Condition this baby

What wattage is the Tripplite surge suppressor / power line conditioner rated for ? It is possible that you are drawing too much power through it, which causes audible distortion. I would check this aspect of the situation first before jumping into anything else. You might also want to try plugging your amp in directly to the wall socket and see if that does anything for you. Sean
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I do not believe that insufficient line power will cause your amp to clip. Beyond that, I defer to the EEs among us.

As regular readers know, I'm fairly skeptical about add-ons and tweaks. One I do agree with, however, is the importance of clean and adequate power. You can pay a lot for power conditioning but I've found the Monster 5000 to work just fine for me. Your own ears will be your best guide.

I'm not of the school that thinks you need to rewire all the way back to the generating station but I do believe that a dedicated circuit for your amps is a sound idea, preferably one not shared with digital devices.

Good luck!

will

Will, since your amplifiers output is based on the rail voltages present, reducing available power to the amp will reduce its' potential for output. As such, LARGE voltage sags can become audibly noticeable if standing on the throttle due to reduced output and add to the potential for clipping. Sean
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I messed around with conditioners but finally got what I needed by running 2 separate circuits(I'm about to run a third) for my stereo only. The ground for these circuits is connected to a separate ground rod instead of connected to the breaker box with all the other grounds and neutrals. I have much better sound than any conditioner i've had in the past. And lets face it ,if lightning hits big time on my house electric, Unpluging is probably the only thing that will save your equipment.

Dave

Sean, are you sure about that? How much voltage sag are you talking about? I know that power in many parts of the States is hit or miss in terms of keeping it to a decent spec, but how bad can it be that the power output of the amp can be throttled? I guess if one believes that nicely polished wire can produce audible benefits on the music coming out of one's system, the sagging voltage would be many degrees of magnitude greater in its negative audible effects. I still think that a dedicated circuit is a good idea if it helps to reduce the nasty influence of refrigerators , air conditioners and the like turning off and on. BTW, why is added filtration, conditionning etc of the ac required in the case of power amps with the large transformers and caps used? Oversizing components for sonic benefits seems to be a big part of the high-end. Did you notice that gigantism in audio components started as an American phenomenon, and has spread from there. Does anything in audio ever get to the point of insane overcapacity? The continuum is big, bigger, biggest, best. Once in a while a curve or sinker is thrown in for good measure, such as the odd skinny wire. BTW Bryston is of the opinion that their power amps do not benefit from the extra filtration etc.: just plug it in the wall socket and enjoy.