Who has dumped the power conditioner?

Al,

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who is extremely limited in technical knowledge, so I honestly don't understand much of what you wrote.

You wrote: "The effectiveness of a balanced power arrangement, such as the Equitech provides, can particularly be expected to be both system dependent and unpredictable."

When you say "unpredictable" do you mean that in a given system, a balanced power unit will be unpredictable? I'm afraid that I'm noticing this. After my initial glowing account, the next day I was hearing some glare and harshness that was almost worse than anything I had before. However, late in the evening, the sound was better than anything I had ever heard before from my system. So it seems that the quality of power going into the unit is still affecting the sound.

I'm wondering if there's anything that can be done. When it's good, it's REALLY good, but when it's bad, it's pretty bad. I know that some have suggested adding some kind of filter or power regenerator upstream from the balanced power unit. Do you have any thoughts on that idea?

Onemug -- Thanks very much for the kind comments!

Turboglo -- By "unpredictable" I did not mean that performance would be inconsistent with any given system, I just meant that the effects would vary from system to system in a manner that could not be reliably predicted.

I cannot envision any reason why the Equitech might be contributing to the varying results you are getting. It's just that what it does is apparently not addressing some of the particular anomalies and variations in your electrical supply.

As you've seen in this thread, and no doubt in lots of others, reports of experiences with line conditioners and power regenerators tend to vary widely. I have no particular thoughts to add about them, as I don't use any myself (other than an inexpensive surge suppressor for protection) and I've never sensed the need for one at my location.

Best regards,
-- Al

Follow up:

I just wanted to update my situation. After consulting with some trusted experts, I decided to try replacing the stock power cord that came with the Equitech. It was suggested that the small copper conductors in the beldon pc were resonating with more voltage draw. I was pointed toward something with a solid core, so I ordered a JPS Labs Power AC+. This has totally fixed the problem and further opened up the soundstage. It's kind of annoying that I'd have to spend an additional $400 for an expensive power conditioner to be listenable. But, oh well. I'm thrilled with the way things are sounding.

Al, I am considering a couple of power isolation transformer based products. One takes non balanced in and outputs balanced power, or so I believe. That's the equi=tech. The other is a Torus power isolation unit and since I don't have balanced AC in the house and won't be adding in via dedicated lines, I won't get the balanced in version, just the non balanced in.

Would you say that the equi=tech would not really be impacted by the balanced power issues you mentioned because it is not actually connected to 240V balanced in power?

Bryan

Hi Bryan,

No, the reference I linked to, and the comments I made, related to the unpredictability of the benefits (and possible lack of benefits) of converting normal unbalanced 120V AC to balanced 120V AC. So those issues will apply to the Equitech that you are considering.

Best regards,
-- Al