly to your electric bill. I call this the 'baby out with the bathwater' method;-)
4. First of all, there's really no point in making 100% "new power" because the WORST wall power is only about 20% out of spec. So why not leave alone the 80% of it that's good and just "fix" the rest? That's what the patented ExactPower circuitry does. Middle Atlantic Products purchased the company for that patent -- which they are now using to manufacture full building regeneration systems (which is where the profits are biggest -- not audio ;-) It's a slick solution to an old problem now made possible using computer matching algorithms and Class D amps (perfect for 50/60Hz AC) to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse! OK, it's not exactly a RE-generator by the original definition, but in my view it's better than anything out there.
I had to laugh when I was reading the APS comparitor matrix which suggests that there are a couple of things the ExactPower unit doesn't do that tha APS and PS Audio units do. And it's true! The ExactPower unit DOESN'T do those things. Why? Because it doesn't have to ;-) It's already replaced all the places in the incoming waveform that were noisy or out of spec! |
Husk, I'm unfamiliar w/ the 'Power Cell' product and would need the manufacturer's web address to offer an opinion.
As for the other two, they are power conditioning devices. The Audience product is well respected, like the Shunyata, Richard Gray, Furman, etc., but as I already mentioned, represent older technology and IMO, money poorly spent.
The Lessloss Firewall is also (some kind of?) a 'power grooming' device, but after reviewing it on their website (never heard of it 'til you mentioned it) can only conclude it's VERY expensive hype. They don't tell you exactly what's in it (ALWAYS suspect;-) and if it could actually do all the stuff they claim, the inventor would be up for a Nobel Prize in Physics! For $5K you could buy an ExactPower regenerator AND an ExactPower balanced power unit, pay retail and still get back some change!! -- AND your system would be as "Quiet as a chair" (as a friend and former Wadia engineer used to tell me ;-)
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Askat: The PPP is a classic regenerator. The Shunyata and Isoclean are conditioners, and you should know by now my thoughts on those; and I'm not surprised they left you unsatisfied. I am surprised you had the same experience with the PPP though, and so I'd want to know more about what you heard (or didn't hear) your electrical (panel) power, system components, and how you have them all configured before I could comment. You can send me an email. Something here just isn't adding up for me. Husk: Regardless of one's brand prefrences, using a regenerator should never limit dynamics if operated within their capacity, and provided one isn't so foolish as to stick some kind of conditioning device in the chain because "it was just laying around doing nothing.";-) The EP, PPP, and other regenerators should not limit amplifier dynamics as long as (1) they contain no inductive devices (which they shouldn't) and (2) you are using power cords of adequate gauge (10AWG for amps and DACS, and at least 12 or 14AWG for everything else.) One ExactPower unit can provide up to 1300W of continuous power http://www.exactpoweraudio.com/products/ep15a/specifications.htmlWhat is total rated power consumption of your amps and subs? (You'll probably never use even a third of it, but I prefer to play it safe ;-) My whole tube amp based system (click on my 'system' link) with every device ON (which I never do in practice) only consumes 525 to 545 watts at 80dB! |
Husk: I'm sure you realize your equipment consumes quite a bit of power ;-) I don't know how loud you like your music, or how efficient your speakers are, but be careful using one EP and get another if you have to. In mono, your MBL's could (conceivably) draw 5 or 10 amps depending how they're configured; with so much potential current draw (again, depending on your preferences and speakers) you should definitely be using 20A dedicated circuits (at least two) wired with 10AWG (not 12 which is still allowed by code in most areas.) The subs are probably not current hogs (they don't even list their power consumption in the specs) because they employ Class D amps operating over a very narrow frequency range. With those huge amps, you might put one MBL and both subs on EP #1, and the other MBL plus everything else on EP #2. An option for EP #2 would be (as I have done) run an umbilical PC to an ExactPower SP 15A (balanced power unit) and then run everything else (source/front-end stuff) with the SP. But you should provide abundant wall-power regardless. I would not recommend using the stock Exactpower PC