Power Regenerator or Conditioner for Digital Sources


Ok I'm having a difficult time deciding. I want to clean up the power going into my Aurender N20 and my MSB Discrete DAC. Those components seem to me to be the most sensitive to power issues. When I plug them into an inexpensive APC Power strip I get a slightly harsh upper frequency range. When I plug them into my Cullen Power Box that has no surge protection just straight from the wall power they sound much better especially the DAC which is the more sensitive of the two. However summer time power issues do have their effect

So I am considering either a quality power conditioner such as the Isotek Aquarius V5 or a PS Audio Stellar Power Plant 3 for just these two components. I need three receptacles as my DAC has two power supplies. My Amp will stay plugged into the wall where it sounds the best.

Anyone own either of these power units? Experiences with them?

Alternatively there is the Puritan 156 Conditioner at a lower price however recent reviews on Alpha-Audio where they did extensive power conditioner tests strongly favored the Isotek Aquarius V5.

 

 

 

jfrmusic

It may be worth getting an electrician out to do an assessment if you feel the issue is significant.  They can relocate circuits to rebalance and minimize the impact of your A/C kicking on and diagnose other issues, such as worn breakers. 

In my case, I had an electrician come out and upgrade my panel.  I still have a slight hum on the line I haven't been able to completely eliminate so using a Furman IT-Reference-20i with excellent results (so much so I'm looking at upgrading to an Audioquest 7000 in the future).  The Furman's balanced outlets have a noticeable improvement on my pre and DAC and plugging my amp and other high current devices into the high amperage outlets doesn't have any negative effects.

I have a SurgeX SEQ and had a similar experience with it affecting my highs.  I also have a Furman SPR-20i and was able to speak with its designer, Garth Powell, which convinced me its unnecessary in a residential setting so have since just been running the IT-Reference-20i alone and haven't noticed the negative affects of summer power. 

 

OP,

I had the Puritan PSM 156 in my system long enough to determine it actually degraded the sound. I used it for DAC and preamp only.  
I tried 3 different power cords with it, Classic, Ultimate and AQ Hurricane. It seems to impart this strange “pinched” quality to the sound. This persisted even after I had 2 dedicated lines run for my system.  The Puritan effect just didn’t sound natural to me so I sold it. I ended up running everything direct to wall. I would highly recommend running a dedicated line or two for your components. Start there. Best bang for your buck. Try the power conditioner after.
 

One more item to note is that the power cord feeding your power conditioner has to at least match the power cords you have on your components. 
 

If you decide to try more power conditioners add Shunyata to your list. 

My power situation is - messy. I’ve been working over the last six months to organize and also to clean up noise. I purchased an iFi Powerstation (actually 2) and have been very impressed. Much greater front to back soundstage, more air around instruments - I was actually shocked at the difference. I’ve also added a few more of their AC Purifiers. And I did not hear any dynamic restriction at all. Everything is plugged into one of them, except for the amp which goes straight to the wall with another AC Purifier in the second outlet of the duplex.

i’ve been working on upgrading power cords since then, but of course that is another story. 
Of course different power issues will be very localized, but in my system, I was very happy with these units.

My initial power issues I believe happened when we had 10 days of 90s temperatures. Mostly from power demand not just in my house but in general   However so far since I’ve upgraded the power cables on my DAC and Streamer I’ve had no issues. I believe I have fairly clean power. I live in a 12 year old home in a development that has all underground utilities. My system is dead quiet. It’s on right now but you would not know it. No hum, buzz nothing total blackness. As I mentioned the Regenerator did nothing. Right now my system sounds wonderfully refined and musical. So after 5 months of buying , burning in and evaluating equipment I’m just going to listen to music. 

Right now my system sounds wonderfully refined and musical. So after 5 months of buying , burning in and evaluating equipment I’m just going to listen to music


That’s a great place to be!!!