power conditioner


How important is power conditioner for musical system . Does it really  improve sound quality if the outlet AC power is adequate enough?
farzad
Farzad, many people complained that dynamics were reduced.  In typical linear supply current is drawned in spikes of very high amplitude.  Any filter element will cause a voltage drop, hence reduced dynamics.  My conditioner Furman Elite PFI 20 has, in addition to filtering choke, a big capacitor able to supply high momentary currents.  Not only that bass is sounding more even (more melodic) - I'm not sure why, but TV plugged into Furman has brighter and purer colors (reduction of jitter?).  In addition my Furman has very tight non-sacrificial over/under voltage protection.  Since the day I bought it we had few cases when bulbs suddenly got unusually bright and Furman switched OFF to switch ON automatically again when condition passed.  I would never connect my gear directly to wall outlet.

x2 as i do so many times ... erik ---
room treatment gik for me
and my p2400ar . as per the endless opinions on my thread on this .. I needed regulation so i got the p2400ar . Lift etc it is a noticeable change in sound . Unless i was running a complete regeneration of power ( big bucks) i would go furman , remember its not just and audiophile thing,opposite its a pro ,studio thing first . ( not quite as flashy )Shop around ,i got a great deal on mine brand new in box .. jmho
good luck

Hi farzad,

Today’s best AC enhancement units aren’t "power conditioners" as we knew them even 5 years ago. Regeneration, Electro-magnetic cells, Graphene, etc. have obsoleted the notion of "taking something away", usually associated with power conditioners as they lower the noise floor based on passive filtering and choking of extraneous noise from the AC signal.

The current TOTL AC enhancement products virtually recreate and/or transform the AC power. A few even audibly increase dynamic headroom over what is possible from the raw AC line.

The right models will positively improve the sound of a good system in every way with no downside except the high cost.

Best to you farzad,
Dave
Farzad,back to your original question. The simplest answer is that it's simply not possible for your ac outlet from a residence to give you 'adequate power'. All ac today is noisy and getting worse. Refined sound requires clean ac power. All the highest end products pay great attention to their power supplies for this reason. It's time for you to experiment. Best wishes.
There are many threads in the archives regarding power conditioning. You can learn about passive and active conditioners, and why regenerators are used.

The goal is to lower the noise floor, provide stable power, and not restrict the sonics of your system.