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  3. 1445240975

Is it ok to buy a 20 yr old line conditioner from

I need some opinions or advise on whether I should get an old line distributor/conditioner (possibly 20 yrs old). I saw one here on Audiogon. It is a Chang Lightspeed CLS 9600 ISO MKI. The original retail price was $819. The seller is trying to sell it for $300. It has separates outlets for digital and analog components. It looks like it's pretty well built. Is anyone familiar or have any idea or any experience with this product or any other Chang Lightspeed conditioners in the past? Should I get this piece cause I'm concerned about the age of this conditioner. Do you guys think it'd be fine to buy an old line distributor/conditioner? Right now I'm using an old cheap entry level Furman conditioner. So I think this Chang Lightspeed CLS 9600 ISO MKI would be a major step up or upgrade from what I have now but one thing worries me is the age of this Chang Lightspeed CLS 9600 ISO MKI conditioner. Any advise or inputs or opinions would be greatly appreciated. My setup consists of : Oppo bdp-103 universal disc player used as a disc transport only. Rotel RC-1570 stereo pre-amp with built-in DAC. Rotel RB-1080 stereo power amp (200 wpc @ 8 ohms or 400 wpc @ 4 ohms with both channels driven). Integra DHC 80.1 av preamp surround processor used for ht only.
Thank you.
caphill
bill_k
912 posts
 
Chang makes a good product and they are honest in my experience, so I'd suggest calling them to ask. Capacitors used in power conditioners that are 20 years old are likely to need replacement, but they would be the ones to confirm whether or not you should have any concerns. http://www.changlightspeed.com/customer.htm
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
If it's been used and not shelved or garaged, than you'll be fine in terms of functionality. In terms of value perhaps you'll be better vs. your current Furman and possibly would not loose much when you want to sell or upgrade. In terms of performance, I cannot predict result because all systems are different and differently react to the power sources.
Once again, if you're sure that it's been always used, than your risk factor is very minimal to try.
beavis
272 posts
 
Be careful. MOSFETs protect upstream components well when new. However, they are limited in number of surges they can sustain. In the case of a direct lightning strike, good luck.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"In the case of a direct lightning strike, good luck."

To be fair, no surge protector can protect against a lightning strike. If a company makes that claim, and some do, read the fine print.
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cleeds
5,949 posts
 
10-19-15: Beavis
Be careful. MOSFETs protect upstream components well when new. However, they are limited in number of surges they can sustain.

MOSFETs? What do they have to do with surge protection?
Perhaps you're thinking of MOVs? They are a varistor that are somewhat like a diode.
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