Power conditioners and power cord upgrades

[DrJ]

Been really enjoying my new listening room set-up. It's taken the sound up so much that I'm thoroughly convinced that high end audio is worth it. I'm now looking ahead at doing something with power conditioning and power cord upgrades in the near future Right now everything is plugged in to a simple surge protector which goes directly to the wall socket, and all the power cords are stock cheapies.

What would people recommend as good options?

[Guest Chaney]

First question would be: Do you have all of your equipment on a dedicated line in your dedicated audio room? If not, call the electrician and start there.

Best money you'll ever spend. (Cost me $185 for two 20 amp lines.)

Edited August 20, 2004 by Chaney

[jazzhound]

PS audio Power Plant. fantastic device especially if using digital front end.

[wolff]

First question would be: Do you have all of your equipment on a dedicated line in your dedicated audio room? If not, call the electrician and start there.

Best money you'll ever spend. (Cost me $185 for two 20 amp lines.)

Yep, start with this.

[DrJ]

So to make sure I'm understanding, the idea with the dedicated line is that the electrician installs something that is separate from/better than the house main power supply?

[jazzbo]

Yes, that's the idea. Purportedly well worth the effort.

I have used one of the PS Audio Power Plants since it was introduced; I was on the original waiting list for shipment. It has really been the bedrock of my system; my house power is awful, old and awful.

I have also installed PS Audio power cords (the new Xstream series, one Statement and the rest Preludes) and they are great products.

[Guest Chaney]

So to make sure I'm understanding, the idea with the dedicated line is that the electrician installs something that is separate from/better than the house main power supply?

If I'm understanding you correctly, no.

It's simply that you'd be asking the electrician to take the existing outlets currently used for your audio gear and give each of those outlets its own circuit in your existing circuit box. That way, your adio gear would be on a dedicated line, isolated from any other outlets currently sharing the circuit.

It's thought that the older your house and it's wiring, the greater the benefit should you decide to have the outlet rewired and dedicated.

You should also ask the electrician to use a new hospital grade outlet. (Or Pass & Seymour legrand, or Wattgate, or...)

I did the above and then bought a Shunyata Hydra power conditioner.

Lon: Have you not done this yet? Well worth the money.

[jazzbo]

I haven't done this yet, may do it one day.

The Power Plant was such a radical improvement that I'm partly convinced it has taken care of that for me.

[DrJ]

I'll probably try Lon's approach first - we have a brand new house with good wiring.

[Jazzdude]

I have a dedicated listening room, too. Have had it for three years since I got this house. It's small though, 13 feet long, 12 feet wide. I have a PS Audio 300 which I've had for about 4 yrs. now. It's great. More detail and quiet in the music. One of the very best things you can do to upgrade your sound. Check out their website.

[DrJ]

Will do, thanks Jazzdude. My room is small too.

[DrJ]

After doing some research, I'm pretty interested in the Richard Gray RGPC 400 MK II - the same dealer who worked with me as I assembled my Audio Note/Zingali system really touts these and there are a lot of very positive reviews. I like the idea behind/philosophy of their technology too - not really a line conditioner but rather more of an "unconditioner." This "restored purity" approach jibes well with Audio Note's approach to avoiding up/oversampling - stripping away all the stuff that can color the true sound.

Richard Gray FAQ

Not a bad price too, about $700-800.

Anyone done comparison listening with more traditional power conditioners like PS Audio, Shunyata, etc?

Edited August 30, 2004 by DrJ

[wolff]

Can't really help, other than to say the Richard Grey will run cooler than the PS Audio. Something to keep in mind for your summers.

[Guest Chaney]

I auditioned a Richard Grey before I bought my Hydra and found that it really had no effect on my system. (Couldn't even tell it was there.)

[DrJ]

Chaney Posted on Aug 30 2004, 01:46 PM

  I auditioned a Richard Grey before I bought my Hydra and found that it really had no effect on my system. (Couldn't even tell it was there.) 

Tony, are you using solid state or tube amplification? Just curious, I would expect we could have drastically different systems and that could result in different performance. I am running a single-ended triode tube amp, very low output (8w!).

Wolff, running cool is indeed a good attribute for my room - the listening room is small and gets more than a little bit warm during the hot Sacramento summers, warmer now due to the tube set up.

Edited August 31, 2004 by DrJ

[Guest Chaney]

Very different indeed!

Krell KAV-300i integrated amp - 150 watts.

[DrJ]

Chaney Posted on Aug 31 2004, 05:24 PM

  Very different indeed!

Krell KAV-300i integrated amp - 150 watts.

Yep!

Well, that may or may not be a factor that influences benefit/lack thereof from this unit, but I think it might be important.

I'm going to demo the Richard Gray unit at the dealer's tomorrow, possibly take it home - may not be fully necessary though as he has basically has the same set-up as I have in his showroom and the room characteristics are pretty similar. Will keep you posted!

[porcy62]

I bought a Burmester two years ago, and I am very happy of it, definitely a better focus, expecially on bass.

All system sounds more natural, airy, less compressed.

Obviously I am talking of nuance.

I can't compare it with the difference I had when I changed my old Thorens Td 166 with a Lynn Lp12.

here you have the link http://www.burmester.de/english/components...tioner-948.html

[neveronfriday]

Burmester.

I think you can buy a car for that one ...?

Cheers!

[porcy62]

Burmester. 

I think you can buy a car for that one ...? 

Cheers!

Actually, I had to decide if change my old car or buy a Burmester, you know what happened!!

BTW I use a motorbike for my move

Edited September 1, 2004 by porcy62

[DrJ]

Well, ended up going with the Richard Gray. Auditioned in the showroom, and made a big difference, plus the dealer let me take home tentatively for a trial and return if not happy.

BIG difference at home too. Everything sounds a bit more "up front" and assertive, and the deep bass really improved pretty dramatically - more defined and present but without a touch of boominess (in fact, I can now put my speakers even closer to the back and side walls than before - a big issue in such a small listening room - without any rumble except on poorly recorded/mastered material).

Highly recommended. I like it so much I'm considering auditioning their next step up unit ($500 or so more than the one I got) to see if the sonic improvement is commensurate with the increased price tag.