Power Conditioner and Surge Protector

I always LOVE discussions about power. It's so nebulous, but hey, when people hear what they hear, it doesn't really matter why.

One thing that gets me is the idea of spending thousands on a power cable from outlet to component, but hey, what's in the wall? What kind of Romex is in there? Is it oxygen-free copper? What color is the jacket?

I love how my local high end dealer sells power cords to people in 100 year old houses, some of which still use knob and tube for power. Wait, tube did you say? THAT is an idea. I'll market knob and tube power downgrades, since we all know that the old tube sound is the best sound...

I picked up a Shunyata power cord and adapted it for my washing machine and now my clothes get SO MUCH CLEANER!

All that said, I use power conditioning on my gear. And All my projects call for dedicated/isolated for system feeds. I think that's the best place to start. Going further IMO involves iso transformers, and I *love* the solar idea. Why not regenerate utility power with flywheels? Decouple from the grid entirely. Use ceramic flywheels for complete isolation, but make sure it's oxygen-free ceramic...

Most people have homes whereby only on set (two) outlets are on a particular wall where their audio equipment sits. Therefore, you need a power strip of some sort of power house/conditioner just so you can plug everything into it. I typically will recommend that several dedicated outlets are run directly to the house circuit breaker panel. To help to eliminate ground loops, I recommend three sets of outlets at a minimum. 1) use a power conditioner/power house to plug all low level components, into the same device and then to the same outlet on the wall directly to the house panel. This means pre-amp, turn table, cd player/transport/DAC, tuner, etc. plugged into this device. 2) power amp plugged into the other outlet. if you have two mono amps, this is where you need the third outlet. my ground floor dropped considerably and music is so much better this way. it doesn't cost much to have an electrician run dedicate power outlets to a room. My house has a raised foundation, so it is relatively easy for me to do this myself. But if you find yourself in a situation where there is only one set of outlets on the wall, what do you do? The circuit breaker, wall wiring, etc. can only handle so much current. So dedicated outlets run directly to the house panel is the way to go. The cost is really low to do this, and all low level electronic devices plugged into the same conditioner/power house device to a dedicated outlet to the panel and the amps have their own outlets to the panel.

enjoy

I used to own a Panamax 5300, and don't recommend it for audio. I also do think that budgeting for power protection as part of an audio system is a very good idea.

The fastest way to become a believer in power protection, conditioners, and UPS gear is to have something important get fried, or to lose important work when a brownout triggers your surgebox to do a quick shutdown. In the IT world (where I earn the pay that finances my audio habit) better Surge Boxes mean CPUs and Motherboards living longer; Power Conditioners mean HDs, SSDs, and Monitors living longer; and a stable UPS means not losing work when surges/spikes/brownouts happen. The quickest way to fry a power supply or CPU is usually via the phone line. Having a UPS that can clamp your phone line in pico seconds is more often than not money well spent. When T-Storms approach, I err towards the conservative side, and unplug the wall sockets and disconnect the DSL.

At the same time, audio is very different. Devices that will protect your IT gear will also tend to adversely affect your sound.

I know this b/c when I first got into audio I connected everything to a Panamax M5300 that was advertised for audio but designed for IT. It protected the gear fine, but also absolutely killed the soundstage. Panamax makes solid gear for protecting computers and non-audio electrical devices. Their products are not so great for HiFi.

For myself, I’m content to compromise sound quality slightly to extend the lifespan of my gear. Initially, I also couldn’t justify spending big bucks on power protection for what was at the time mid-fi audio gear. As the gear improved so did the conditioners/surge protection.

Presently, for my mid-fi media system I’m using a PS Audio Duette for the Pre/Amp; and a TrippLite LC2400 plugged into an APC surgebox for the flat panel and BluRay. For the HiFi I have 2 Transparent PIMMs for the Pre and Amp respectively, with a 3rd PIMM for the sources. (I found the PIMMs on A’gon on closeout) Prior to the PIMMS I was using a Shunyata Hyrda-4, which I sold. In hindsight, I would have kept the Hydra and sold the Duette. The PIMMs provide a substantial sound improvement, and at 65% off could be rationalized as a “viable purchase.” :-)

YMMV, but it’s pretty miserable when you have to decommission a CPU due to a power hit. I couldn’t imagine losing my Akurate 2200 2010 that way, and so have it connected to surge protection.