Power regenerator vs conditioner

rbyington711,

I also am fascinated by Mike Fremer's story.  He said that the P20 + P15 restored his sound to the AQ 7000 level before the generator switch messed things up, but he implies that the P20 + P15 is no better than AQ.  He hasn't decided whether to get the bypass switch that will enable him to use the AQ.  If he does, then he will compare the P20 + P15 to AQ 7000 using the original power line. 

Until then, can you be specific about what you heard from the P20 that was better than AQ 5000?

PS Audio seems to imply that their regenerated power is still a modified sine wave with slightly rounded tops and bottoms.  The multi wave function may make the tops and bottoms more rounded and flat, making it a little like a square wave. which someone said dulled the sound.  Inverters probably vary in their modifications of the perfect sine wave.  Has anyone compared the Goal Zero Yeti 1000 inverter to the PS Audio?

@atmasphere  Ralph, what have you heard or have you tried the Puritan products? I put a lot of stock in your views, so I'm asking!

Ralph, what have you heard or have you tried the Puritan products? I put a lot of stock in your views, so I'm asking!

@hilde45  No, I haven't. I took a look at their website. IMO a passive product like this might have some audible effect, but without active circuitry won't regulate the AC line voltage, filter low frequency harmonics (the 5th in particular) and otherwise remove distortion of the AC line waveform. It does look like it would remove spikes and high frequency noise though.

@atmasphere  Thanks. Paul at P.S. Audio has made the case multiple times against passive conditioners for that kind of reason, and because he sells the very expensive regenerator I wasn't sure if his criticism against passive products went against them as a whole kind of product or just the ones out there now. But Puritan is relatively new, I think, so was kind of hoping Paul was wrong about this. It seems that he's not, at least if I am understanding the implications of what you're saying.

Yes- although its possible to use ferro-resonant transformers to regulate line voltage, they also introduce harmonics and they can be pricey too  if one of the lower distortion models. I've really not seen a decent conditioner that didn't have a lot of active circuitry inside.


BTW this is something that has been going on a long time. They were making power conditioners back in the 1950s that were all-tube, using a device called a saturable reactor. You have to imagine that if there was a perceived need 65 years ago that if it could be solved by a glorified power strip that that would have been done and everyone moved on to bigger fish. But here we are in the 21st century and quality power conditioning is still a thing.