03-15-12: Xxqq250
I have a question that you might know the answer to. Have you ever tried any type of line conditioner with a computer and external drives? Given that computers are not really made for high end audio, I can't help but think that it may make a substantial improvement.
Good question, but I have no relevant experience. Even though I'm both an audiophile and a computer enthusiast, who builds his own computers, ironically I haven't yet merged the two and the only digital source in my audio system is a one-box CD player :-)
I'd imagine that a power conditioner could very well be helpful in many setups, mainly by minimizing the amount of computer-generated noise that might find its way into the power wiring and from there into the audio components. Also, if the computer is located close to the audio system a shielded power cord would seem to make sense, to prevent rfi from escaping from the power cord and radiating into the system.
I would guess that the effects of a power conditioner will tend to differ depending on whether or not the computer's power supply uses
active power factor correction, perhaps making less of a difference if the computer provides that feature. Recent computers are increasingly utilizing active PFC, especially the better ones and those that are Energy Star compliant.
FWIW, I'll mention that I use a
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD true sine wave UPS on my desktop computers. It works great for my purposes, but I wouldn't recommend its use close to an audio system because I've found that it radiates rfi, as detected by a portable AM radio brought near it. Inexpensive UPS's that put out stepped approximations to a sine wave, btw,
should not be used with computers that have active PFC.
Thanks for your comment, and thanks to Tom6897 as well.
Best regards,
-- Al