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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.

incorporeus
elliottbnewcombjr
7,809 posts
 

’new found better quality power’

Better ISOLATED, i.e. nothing that cycles on/off to disturb the line, is NOT better QUALITY.

Problems prevented, a worthy goal, will NOT make better sound.

"I am personally a fan of the Garth Powell units (Furman and Audioquest) that have storage in the unit for more power than the line can deliver for transients."

Exactly why I chose my Furman P-1800

The capacitors store and send the juice. It’s like filling a baby bottle, the equipment is the little suckers. Except juice is constantly filling the bottle. The juice can be cloudy, that’s why there are filters.

Doesn’t make it sound better, just problem free, IF you had a problem, which ... most of us do not have.

Thus, don't need to over-do it.

 

baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,671 posts
 

I have a dedicated line plus dedicated ground and a digital voltmeter always on. I am so glad that as an audiophile I can do away from this power conditioning issue even so many would jump here and tell me I could still use some :)

erik_squires
17,557 posts
 

Forgot two details about the Furman Elite 15i:

  • Detachable IEC power cable
  • Hospital grade outlets

 

dinov's avatar
dinov
870 posts
 

I use shunyata defenders throughout my house and the small Audioquest Niagara 1000 on one of my spare systems. All of them I’ve picked up used here on Audiogon and eBay. All work great and I saved a lot of money. 

toetapaudio
474 posts
 

Puritan PSM156 or 136 at a lower price point. 156 is more robust. Can be mounted vertically with special feet. The Puritan mains cable supplied is also very good.

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