Ok, I have now taken a step forward in my project. I pulled a strand of 12-2 across the entire length of my basement today to allow for a dedicated 20 amp circuit. The goal is to install an outlet box in the floor and utilize a cruzeFirst Maestro outlet. This will power the Furman P-2400it. Pulling wire is soooo much fun!
Thoughts on balanced power
I have decided that my next system upgrade will be focused on AC power. I currently use a Furman Elite 15 PFi for all components except my amp which is plugged direct to the wall. I am considering balanced power and therefore have been researching Equi-Tech, BPT (which unfortunately I believe is now out of business) and Furman. I have pretty much settled on the Furman P-2400 it, due to the reputation of Furman in the industry and price. I would like to get feedback from anyone who has one of these units. I would also like to hear from anyone using balanced power and your impressions. In addition, I am wondering about plugging an amp into this unit as opposed to direct to the wall. I am running a Plinius SA-103 which is solid state in class A/B for casual listening and class A for serious listening. I bring this topic up because my search turned up a lot of older posts but not much recent. Thank you.
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I am using 10 gauge wire, try pulling that wire! I have 3 dedicated lines. One for digital that plugs into a PS P-10, one for my Pre/Amp (Pass Labs) and one for my subs (JL Audio F-113). All of the outlets are the Furutech GTX-R. Spread out through the 3 dedicated lines are 8 High Fidelity MC .05’s. I have a whole house surge protector, but when I am aware of a storm I still disconnect by turning off the circuit breakers and unplugging equipment. |
Equi=Tech (it's an equal sign "=", not a dash) is the high-end professional balanced AC way to go. A Son of Q unit would be ideal, and both expensive and a bit difficult to find, for almost any home system. That said, thereby hangs a tale: A few years ago, I determined that Equi=Tech was the way to go for balanced AC, but as noted their units are expensive and it seemed at the time they were universally on back-order. So I called Equi=Tech about 8 a. m. one morning to see what I could find out. Lo and behold, the President, Martin Glasband himself, answered. It was maybe 5 a. m. his time in Oregon. Well, turns out he's a classic rather eccentric genius, and he *loves* talk about his stuff. Moreover, he'll tell it to you straight. We talked for over an hour. The reason so much was on backorder at the time was because he'd received a large shipment of toroidal transformers that were slightly out of physical spec for his production units. The transformers he uses are built to a crazy perfectionist's standards and are supposedly the most technologically refined transformers made. I've no reason to argue. In this case, he had a bunch of transformers that worked just fine, but were a bit too big for his production units. Here's the kicker: He sold me one of those transformers, mounted in a grey steel electrical box, at a fraction of the price of a complete unit. It was plenty easy enough to wire up myself. Martin pointed out that the transformer is essentially 100% of the useful funtionality of his balanced AC units, and that the rest amounts to decorative and convienience I/O and packaging. So what I have from Equi=Tech ain't pretty, but it sure does work! The transformer itself does not get warm, and does not waste power, AT ALL. Likewise, it does not boost, or drop the voltage, nor does is seem to restrict the current flow in any noticeable respect whatsoever. BUT it does result in an overall noise reduction in my studio system of something like 15 dB, VERY worthwhile. It's dead silent. Most of the better professional recording and mastering studios I know of use the larger balanced transformers/systems from Equi=Tech for very good reason. Check them out: http://www.equitech.com/ |
I would love to get some feedback from anyone who has experience with both Equi=tech and Furman balanced power units. Ha! I sent an email to a commercial sound reinforcement company that is listed as a Furman dealer a couple of hours from my home. They are listed as a dealer on the Furman website and specialize in audio for gymnasiums, churches and auditoriums. Without going into details the owner of the company basically told me to F'off. He has great disdain for "audiophiles". But offered to consult with me for $120.00 per hour. Geez, I hope he enjoys the sound in his gym! I just wanted to get some feedback on the Furman P-2400it. I received the Maestro outlet today and it is now installed. Now to get the panel wired.... |
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