Opinions on Power Regenerators and Tube Amps


I have a Mesa Baron tube amp plugged into a dedicated 20A circuit. Turntable, CD player, Preamp, and periferal stuff plugged into a dedicated 15A circuit. At a very high listening level, there is a small buzz in the speakers. I only notice it when there is no music playing and I get close to the speaker. I would like to know your experiences in using a power regenerator with a tube amplifier, and whether this is even a good idea. I guess the expanded question is, in your experience, where in your system are you using regenerated power, and is there really a sonic improvement.
240zracer
Think about what you are trying to achieve, which is great sound at your listening position. If you can't hear it at all from your seat, and it otherwise sounds as you wish, leave it alone.

If you stick your head in the corner of the room you will hear boomy bass but nobody considers that to be a problem since it sounds fine at the sweet spot. Why does a slight amount of noise that can only be heard near the speakers bother people so much?

There are ways to make a system completely quiet but at the expense of performance. A system that doesn't have any noise at all when you are close to the speakers is probably pretty lifeless anyway.

IMHO you are chasing ghosts.
I'm good. The little hum (only with preamp set to phono and the volume cranked) is a not a problem. I will not be buying a big power regenerator in order to service my amp. That was the reason I asked my initial question. I will most likely find a way to try out a PS 300. Can't justify the price of a big one for just front end. Looked at your systems.....very impressive, especially those horns and that phono preamp. Wish I could hear a bunch of the systems I see on here. Thanks for your help......
So the buzz was a hum? That is what I had assumed. Sounds like it's due to high gain needed for phono. I would like to know if the regenerator reduces it. Otherwise, lower gain amps and/or lower sensitivity tweeters can reduce the noise to the point of making it inaudible. That is the trick since you will always have a noise floor to deal with.

Arthur
My experience has been to try a Audiophile APS with two Richard Gray power companys plugged into one each of the outlets on the rear of the Audiophile APS with components plugged into the Richard Gray power companys and this has made a tremendous impact on the noise floor and the musicality of the overall presentation.First, suggested by a friend and I haven't looked back since.

Chuckie
Arthur.....I just reread all of this. I wouldn't mind keeping this discussion going. What Nsgarch said at the beginning is probably what I now have. A low level hum/buzz with the volume cranked, and the preamp set to phono. I hear it in the mid and the woofer more so than in the tweeter. It's not much, but it is much if I plug in the active shielding on a Synergistic Looking Glass interconnect that runs from phono stage (Musical Fidelity LP3) to Levinson preamp. I wish I had known that active shields don't work in the analog area, since I purchased that IC recently. If things remain the same, I will eventually change those ICs. Always wanted Music Groove anyway :) And then back to regen power. I would invest in say, a P-300, if it did nothing more than improve the performance of my Wadia and my preamp 1 percent. If I could hear even a small improvement in vocals, or timbre, or soundstage, I would consider that a bargain. I would love to know if any or all of you use regulated power for your analog equipment.....turntable and phono stage. I have thought about the VPI SDS power supply also. I try to make good decisions mostly based on the input I get from right here on Agon. I don't have a local 2-channel high end store anywhere near, so I rarely try things out. Whoever in here said that your performance is only as good as the weakest link in your system, I think was right on. I recently took one of the mouse traps off my floor (I fine tune crossovers outside the box using some cheap hookup wire to run into the box), and installed it in my bass cabinet. Soldered it point to point with Kimber wire and Cardas copper binding posts. The improvement in bass response is quite something....deeper, tighter, and with snap....it's there and it's gone....quick. Probably an extreme example, but it was a lesson for me. No more testing with cheap hook up wire and what else in my system is weak. And so I talk too much?