Power Line Conditioners


I am looking at buying a unit to filter out AC line noise etc..

I have a pair of Sunfire amps for the main speakers and a
DBX 3bx1 amp for the A/V speakers. RCA Proscan IDTV big screen TV. These are the main power users in the system.

The Sunfire amps can put put some serious power but I don't
know what their input requirments are. The DBX amp input is 600w. The last thing I want to do is limit the dynamics etc.. from the amps.

Anyway...I started looking at units by Panamax 5500, Monster 5100 and the recently Tice Powerblock III B. I want a quality unit but dont want to spend a bunch of
money. Should I look at other units?

Your thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Chris
ctyler
Between the three the Tice would be my choice. I would skip the Monster and Panamax. You've heard of them probably because they advertise the most. Also look at conditioners made by Chang Lightspeed, Vansevers and Audio Power. My personal favorite is Vansevers. Really all comes down to your needs and the configuration of your system. You also need to consider the video, so good digital performance is important. The Tice A/V, Chang 6400 or Vansevers 85 or one of the Audio Power with mutiple digital plugs. The Vansevers 85 even has separate filtered digital plugs to separate the TV from the other digital stuff.
While the Sunfire amps are very efficient overall, they still need an unrestricted view of the outlet to work best. The DBX is not nearly as efficient and will always want to pull measurably more juice for the same volume level.

Since anything that limits current for an amp is a BAD thing, you would really need some way to filter but not constrict current flow to each of the three amps ( if i understood your description right ). The only way to do this would be to have a PLC that could EASILY pass 45 amps continuously.

In order for the standard Sunfire to meet spec all the way down to 2 ohms, it needs 20 amps by itself. Then again, i sincerely doubt that you would be able to make use of 2400 watts rms on a sustained basis and retain your hearing. That is, unless you had very low efficiency speakers and a large room. The fact that you have TWO Sunfire's driving the mains would REALLY make the electric meter spin if trying to "raise the roof" at low impedances.

If you have all of these amps plugged into the same circuit, a high current PLC is not that big of a deal though. The amps are already getting choked if you have inefficient speakers and tend to stand on the throttle. Then again, adding even more restriction into something that is already "bottlenecked" may be the straw that breaks the camels back. Sean
>

If you feel you need a condtioner for the amps and you feel Sean is correct for your system, Mike Vansevers makes a conditioner for power amps that does not limit power and may free power called appropriately "The Unlimiter". The stock unit at dealers is usually 15 amps, however Mike does make a 20 amp version by special order.
More info....

I see that there is a 10 amp fuse on the input to the Sunfire. This means the max possible useage would be 1200 watts. My speakers are 4 ohms and not very efficiant, 88db. I ran everything by a Sunfire Tech and he figured about 800 watts max on the input for each amp in my setup.

I did run a seperate 20 amp breaker for my stereo equipment.
The Big screen is on another standard wall outlet/circuit.

I do have one more question. There are PLC's that can correct the PF. As far as the sound is concerned does this make any difference? Perhaps this is only applicable to the regenerators.

Its' been a LONG time since I was in school. All I remember about the PF is that a lower the PF means power is wasted. I know it has to do with current lagging voltage etc.. and that with a PF of .8 it takes 2000w to the job instead of 1800w with a PF of 1. Don't get your calculators out...these numbers were just thown out there.

Thank you for your input.
Chris