Line Conditioners

I own a Monster 2500 and a Richard Gray S400. I've had the Monster 2500 for a couple of years and still very happy with it. Basically the 2500 is the same as the 2000 built in a nice box with a switch and LED's. The sound impovement was more subtle with a quieter backround overall in my systems presentation. The Richard Gray unit was a night and day improvement. It did it all giving my system a much better bottom end, smoother highs and bigger sound stage. Buy far and away the best tweak of me all time.

Flyfisherman, what's your rig? I am going heavily into the subject of line conditioning these days. I am determined to learn all I can but have not found much feedback on the Richard Gray units.

I live in an apartment building with 200+ units each outfitted with washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, dimmer switch in the living room, plus all the 'de rigeur' TV's, stereos and computers. Also, there's lots of fluorescent lights in the hallways with noisy ballasts! It's a very nasty situation and my Tice A/V Solo has a hard time during heavy use periods. There's also a 50,000 Watt transmitter less than 5 miles away! It's simply too much pollution and voltage fluctuations...

I am also looking at the DeZorel line conditioners from Yugoslavia. They seem to be *really* good. The European guys in TNT-Audio Forums have gone nuts for them. They are finally available in the US.

Someone agreed to send me some Vans Evers Reference 12's (analog and digital) for trial in my apartment. I'd love to have a Richard Gray unit to compare...

Psychic- I ALSO use the Tice Solo A/V, but only plug my TV into it- I then plug the Solo into a Tice Powerblock IIIC Signature (as well as all other gear). I agree- the Solo on its own may be limited, but in the chain with the other one, it's a different story...

My A/V Solo is going to end up front with the video gear (DVD, VCR, Proton 600T Preamp/Video Tuner, 27" Sony WEGA). I definitely plan to plug it into something to take care of primary filtration. Whether it turns out to be a Richard Gray, a balanced power transformer, a voltage regulator, De Zorel, etc. is for me to find out...I'll take my time to figure out what will work best.

It seems the Tice doesn't like to see heavy loads...

I will try the Power Var isolation transformer in conjunction with the Vans Evers Reference 12's. If they work signifiantly better than the Tice I will purchase a second Power Var (one for digital, one for analog). I would then upgrade the built-in filtration units, perhaps with those published by Jon Risch in his website. That would free the Solo for up front video & amplification work and to move my Proton amp close to the speakers. I currently have 28 ft runs of CAT5 and silver plated copper, not exactly a desirable situation, but cheap through The Home Depot. Filtration for the power amp would be the following upgrade.

Just one day at a time...

Psychicanimal:

My 2-channel system consists of:

Cal Audio Alpha/Delta DAC Transport
Jeff Rowland Coherence One
Parasound 2200
Thiel 22's
Rel Stadium III
Richard Gray S400
Straightwire Maestro II Interconnects
Straingtwire Maestro II Speaker Cables

My power is probably a bit cleaner than yours. I live in a somewhat rural area and have dedicated 20 amp circuits for my amp, sub, and sources.