because it's 12AWG and you should be using a 10AWG cord. Jamesw20: I'll repeat the advice to Husk in my previous post: provided one isn't so foolish as to stick some kind of conditioning device in the chain because "it was just laying around doing nothing.";-) At best it would be redundant, and depending what you might plug into it, could cause problems for the ExactPower. You just don't need it. The EP does everything the RG does and more. And the EP does all its power cleaning electronically (rather than passively, with chokes and filters) so it cannot impede amplifier dynamics. I think a lot of people don't really understand that last point (which is why passive conditioners can ruin amp performance): even smaller amps ~100W can and do draw huge amounts of power way above their rated power consumption. But it's only for nanoseconds. So although it won't burn your house down, or even raise the temperature of your power cord ;-), if that energy transfer is not instantaneous, it will affect the ability of the amp to produce clean, loud, transients. The choke (coils) employed in passive power conditioners, introduce a magnetic lag (inductance) which interferes with the instant transfer of large amounts of power - and why they have such a negative impact on amplifier performance. I guess they're OK for low powered stuff, but if you have a regenerator, you should be all set. . |
JP: As I mentioned earlier (I think ;-) an isolation x-fmr + a voltage regulator is really all many people need, assuming their power isn't dirty (noise) and the sinusoidal wave shape is good ('perfect' is probably asking too much ;-) Elec. Specialists make several kinds/combos of products, and their isolation + voltage regulation units would fill that bill. I would not recommend their products that also include passive filtering/conditioning because as I already mentioned, passive conditioning is not IMO a valid option for audio power conditioning. BTW, I think Richard Gray makes a line of audio-quality isolation transformers.
A regenerator will do it all, EXCEPT for isolation. And to be honest, the last time I used an isolation transformer was about 40 years ago in Los Angeles where I can't recall seeing any lightening in all the years I lived there. I have no doubt they work, and due to the hysteresis effect (magnetic 'lag') of the iron core, provide some smoothing of the AC waveform if it's jagged -- but again, a regenerator will do a better job with that too.
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I suppose isolation transformers, like everything else, are made with varying degrees of 'quality'. And I don't really know what all those attributes might be (probably lack of hum/vibration would be a big plus ;-) Enough capacity would be the best place to start in selecting one, and you'd be surprised how fast they can get really big! |
Vett93 (nice year ;-) Good question! With regard to switching power supplies (and Class D amps) I'm not an expert. I've certainly not encountered anything like what you mentioned.
I do know they are not all created equal (equally good or equally bad ;-) Some are analog controlled others digital. The care with which filtration is implemented is also a big factor in eliminating potential problems. So I don't think it would be fair to tar them all with the same brush ;-)
I know that Exactpower and the few other makers of regenerators for audio use, isolate all outlets from one another and in most cases even provide some of the outlets with 'digital filters' (usually nothing but a capacitor across the line ;-) Anyway, I don't think one needs to worry about modern high-quality class D amps putting junk back into the cleaned-up power. Early car audio subwoofers were another story altogether, but in that application, ELIMINATING noise was probably considered counterproductive (he said as he rolled up his window ;-)
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Most all other true regenerators create a whole AC power cycle from scratch, using the wall power as "raw material" so to speak. There are inefficiencies in doing it this way which waste electricity and produce a lot of heat.
The patented Exactpower circuit restores ONLY that part of the AC waveform that is distorted, carries noise, etc. So in the worst cases of electric utility sloppiness, that amouts to about 20% of the total AC cycle. So just fixing the 20% that's actually "bad" yields high efficiency since 80% of the power coming out of the wall is passed right through so to speak. The result is VERY cool operation and reduced electric consumption. A minimum of 1" overhead clearance is fine for the EP-15A, and you don't really need to vent their balanced power unit (SP-15A) at all.
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