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September 23, 2009 - 4:36pm
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power conditioner and surge protector
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A surge suppressor protects the equipment from damage due to changes in voltage caused by brownouts, voltage sags, or surges. The electric coming out of the wall is supposed to be a pure 60Hz at 120 volt sine wave. But it isn't there is all kinds of noise on top of it. A power conditioners job is to clean up as much of the noise as possible. MOST power conditions incorporate surge suppression.
As far as which one do you need well I'd say think of it this way. If you were having a deck put on your house and you hired a highly renounced carpenter but skimped on the wood it would still be a pretty nice deck. However if you gave that same carpenter top shelf lumber with which to work the deck will be that much better. In that analogy the electricity is the wood (the raw material) and the carpenter is the artisan doing the work (the audio components.) Power conditioners, like most things in audio sound different and interact with the other components in the system so they should be demoed at home just like a CD player, interconnects, or speaker cables.
The following are some of my thoughts on surge suppression that I've previously posted here:
Monster power conditioners use MOVs, which have a relatively limited lifespan. After the MOVs are gone MANY times the units continue to pass current to the equipment meaning that the next surge could destroy the connected gear. The Monster units do have a light to indicate that they are no longer protecting the equipment but who wants to depend on a light that they can forget to check?
Panamax uses an avalanche diode that acts almost like a flood gate. It opens when voltage is above or below a safe area, then starts testing the voltage. After the voltage is back within the normal range for 7 seconds Panamax units allow the equipment to receive electricity again. When an avalanche diodes fails they are stuck in the "open" position 99.9% of the time. Meaning that the equipment receives NO electricity so the user knows that the power conditioner needs to be replaced.
Panamax specifies that MOVs are 1000 times slower then their avalanche diodes. At trainings Panamax regularly does a demonstration where they hook up a Panamax and a Monster into a device that can create spikes, then into each unit they plug an illuminated lamp. Both units are then hit with a 150 volt spike. In the 10 or so demos that I
thank you for your very informative thoughts. actually, i intend to put a power conditioner/surge protector in my 2channel entry level set up. however, im just in doubt what will be the most efficient or let say the right choice for m system. i am thinking of the acoustic research power conditioner....maybe because this is cheaper compare to the others. Acoustic Research PC100. If you happen heard this equipment, i would like to know your point of view. My system is Primare I21, Primare CDS 21, Wadia 170i Transport, Primare R20 + Clearaudio Emotion TT.
Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
On their website there is no PC100, but they do have a PW100. I have no first hand experience with Acoustic Research power conditioners, but to be honest with you the lack of information on their website, their lack of a track record in that category, and the price don't inspire confidence.
Ive owned Shunyata, PS Audio, tripplite, furman, and monster conditioners/protectors..
When I found the Richard Gray Products, I stopped looking.
I love their products. I have 3 RGPC model 400s at home and 3 in the studio.
www.richardgrayspowercompany.com