2. amps-preamps
  3. 190310-188464

Summer Power Issues

The past few days my system has sounded very harsh and lacking bass impact when listening before 4pm. Between 4 and 5 pm the wonderful sound I’m use to miraculously returns. Guessing this heat wave is putting stress on the grid and screwing up power because I have not experienced this until now. 
 

Does this mean I need a power conditioner? Will that help?

Been looking at the Isotek Aquarius V5 but it’s $3k

However I’ve already invested a lot in my system so Adding one more item that will clean up the power is not out of the question. 
 

Anyone else having this experience?

Any owners of the Isotek?

jfrmusic
erik_squires
16,244 posts
 

You want a Furman with AR (voltage regulation)

czarivey
5,946 posts
 

solar with 90+ degrees works great. i know how to get them cheap.

dogearedaudio's avatar
dogearedaudio
153 posts
 

Ditto on the Furman.  I use an M8X AR, which will handle 15 amps.  Last summer my line voltage dropped as low as 113VAC, and my tube amps and tube preamp really suffered.  The Furman keeps it at 118-120, and I have not felt it affected the sound.  On the contrary, everyone sounds happier to be operating where they should be.  Prices for this unit have gone up--I paid $385 for mine, they're now $500-700.  But well worth it, IMO.

Even if you just go with a conditioner, the Furmans are affordably priced and are regularly used by recording studios.

rcm1203's avatar
rcm1203
99 posts
 

Besides summer demand droops, my grid has a bad habit of blinking off and on all year round on perfectly sunny days. I have used a Square D 1 kva isolation transformer at my distribution panel with a dedicated 20 amp circuit to feed a Furman SPR-20i conditioner/regulator since I moved here and have been very pleased with it's performance. One kva sounds low but delivers 8.33 amps which is more than enough for my system. The SPR-20i is very quick and has no trouble tracking voltage changes, and the surge suppression circuit is non-sacrificial. I have no idea if it affects the sound, but my system sounds the way I want it to sound using it, and I'm 100 % sure it sounds better than a fried system 😉.

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