Smart power supplies for turntable


I've read a number of threads on Audiogon that address the importance of having an appropriate power source to maintain turntable speed. I live in an area with terrible power stability, at the end of a utility company's service area. We have lots of little blips, evidenced by audio equipment, tv's, etc. shutting off. I have a power conditioner (Niagra 1000) to deal with noise in the dedicated circuit for my turntable and other audio gear and a conditioner/UPS for my computer equipment.

My question is whether devices like the Clearaudio Smart Power 12v and 24v battery power supplies are a good approach to maintain turntable speed stability. Are there other conditioners or devices that can be used for a broader range of brands that perform a similar function?

Your feedback is sincerely appreciated.

sameyers1

If your local AC is truly "dirty" and unstable as to line voltage, then you might consider a power regenerator, like any of several made by PS Audio.  These devices are like amplifiers; they run off your line AC, convert it to DC, and then put out a pure sine wave at 60Hz.  The PS Audio P3, which makes 300W of pure AC, is probably sufficient for your TT.  DC supplies made from batteries are fine also, if your TT uses a DC motor. You fail to specify what kind of motor is in your TT and what DC voltage it requires, if in fact it is a DC motor.  Meantime, your Nagra conditioner ought to be at least helping the situation, although conditioners and filters cannot control the magnitude of the AC voltage; they can only clean it up.

Forgot to mention the key fact that AC power regenerators deliver a rock stable clean 120V, as well as pure 60Hz. 

@millercarbon ​​​​@lewm Thanks to you both for your responses, which confirm I am on the right track. 
 

To clarify, I have a Clearaudio turntable with a 12v DC motor. Clearaudio indicates  that their DC power supply is voltage stabilized, yet they sell a separate 12v battery power supply. This suggests the stock power supply has some limitations. 
 

My APC S-20 power conditioner and UPS which I use for computer and video gear has a voltage display that clearly indicates variations from 120 to as low as 113 volts, with changes at seemingly random times. I suspect this may have an effect on the turntable speed, but haven’t checked with a strobe or other device. If I can confirm that is the case, then the question is whether to get a battery power supply like the Clearaudio or a regenerator or similar device that can power multiple devices. The Farad LPS suggested by @millercarbon is for a single device, but is a lower cost alternative to the battery supply. Will it work as well?

As to EMI/RFI, I am confident the Niagara 1000 is doing a good job there, as my wife and I both can discern a very noticeable improvement in resolution and detail with the digital sources, pre-amp and amp plugged into that unit. 

Any further thoughts you may have are sincerely appreciated. 

I have dirty and unstable AC coming into an old house with mostly ungrounded plugs.  A vacuum cleaner will dim the lights a bit.  I bought a used PS Audio regenerator and it made a big difference.  I’ve got everything plugged into it except two small REL subs.

To clarify, I have a Clearaudio turntable with a 12v DC motor. Clearaudio indicates  that their DC power supply is voltage stabilized, yet they sell a separate 12v battery power supply. This suggests the stock power supply has some limitations. 

Every design has limitations, they just don't tell you about them. "Voltage stabilized" can mean all sorts of things. But there are guys with $50k UPS regenerators who still hear differences with time of day, running off AC vs regenerator, etc. None of this stuff is perfect. Not to the degree we can hear.

A battery is a chemical process. It has been a while you may not be old enough to remember but the old lead acid batteries would fizz out explosive gas when charging. Might even see the bubbles sometimes on some of them. Newer batteries work on different molecules but the idea is the same. None of them produces power as perfectly smooth and silent as we want.

Then the power has to go from where it's stored to where it's needed. At low voltage this gets real important real fast. What I'm getting at, there is no silver bullet. Just a whole bunch of things that can be done better or worse. Study enough of them, you might well be able to make a better battery supply than CA.

The good news is they already have a battery option for your motor. This means it will be real easy to convert to battery. Probably all you need to do is connect to where the option would connect. I would use lithium ion and make sure to use a charger that not only cuts off when playing records but that disconnects from AC as well. Without this feature RFI will ride right across the battery and this noise will detract from performance. Been there. Done that.

R. Daneel Olivaw