power conditioner


How important is power conditioner for musical system . Does it really  improve sound quality if the outlet AC power is adequate enough?
farzad
I've tried ~30 or so, everyone screwed it up. The most effective "condioner" I've heard is totally passive. Dealer disclaimer:  Purist Audio Design LE, 25th, and 30th power cords condition in a win-win way. :-)
gdhal, you have been told the truth ... nothing will protect you from a direct hit except unplugging ... talk to people who have had every electric device in their home fried, no matter on or off ... I once saw a service panel blown off a concrete wall and 20 feet across the room, straight through a steel-clad door; sure darn glad I wasn't there to see it ...

I can't think of any scenario where the supply AC would impact the signal path through an audio device. Capacitors were "invented" a long, long time ago, and so were AC -> DC circuits. I suppose if you really tried, you might find a real junk piece of equipment where the sound is changed as a result of wild changes to the AC or environmental RFI, but that's a stretch.

That said, I do have my important entertainment stuff (including TV and cable box DVR) plugged into high quality computer surge protectors with battery backup. Why? Because they might be effective (and supposedly insured to $1 million) if something truly awful happens on the AC side. Also, when the power goes out for 5-10 seconds, the equipment doesn't switch off and on, which I think must be hard on it after a while. When the DVR loses power, it takes 20 minutes to reboot, which is REALLY annoying. Separately, my Rowland pre's run through their own battery backed power supply, which is good because when the pre's truly lose power (such as when you unplug them from that power supply) they instantly forget every single stinking setting, including the phono pre settings. I think Rowland did the battery power supply "feature" mostly to avoid angry late night phone calls.

As always, your mileage may vary
J135
"does Furman have a recommendation? And yes, nothing stops a lightning strike..."

Good idea. I should have done that first.  DOH!

So for you Furman users out there,,,,  I called Furman and spoke to Michael, a very helpful service tech.  According to Michael, Furman power conditioners protect equipment against surges regardless of whether or not they are turned on.  They don't consume much power so you can either leave them on 24/7, or turn them off when you're not listening to music. The line core melting equipment works whether the unit is on or off.  This advise works for the PL8 series as well as their most expensive conditioners.
Michael did say if a storm is heading your way and your house is susceptible to lightning strikes, for the best safety unplug the Furman.  I'm fairly well protected from lightning so the hard-to-reach Furman will stay on while my other Furmans will be switched off during non-listening times.
Also, as to the placement of the Furman units, just above or below other units, Michael recommended a 1/2 rack space between it and signal processor devices and 2 to 3 rack spaces just above or below pre-amps or amps.

Thanks to everyone for all the input.