Power Conditioner Decision

I would suggest investing in a very high powered CB radio with an indoor antenna. You can then create MASS kaos with the offending neighbors when they start to hear some "jerk" coming through their stereos, TV's and telephones. If you can get it set-up "right", you can literally scare them into turning things off or down for fear of their equipment blowing up or being damaged. You can then listen in peace, at least until you have to "scare them off" again... : )

Quite honestly, i think that you are in one of the situations where power line filtering pays off the most. While i have not noticed "ultra massive" improvements by using various PLC's, some of my friends in apartments, condo's and those that live in "downtown metropolis" type buildings have claimed GREAT advances by using said devices.

With that in mind, are you currently using / have you ever used any PLC's in your system ? If so, what makes & models ? I'd like to make a suggestion but would rather wait and see if you've already "been there, done that" before opening my big mouth. Sean
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I've never had any power conditioner in my system before. So, I don't have any experiences with any of them.... Your suggestion would be appreciated....


Supakit S.

The Blue Circle and Richard Grey consitioners are both highly regarded. The MIT is also fine, but is considered overpriced by many for how it performs. In that price range also look at Vansevers, Chang Lightspeed, Tice and Audio Power.

Chang Lightspeed

PLC's that are known to not constrain dynamics include:
Chang Lightspeed - get one of the units with 30 amp current capacity for minimum surge impedance, such as CLS1000MKII.
VansEvers Unlimiter
Shunyata Hydra

Supa, thanks for the follow-up. My suggestion is to pick up a relatively inexpensive yet "trusted" PLC and see what it does for you. If you like the basic results, then go for something more expensive that may be even more beneficial. I see no sense in sinking hundreds upon hundreds of dollars into something that may not do much for your specific situation. That is, not unless you like to take a bite in the wallet when you list it for sale...

Take a look at the website that i listed below and go from there. Since you don't have a lot of gear to hook-up, you might shoot for the Monster HTS-1000 for $99, HTS-2000 for $129 or the HTS-2500 for $189. While the 1000 and 2000 are "fancy" power strips, the 2500 is component sized, offers outlets that are conveniently spaced out wide enough to easily accept large "aftermarket" power cord plugs, offers switched, unswitched and time delayed outlets, etc...

http://www1.globe-mart.com/computer/surge/monstercable/index.htm

If you need more technical info or would like to see more indepth pics of these units, try audio advisor or the monster website. I started out with the 2000 in a couple different systems and then moved to the 2500 for the "big plug" reason.

With the money that you initially save taking this approach, you might want to try attacking some of the noise throughout the rest of the house by picking up a few Audioprism Quiet Lines. These are little black boxes ( like "wall wart" power supplies without the power cord hanging out) that plug into various wall outlets around "the joint" and help to absorb noise at the source generating it. Common sources would be the outlets that the "fridge", puter, quartz lights, etc... are plugged into. Two good sources for these are Bes at Music Direct ( www.amusicdirect ) or Oliver at Delve Audio ( A-gon dealer ). They run under $30 apiece and 3 or 4 around an apartment ought to be PLENTY.

By filtering at the component feedpoint and picking up the stray "junk" around the rest of the house, you should have the bases pretty well covered without killing the budget. With the low price of any of these components, you would not be out much even if you did decide to sell / upgrade at a later date. Even if you went for the "more expensive" HTS-2500 at $189 ( + shipping ) and four of the Quiet Lines at $30 apiece ( + shipping ), you could still easily sneak under the $350 mark. Hope this helps... Sean
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Supakit, it might interest you, that I've done what Sean has suggested with good results in using the Quiet Lines at exactly those critical points he has mentioned.(They also work at 230VAC/50hz, thus can be used in Europe as well) Try them, why spend more money, if that should work for you.
Cheers, Detlof

Sean:
What a nice thoughtful post, such contributions really keep me coming to this site!!