What do you NOT plug into the power conditioner...

that is the reason... because many conditioners cannot deliver the current many amps need to produce clean dynamics.

Ok then-- how does one know which conditioners do / can deliver the power amps need?

It is the amplifiers that I have heard should be plugged directly to an outlet with having a 20amp dedicated circuit being optimum or even without the dedicated circuit.

A vaccuum cleaner?

Power tools? OK... maybe a Dremmel.

dynamics restriction is always the thoughts going in on PLC. In order to preserve them many threads say plug the amps directly into the wall outlet/dedicated ckt. and NOT the PLC.

Trying things both ways will tell you about your current situation. Very likely you'll find the wall the more impactful sounding path. if there are no artifacts you can detect.... the major item you'll be missing is maybe the protection some PLC afford to the items which are plugged into it vs. directly out of the wall plate.

My RSA Haley does a fine job in allowing very good drive and force to be realized in the audio when my monos are plugged nto it.

Right out of the wall the power line artifacts harden up the sound, though it is unquestionably more dynamic going that way.

A choice or compromise is what I made here. I sacrificed 20% or less of the dynamic impact for a cleaner more musical sound. maybe only 15% in the end. Noticeable but negligible IMHO.

I choose instead to shoot my preamp right into a ded ckt.

Everything.

I go straight out of the wall on everything ........ No Power Conditioner....... The passive units I tried sounded vailed so I took it out and sold it .........I never tried active ......

Chuck

Everything except battery power supplied cd player and all the computer server thingy's.

Everything but the turntable.

I wish I could handle not plugging things into protection, but how do you stomach having such expensive equipment without surge protection? I have a whole house surge protector but don't believe it will be sufficient for delicate electronics, especially expensive ones. I see a wide range of voltage including dips and spikes, not to even mention the lightning storms. Do you worry about it or just assume its going to be fine?

I'm out of outlets on the Nordost Thor so the power supplies for the table and the phono preamp lose out. The Thor is fine with power amps although I never tried the W4S amp into the wall.

Second Palsar, everything!!!

Vineman, I think you have to let your ears be your guide. My preamp & power amp have inductive power supplies and I've not found power conditioners to do anything positive at all. In fact, they sound worse plugged into a conditioner. My digital gear and phono preamp do sound better plugged into the conditioner however.

Tgrisham, I curious why you think that the whole house surge protector isn't up to the job of protecting audio electronics? The manufacturer of our whole house surge protecter seems to indicate otherwise. After having our garage door electronics and door bell circuits/transformers fried after a lightning storm, I had whole house surge protection installed. Here in central Florida, it's just a matter of time before you get a major surge even if you have underground utilites!

Photon,

I think its just paranoia. I have read that the whole house protection keeps your house from burning down but doesn't always protect the delicate electronics. There's only one way to find out! In Missouri we have had a whole season of electrical storms but I have had no direct hits, just blackouts, brownouts and spikes. The Leviton whole house surge protectors (one for each main circuit box) don't give a protection guarantee but the individual units do. Gimmick? Probably. Just makes me wonder. I would love to have all the electronics powered directly from the dedicated lines. Maybe I'll have to man up and go direct. I don't think the Class D amps I have will notice the difference. The Modwright pre-amp might.

Without surge limiting power line coneditioning devices inline with my gear, I lost all but my SS amp following a strike nearby… not directly. All the low voltage stuff died. PCs, Telephones, scanner etc.

I use .passive plc now. Save for the preamp… when things get stormy around here in Central Fla… I just unplug the pre. Otherwise I do nothing. All has been quite well since the introduction of these passive units. Albeit I use a mid level RSA Haley on my main gear. A PSA Duet for the mass fi and pc stuff. Another Duet lives in the bedroom on non ded ckts and I’m very very glad I’ve got it there. 3 times now the PSA Duets have saved my bacon…. And my gear from either surges OR lightening. 2 surges 1 close hit by lightening.

Something to consider.

AS was said, by myself and others … even passive units reduce some of the impactfulness, dynamics, extreme edge of details… but everything wee do here by and large amounts to some degree of compromise in the biggest percemntage of cases…. So losing a touch of leading edge info yet gaining an easier listening experience, and as well, protecting my investment is a compromise I can and do live with most handily.