Power conditioner wire gauge? Serious issue

Vthokie83

I had a Panamax conditioner and found that it stole power from the amplifiers. Now using a new conditioner which doesn't restrict voltage.  If you plug directly into the wall with an amplifier there is always noise coming through if the amplifier can't get rid of it.  Plus using precious dedicated outlet spots for the gear is difficult to juggle unless you're willing to commit your wall to an outlet festival.

Lots of good outlet suggestions you have. up the road I can see furutech in my future. 

@vthokie83   @jumia 

All power conditioners steal power.  You need to make absolutely sure that the power exiting the conditoner is still more than sufficient to drive your power amps.  This will be a particular issue with big amps that draw a lot of power -  1.6kW a side for my big old Krells.  The sound will be far more degraded if there is not enough power than if there is a bit of noise left on the line.

@clearthinker

All power conditioners steal power.

Can you explain this?

Are you suggesting that power conditioners can degrade a specification - such as "power factor" ? Therefore, limiting power delivery to audio components?

Power conditioners can use quite a bit of power on their own just to function. Complex designs, large transformers and MOVs (Metal Oxide Varistor, old and cheap tech). Some on the market can use 20 watts plus. That’s enough for a stand-alone CD player.

The power conditioner I own only requires 1 Watt to do its job. Proprietary USA-made design. Over the years, I have found the following to be true:

Power conditioners that require a lot of electricity to work behave more like amplifiers, rather than power filters. Dynamics and overall system performance can be harmed by this.

It's not about the ability to allow the product to function.

It's about impedance along the way and no one seems to understand that.

@mastering92

Thank you.  You have answered your own question.  As you say, power conditioners need power to function and this power has to come from the wall, therefore reducing the power that is passed on to the audio power amplifiers.  Also as you say, the amount of power consumed by the conditioner will vary according to its design.  All I am saying is that the net power leaving the conditioner needs to be comfortably sufficient to power the amplifier.

We are in agreement.