Help on power conditioner upgrade

If you really want something special, which will upgrade your system, there's the Burmester 958, which will take your entire system, including two big monoblocks. I love what it does, and if it has any downside whatsoever, I can't hear it. But boy, is it pricey!

Tice Power Block IIIC- George Tice's statement product (transformerless) that has a separate 'high-power' section providing up to 2400w (only if you order the HP version- 1800 otherwise). Has 5 sparate circuits completely isolated from each other, and it even uses 2 power cords! Very cool piece, I have been using it and very happy- even plug my monster Theta Dreadnaught amp into the high-power section with no sonic degaradation or dynamic limitations- only benefits, including quieter noise floor and increased sense of 'presence'.

I have a Q5 Equi=tech with the 230 30A input power and it has no problem with a tube amp. I have compared with the other 15A circuits in the room, and it is better on the Equi=tech than out of the wall... The Burmester 958 is also a nice unit, but costly. Either of the two I would suggest -- have not tried the Hydra.. Had the PS600 and 1200 for demo and sent them back.

Your mileage may vary..

Hi Kira,

Sounds like you've gotten some pretty good advice so far, but I thought I'd chime in with my $.02, since I have had a slightly different experience than some of the above posters. I currently own the Hydra, the P300, just purchased the EP2000, once had a P600, and have demoed the Equitech (older version). I would offer you the typical audiophile caveat - none of these power conidtioners is the universal fix-all, working the best with all components (which is why demoing is so strongly recommended).

Honestly, the least effective product in my system was the Equi-tech. It reduced background noise somewhat, but muted dynamics with both amplifiers and my Thor TA-2000. It was somewhat better than an old Monster PC I use for my home theater system, but that's about all I can say for it.

The Hydra is an excellent piece of gear, which I currently use on my Air Tight ATM-2's. However, I found the Hydra to fall short of the P300 with digital gear, and particlarly with turntable power supplies.

The Power Plants are very component dependent - back when I had CJ 8XS's, the P600 sucked the life right out of them - which is what motivated me to buy the Hydra. On the ATM-2's, both the P300 and Hydra both offer an improvement over straight into the wall, although I slightly prefer the Hydra's presentation - a little warmer tonally, more relaxed presentation, better dynamics in the ff-ffff range. On an intellectual level, I hate the Hydra (I was once a EE), because I'm not comfortable with the technological explanations offered as to why it works, but I can't deny the improvement in sound it offers.

However, I am really jazzed about the new EP2000 I just picked up to try with my system - it offers many of the benefits of the P300 (maybe not quite the same reduction in noise floor), without the limited dynamics on amplifiers. Right now I am having a shoot out between the Hydra and the EP2000 for my amps/preamp, but haven't come to a definitive conclusion yet. I am looking at picking up some used Shunyata KC power cords (currently using all Electraglide Fat people), and trying that with the EP2000 to see if I can get the benefits of both (the Shunyata power cords supposedly work on the same priciple as the Hydra - use of FeSi).

In sum, if you want one conditioner for all of your components, my recommendation is to go with the Hydra or the EP2000 - or if you want some of the benefits of both, try the EP2000 with some Shunyata power cords, and let me know how it works out.

I have owned both the Hydra and the P300. The Sound Application CF-X with a FIM gold power cord blows either away in all respects. I know it's not on your list, but it should be.