Power conditioners


This had probably been brought up hundreds of times but each one differs. So is the case with me. I’m contemplating of purchasing a power conditioner. Preferably an AQ Niagara 5000 or a Shunyata Denali tower. Here’s what I want to know. I have all dedicated lines with high end outlets and covers. Furutech GTX -D (R) - Oyaide WPC Z2 amd WPC Z. Also all High end power cords. (2)  Shunyata King Coba CX. Shunyata Sigma HC. Shunyata Sigma Digital power cord. Also my equipment is Audio Research Ref 750s mono amps. Audio Research Ref 6se pre amp. Audio Research Ref 9 cdp. McIntosh MQ112 equalizer. Ok. Here’s my question. I’m figuring that it is not a good idea to put anything in the way of the amps. Heard some negative feedback about high end amps and power conditioners. So basically it would just be my sources and pre amp. With that being said would I still benefit from a power conditioner for the pre amp , cdp and equalizer ? Or not since I have all dedicated lines with high end outlets and covers and high end power cords. Thanks to all in advance and happy holidays!! 

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Showing 1 response by whart

A few observations in addition to those above: most of the comments so far line up with my own experience-- try before you buy (or have the ability to return for a full refund). I experimented with "black box" conditioners in my previous house (with dedicated lines) and preferred going "straight in." And the dedicated lines, alone, did not isolate the system from anomalies elsewhere within the household electrical system- a noisy light or appliance elsewhere in the house on a different circuit.

(At one point, I could not eliminate a nasty electrical zap heard through the system from the air compressor that drives my tone arm without its own dedicated line, a step down transformer and power conditioner, but would not have wanted to pass audio signal through that heavily "conditioned" outlet).

@Erik_Squires point about surge protection is a good one, but you can do whole house surge protection plus point of use without "conditioning." I did that in my latest set up- using a whole house surge protector plus a large (10kVa) isolation transformer (the size of a big refrigerator but half as tall) which has a surge board on it- that is dedicated to the main audio system only.

Last thought: not a bad idea to have a qualified electrician go over your household electrical system for any problems starting at the meter and working through the service panel to your dedicated lines. I tend to prefer commercial electricians but that’s me.