Furman makes a lot of units at different price points. The key features that step them up from just a couple of MOV’s in a box:
- LiFT
- SMP
If they don't have this you are right, they are really basic.
Power Conditioning on the Cheap
This is my first post here after a bit of lurking, so please be gentle. I realize this subject must come up a fair amount and I've read erik_squires blog posts on the subject, but I was hoping to get the community's opinion on the relative merits of a few relatively basic power conditioners. I've narrowed my list down to a few options at a range of (fairly modest) price points. From low to high they are:
Furman PST-8D
ifi Power Station
Furman Elite-15 PF I
Shunyata PS10 w/ Venom Defender
Audioquest Niagara 1200
In a perfect world where I didn't have a limited budget I would probably buy something higher up the line from Shunyata, but since we live in a decidedly imperfect world, these are my options, although I would welcome other suggestions that fit within this price range.
I should also probably mention that while I value subjective reports on the sound quality of various products, generally speaking I give more weight to objective measurements or at least arguments based in sound science. More embarrassingly, I also place a certain amount of value on aesthetics. Aesthetic taste being inherently subjective, (a debatable point, but for the sake of argument lets just assume that it's true) lets just say that when I lust after completely unobtainable equipment it tends to be from companies like Soulution or Pilium rather than Dan D'Agostino or darTZeel.
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On the cheap you can get a nice Topaz, Xentek, ECA, MGE, Daitron, Elgar, etc. extreme/ultra isolation transformer, then just pop a nice passive power strip or two into the duplex. You can get a 0.005 pF 120v 1 KvA Topaz model on eBay fright now for a little over $200, but it needs a good cleaning (I'd use 91% or higher isopropyl alcohol or De-Oxit), which may mean a new duplex as cleaning in there can be a son of a gun. Just something extra to consider. These Ultra/Extreme isolation transformers massively reduce noise, more than power conditioners and regenerators and such that cost over $10,000. There's a large thread about them on HeadFi, and the original poster measured common mode noise attenuation of over 150 dB at a pretty wide frequency range (up to roughly 9 kHz, 140 dB up to over 1MHz and transverse/normal mode mode attenuation of up to 65 dB) on a common model (not even one of the super low pF models). Make sure you get one with voltage in and out that's compatible with your house and equipment (120v, 240v or one that can do both). I accidentally bought one about 6 years ago that didn't have the voltages listed and in my then naivete tried to make it work but it was 240-250v only. These units weigh 40-60 pounds though and are shielded like a tank, so be careful. From what I can recall Xentek and Elgar have models with the lowest listed capacitance out of all of them (0.00001 pF models exist), but they are super rare to see. Topaz has some slightly more common models at 0.0005 pF. ECA doesn't list their capacitance, but it's under the Extreme nomenclature that Xentek uses (most of these transformers use the Ultra naming). The nice thing about ECA's is that is comes (at least my two have) with balanced wiring on the output duplex and has a capacitor wired into the duplex as well (the capacitor on the transformer that I added a new outlet to was a 7uF 250v 50-60Hz polypropelyene film capacitor from Aerovox). I actually want to see if I could add an even nicer capacitor to it but my capacitor knowlege is limited so I don't know what to replace it with aside from one with the same rating and 7uF capacitors are rare today. |
While I value power conditioners for surge protection and lightning protection including such lightning protection for FM and TV antennas (to which I add lightning arresters where the cable enters the house) I am skeptical of their ability to do anything the amplifier and preamplifier ripple filters do not do better. With a good ripple filter such as a pi network with an indictor the components filter full wave rectified 60 Hz (typically by two diodes, sometimes vacuum tube, and a center-tap transformer winding output). Double that frequency and they are twice as effective because capacative reactance is inversely proportional to frequency and inductive reactance is proportional to frequency. At frequencies higher than auditable, say, 20 kHz, this factor is 500/6 for a reduced fraction of 20,000/120, the fundamental frequency of a Fourier series of full wave rectified 60 Hz. I admit at radio frequencies capacitance between inductor windings begin to occur, but vacuum tubes used in audio are not likely to amplify these frequencies. The 833A which a very few people use for the final stage of their SET has a cutoff frequency of 20 mHz and other audio tubes are likely to be similar because they are not designed for VHF. And if RF passes through the inductor in the power supply ripple filter, it is certain to be shorted out in the output transformer windings of the amplifier. Therefore I am not surprised if you hear no change from an expensive power conditioner. Still, I see no harm if they do not add to the price and if they add shorting effect to unusually high voltage spikes. |
Hi incorporeus ...welcome. I have had terrific results in using an inexpensive, unassuming Panamax M4300-PM line conditioner in an extremely revealing 2 channel system, in a small (everything shows,) dedicated studio. I did a simple upgrade to a high end Furutech male AC connector plug from the wall to the hard-wired Panamax, benefiting the entire system. Bon Chance! Think Positive, Test Negative More Peace, Pin |
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