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Anybody stop using power conditioning?

Has anybody ever purchased a powerline conditioner, liked it, but, then ultimately decide to take it out of the system? Is there a point at which very high-end components overcome the shortcomings of the ac coming from your wall?
crazy4blues
capeguy
28 posts
 
albertporter,i agree with you that power filtration kills the musical nuances we are paying so much to hear so i removed mine. i have a question for you and others who have done the same thing,how do you protect all that fine equipment from power surges or lightning strikes? my home was hit by lightning and it fried my phones,tv,alarm system and some lights but thank the audio gods not my system. the electrician who made the repairs said he see's this all the time. i heard that some folks have put some kind of protection in the breaker panel, has anyone tried this? if so,how does it effect the power delivery to the equipment if any?
albertporter's avatar
albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Capeguy, I have no protection. It does worry me, especially during those electrical storms that Texas and Oklahoma are famous for.

When the weather turns really ugly, I simply do not play my stereo. Sometime I get so paranoid I unplug the main components.

I too received a lighting strike, probably nearly twenty years ago, but still fresh on my mind. The damage was almost identical as described by you, including (thank goodness) my stereo escaping any damage at all.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
1. There are NO absolutes in this or any other audio-related area. What works great for you won't necessarily do so well at my house etc. etc.

2. Yes I once stopped using line conditioning - for about half an hour. The sibilance came right back along with the dirty power. I still used the dedicated circuit with transorbs & upgrade AC cords.
With dedicated lines, only now the dirt is dedicated
John I love that statement! Couldn't have said it any better myself so I'll appropriate yours. Thanks.

3. Philes like Cape & Albert should at least install whole house surge protection if they find that a line conditioner isn't doing them right. If your area has thunderstorms, then once you've been hit by lightning then you'll better understand the ramifications of no protection. You won't always be at home to turn everything off & unplug it just in time. Then believe my, you'll cry. Even in storm free areas, line transients can be severe & damaging.
I use a Joslyn gas-tube-discharge parallel transorb at the house panel & also I parallel MOV's across my dedicated outlets. And I STILL power down & unplug everything when storms are nearby. I've learned my expensive lesson the hard way - twice!
tbg
5,263 posts
 
I use conditioners but not for lightning protection. I have twice had my house hit by lightning. Most recently my stereo was on and plugged into a Sound Application. While my garage door opener, intercom system, answering machine and telephone were all destroyed, my system was unaffected. The first time I had no protection but the system was off except for the preamp. That time the computer was taken despite being on a surge protector, which did not burn itself out, and not on, but the stereo was again unaffected. My computer guy said that computer chip are much faster than surge protectors.

I have never found any surge protector that sounded anything other than like shit. Also I have found only three conditioners that I think add more than they subtract in sound. The good one have been in the last three years. Before that I would initially like them but ultimately found they detracted.

When we have a severe storm, I unplug the Velocitor and Harmonix conditioners.
capeguy
28 posts
 
has anyone used ps audio's uo as a surge protector? does it work? how does it effect the sound? at $399 for thehigh current unit this might just do the job. what do you think albert?
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