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Extra power or cleaner power?

I'm putting a system together and am thinking through some of the factors which might contribute to the overall sound quality. I realize that testing things out as I go is the best way, so I'm asking this question not to get advice about what to do next but to understand how folks understand and weigh these factors.

Let's start with a predicted factor -- the speakers. From the speaker description:

Anticipated speakers: Salk SS 6M
Response +/- 3db — 35Hz - 40kHz
Sensitivity — 90 db
Impedance — 8 ohms
Amplification — 50 watts (or 30wpc, tube amp)
Alignment — Front slot port
Dimensions — 9 W x 20 H x 14 D

Some (atma-sphere, decooney) have suggested on this forum that even a 60 wpc tube would be great for these speakers. So, here's my question —

Assume that I could get a very good 40 wpc tube amp to drive these speakers to sufficient listening levels (85 db at about 10 feet), for my kind of music (jazz, classical), and peaks in my (400 sq ft) listening space.

With these assumptions, the question becomes one of priorities. I could either spend additional dollars to (a) buy a more powerful amp or (b) spend that money on a power regenerator. Also assume that if I do *not* buy a regenerator, I'd still do *something* to improve the power (some kind of improvement but much less expense).

The question is: with those assumptions, what do you think would add more to the sound quality? More power or cleaner power?

Perhaps this is an impossible theoretical question to answer. If so, I'd like to know that, too!

Thanks!
128x128hilde45
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,793 posts
 
I would only bother with a power conditioner of any sort only after you have sorted out what amp you are using. Many of the 'high end' audio conditioners are so much junk so you can really send $$$$$ down the loo quite easily!


Just make sure your house wiring is up to code- at least in your audio room! I don't run conditioning at home.

The PS Audio regenerators (which are really power conditioners, not just glorified power strips) are some of the best we've seen in high end audio. There is a company called Elgar that made excellent conditioners also- which were never offered to high end audio. Most of them are quite old at this point and so will need refurbishment, but often this is a lot less expensive than most of the 'solutions' seen in high end audio.
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lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,437 posts
 
Clean power over more watts for sure...I would start with a good power distribution strip like Nordost QB8. And then systematically add rest of the power correction components from their QRT line. That’s the beauty of Nordost modular approach.

And please stay away from PS Power regenerator for the reasons Al outlined in his post. The top 5 companies that currently offers SOTA power correction / conditioning in no particular order are -

Audience, Shunyata Research, Synergistic Research, Nordost, IsoTek.

Good luck in your audio journey!
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hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,974 posts
 
Thanks so much for answering my question -- I suspect you just saved me a lot of money, but more than that, you helped me prioritize how and when to spend. The one comment that gave me pause was Tvad's: "I had two 20 amp AC lines, circuit breakers, and the EP-2050 installed for about $1700 total." 
I was looking at a psaudio regenerator discounted to about that price, and thought perhaps I could save a lot of trouble by just doing one of those rather than running dedicated lines, etc. But it seems there are additional reasons to avoid a regenerator...the comments above seem to suggest that one can spend a lot less than $1700 and it will make a sufficient difference. And thanks @erik_squires for reminding me that room acoustics not be neglected!
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