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Power Conditioning done by IC's & Speaker Cables

Can proper power conditioning be addressed in the middle and at the end of the chain by some of these new technology ic's and speaker cables?

I have about $5k retail tied up in 3 excellent in-line power conditioners from Foundation Research and the rest of the $5k tied up in interconnects and speaker cables.

I've been quite pleased with my power conditioners and cabling. But I'm also all for simplicity. If I could have superior cables and no need for line conditioners, I'd do in a heart beat.

To rephrase the question: Can some of these new ic's and speaker cables act as passive line conditioners and do as good or better job than active or passive power conditioners that you plug you components into?

I did have one manufacturer tell me that his cables would do exactly that.

For several reasons I don't buy it, but I'm all ears if anybody has had first hand knowledge or experience at this.

I would think that even if his cables did exactly that, one would still benefit from leaving the power conditioners in place.
stehno
stehno OP
1,453 posts
 
Audioengr, so are you an advocate of single crystal wiring such as Harmonic Technology's, Acoustic Zen, Audience, etc.?

I ask because I have Harmonic Tech cabling (single crystal) in my system and when I removed my amplifier's in-line power conditioner and connected the 10 gauge 99.95% OFC romex to a cryo dipped Hubbell 20 amp IEC and plugged that into my amp, the most immediately noticable difference was the increase in sibilance.

I'd be interested to get your opinions on the results of my experiment?
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Stehno -
I do believe that more organized, relaxed crystal structure can reduce sibilance. I actually just started offering a cable I call the "Perfect Crystal" (marketing talk), which eliminates most of the smll sibilance that my "standard" cables had. However, I'm sure that you can damage even single-crystal wire by working it or temp-shocking it. Single-crystal wire must be handled carefully after it is fabricated or you will wreck it. For instance, if you were to twist several small gauges of single-crystal into a stranded wire, working the metal like this would cause it to be no longer single-crystal. It would definitely break it up into smaller crystals, with the resulting sibilance.

It's hard to believe that crystal structure in a power cord would make much difference, particularly given that there is usually far more ROMEX in the wall that has relatively crappy crystal structure, but you evidently have the empirical evidence on this. I wonder how much of the sibilance reduction was actually due to the improved grounding or ground-filtering provided by the conditioner as opposed to the current-carrying wires? If the sibilance is due to ground-loop noise, then this could explain it. The power Hot and neutral wires do not really explain it, IMO. Another experiment, where you unground the amps at the wall outlets or at the conditioner using cheater plugs would tell you if it is a ground-loop causing the sibilance.
stehno OP
1,453 posts
 
Audioengr, thanks for the reply. I've been floating the ground on all three dedicated lines since I've installed them over a year ago. And I've been using some custom 10ga 99.95% OFC romex for whatever that's worth. If you'd care to address this, I'd appreciate it.

I would interested in obtaining more info on your perfect crystal products.
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
The Bybee filters work at all frequencies. I am glad I had them installed in my Swans. In fact, I plan to use them on the Bose 901's I have reserved for HT.
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