Power Conditioners vs. Power Cables

My list is similar to Lak's with the following exceptions:

1. My Foundation Research dedicated in-line power conditioners have their own built-in power cables. Thus saving me a few grand.

2. I've lifted/floated the grounds on all components for less AC noise.

3. Based on a friend's recommendation, I recently re-connected the ground only on the pre's dedicated line for still further sonic improvements.

-IMO

This is great! You've all given me more options to pursue to improve my system. And from what it sounds like, I'm not wasting my time, or money, in upgrading my power cables. Personally, I find the tweaking and tinkering to be half the fun of audio.

Thanks to everyone!!!

Vector,

I have a HTS5000 that i use for audio.. I am very happy
with performance especially considering the price but i can
tell you from recent experience adding quality PC's will
make a "huge" improvment even with the 5100 in the chain.
Think of every wire and PC as a component of your system.

Good luck

I've gone with dedicated AC lines, good quality outlets, and then good quality power cords. If your amp(s) isn't too big, and you can't go to dedicated outlets, then a power conditioner would make sense to me. Many inexpensive power conditioners can limit power supply to big amps. Good Luck. Craig

I agree with Garfish as he is correct about some to many power conditioners being enemic or restricting current draws from the wall outlet.

But I do not believe the Foundation Research LC-1 and LC-2 in-line power conditioners fall into that category.

For example, the smaller FR LC-1 is rated at 6 amps RMS and 8 amps peak. That translates to 720 watts RMS of constant current capability and 960 watts peak. The LC-2 is rated at 20 amps RMS and 28 amps peak which translates to 2400 watts RMS of constant current capability and 3360 watts peak.

In comparison, I believe PS Audio's P1200 is rated at 10 amps, the P600 at 5 amps, and the P300 at 2.5 amps. Correct me if I am wrong as I certainly do not want to be inaccurate here.

As to the dedicated lines comment, it is my experience that a dedicated line does not clean up the AC noise and a quality oriented line-conditioner is still very much needed.

I am aware of only one area in which a dedicated line does clean up noise. And that is when a digital source is no longer on the same circuit/line as the amp, pre, and/or turntable. Therefore, the digital noise that the cdp injects back into the line remains isolated when placed on a seperate circuit/line.

And, of course, having a digital source is an excellent reason for using a bi-directional line-conditioner, of which some to many line-conditioners are not.

-IMO