Opinions on Power Regenerators and Tube Amps

Yup, can of worms. It definately has something to do with the active shielded cables, which are new to my system, btw. Turning off the switch to all the shielded cables makes a big difference. I have a non-active Looking Glass from TT to phono stage, and an active from phono stage to preamp. I switched those and it made it worse. I need to experiment some more. Herman, thanks for the input......what I have is a small buzz/hum at a very high listening level, with no music playing. it's annoying, but I can not hear it from my chair.

Here's the thing. Can't use active cables anywhere in the phono area. I don't know if that is normal, but with that active cable from phono stage to preamp replaced, and the shielding on for everything else, the hum is very small....and I would never listen at that high volume level. I'm a little confused about active shielding now and in saying that I have probably highjacked my own thread for the third time. Thanks for the ideas though.....I was not even thinking about the cables, obviously......I was thinking about power regenerators.

I love regeneration for sources and as I said wouldn't do it w/power amps. I reread your post. Do you get the hum through the spk w/ only the power amp on or when the pre is on and is set to phono? Thats a minimum of four gain stages if the latter and you will hear a little hum. Especially due to all gain needed for a phono cart. Back to your 120HZ question - it is wonderful and I have not met a piece of gear that can't handle it......unless you have an older TT w/ an AC motor that gets it speed calibration fron the AC frequency. As to N's comment on the lowish power output P-300(300 watts max, I never use but 60-70%of it as I said) it was made to drive sources not big amps. They had a 600watt and 1200watt for larger draw gear. Often a pre,phono,CDP and tuner wont draw but 100 to 200 watts total. In fact the process of turning the AC into DC, cleaning it and then turning it back into AC is what makes it so good. Then setting it to pulse 120 times/sec instead of 60.....well judge for yourself. Don't take our word for it, find a dealer that loans gear for home demo before you buy.

ET

Think about what you are trying to achieve, which is great sound at your listening position. If you can't hear it at all from your seat, and it otherwise sounds as you wish, leave it alone.

If you stick your head in the corner of the room you will hear boomy bass but nobody considers that to be a problem since it sounds fine at the sweet spot. Why does a slight amount of noise that can only be heard near the speakers bother people so much?

There are ways to make a system completely quiet but at the expense of performance. A system that doesn't have any noise at all when you are close to the speakers is probably pretty lifeless anyway.

IMHO you are chasing ghosts.

I'm good. The little hum (only with preamp set to phono and the volume cranked) is a not a problem. I will not be buying a big power regenerator in order to service my amp. That was the reason I asked my initial question. I will most likely find a way to try out a PS 300. Can't justify the price of a big one for just front end. Looked at your systems.....very impressive, especially those horns and that phono preamp. Wish I could hear a bunch of the systems I see on here. Thanks for your help......