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What Shunyata and Furman (SMP) Have in common - Inductance!

Hi everyone,

I've been doing a little online research. The name that seems to come across here on audiogon regarding power conditioners is Shunyata, while @elizabeth and I talk Furman, especially due to cost.


I wanted to point out that what these two brands have in common is inductance. Coils. Coils in series with the outputs.


Furman and others who have licensed series mode surge protectors use great big coils to slow down surges long enough to let the surge protector react. Furman calls it SMP, but the tech has also been licensed to PS Audio and other makers. Essentially this is a low pass filter, which starts working at 3 kHz. That's way down in the audible range.


It's clear from pics of Shunyata's insides that they are using great big coils too. Why? Well, you can make a coil with high inductance, and low resistance at AC.


Anyway, my point is, these two brands share this basic principle. If you want to supplement a Shunyata by taking digital streaming outside of it (routers, wifi, etc) consider this super inexpensive Furman strip:

https://amzn.to/2U9QiiR

It's also a great starter conditioner, and the series surge suppression is unbeatable. Furman also has LiFT which I trust works but I've not investigated it very much. Furman makes a boatload of devices, so check for SMP and LiFT for the best noise suppression.

The PS Audio strip which uses series suppression is here:

https://www.psaudio.com/products/dectet-power-center/


Of course, saying these conditioners have the same principle is not the same as saying they work equally well or are best for your application. To your own ears be true!


Best,

E
erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,901 posts
 
@ptss I recommend a balanced approach.
Good acoustics first.

I also recommend, if you are concerned, keeping noise creating power supplies (switching wall warts) outside your clean power zone. It is convenient to use a conditioner with mulitple, isolated power banks.


If you don't have something like that, a Furman strip for your routers, streamers, etc. will keep that on the dirty side, and put an extra layer of AC filtering between your analog / linear gear and it.


Use inexpensive but shielded power cables.

Best,
E
ptss
1,964 posts
 
Thanks Erik. My tv and internet cable service units use a wall wart. I got a nice improvement in sound and video by putting them on a separate transformer isolated circuit. 
erik_squires OP
16,901 posts
 
@ptss If you use a coaxial cable into the home, consider a coax ground loop isolator.


They work great to remove ground loops, and sometimes (but not always) can clean up DAC's too. :) They're super cheap, like $20 or so. 

Sometimes a ground loop makes it into the digital pathways (unless you use optical) and this can help.



sadono
97 posts
 
@erik_squires 

You are completely mistaken on all levels. Quit trying to duplicitously sell Furman products for your affiliate link money!

1) Furman does not license series mode surge technology. They were sued by Zero Surge - the originators and license owner of the series mode technology patent - and lost. Furman was forced to call their technology SMP (Series Multi-Stage Protection), which still uses MOVs. 

https://www.furmanpower.com/furman-technologies/series-multi-stage-protection

SurgeX, Brick Wall, and Torus Power are the only licensees of series mode technology that I'm aware of.

2) Shunyata does not use inductors. 

https://youtu.be/mrUKwzfCNWg

3) Where did you see a picture of a Chang Lightspeed with an inductor? "No use of inductive coils, which cause time lag in performance"

https://www.changlightspeed.com/

I could only see caps in the pictures I saw, that did not show the full circuits.
erik_squires OP
16,901 posts
 
Hi Sadono,

As far as I know, the license/patent comes from Jack R. Harford / Electronic Systems Protection. Please post a link to any legal documents / reporting regarding licensing issues with Furman.


https://patents.google.com/patent/US4870528A/en

You are completely wrong about Furman SMP using MOV's, I've disassembled them. They do not use MOVs and they are very good. Please see their spec sheet.


https://www.furmanpower.com/furman-technologies/series-multi-stage-protection

In addition to Furman, SurgeX and Brick Wall, the other licensees I know of are PS Audio and McIntosh. Among those, McIntosh charges the most, followed by SurgeX for the same basic technology.  Furman is the most affordable in their $180 power strips.

In regards to Chang, I stand corrected, Chang advertises no coils in their tech. How pathetic, since that essentially means they can't block anything below RFI. Also, their claims are questionable. A well designed coil is a good thing, with no lag, unless you are a surge.   Please go spend tens of thousands of dollars on their gear if that makes you happy.

Best,
Erik
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