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Power conditioners Snake oil?

Carbsandcaps

Carbsandcaps

Super Member
Does anyone swear by these? I needed a power strip with a lot of outlets and saw this cheap at goodwill. Needed to replace some capacitors to get an inop voltage display working again. There’s a lot of “stuff” going on in there! Wether all that stuff is doing anything is another story. I haven’t really noticed any difference in sound quality but all my gear is tube so there’s always some noise.

Anyone notice a difference using these?IMG_1954.jpeg
 
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I may have heard a difference on phono, tuners and CD players but not so much with amps. Cleaning up noise isnt a bad thing but I mainly use them now for protection and additional plug ins. Luckily my current home seems to have clean power unlike my previous home which was a 6 plex condo, in that place it definitely made a diff where I had no idea what gadgets my neighbors were using. It cleaned up some phono hum when I was in that condo, in my new place it cleaned up reception on a couple of stations on a tuner I was testing out.
 
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Carbsandcaps said:
Does anyone swear by these? I needed a power strip with a lot of outlets and saw this cheap at goodwill. Needed to replace some capacitors to get an inop voltage display working again. There’s a lot of “stuff” going on in there! Wether all that stuff is doing anything is another story. I haven’t really noticed any difference in sound quality but all my gear is tube so there’s always some noise.

Anyone notice a difference using these?View attachment 3153940
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What is the make and model of that unit?

Thanks!
 
Just this morning got a new Panamax M8-AV to replace an older Monster AV Power Conditioner that was a Thrift find. I've been using Power Conditioners for the past decade plus here in Florida. The power here is noisy, likely due to the annual storms, and the Conditioners make a noticeable improvement in the sq.

Mark Gosdin
 
A long time ago I bought an Audioprism power conditioner. As petes’pick said, when I was in a condo it was an immediate improvement.

In my townhome where I have dedicated mains for the stereo it isn’t as necessary.

You‘ll just have to try it to hear if it’s makes a difference in your system.

Good luck!
 
One of the most unexpected and pleasant audio surprises that I have had in the last few years was adding a pair of power conditioners to my system late last summer. I mainly bought them for practical reasons of being able to split my 2-channel and 9.2 channel systems in 4 banks (2x2).

I wasn't even thinking about sound when I did it so there was no expectation of change and no wishful thinking.

So I was completely surprised to hear a substantial improvement in clarity, especially in the highs and mids. Pavilens P20 EU. Not all that expensive either. And I do like being able to monitor the volts, amps and KVA used.

In my opinion well worth doing.

IMG_20230819_185939_854.jpgIMG_20230819_185948_513.jpg

Cheers,
James
 
Mr Boochie said:
What is the make and model of that unit?

Thanks!
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qdrone said:
That's not a Power Conditioner. That's a power strip.
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It’s a Monster Power HTS 2000. It bills itself as a AC line conditioner.

Like all things, the devil is in the details. How well is it made? What was it intended to do? Does your line power have sufficient noise that it outstrips the internal power supply’s ability to filter?

I use my Furman as a surge protector and power cable distribution center. I have clean power, so I hear no difference is SQ. In another setting with noisy power I used an isolation transformer which improved things. I’ve also had devices blown up by lightning strikes, so my main use is avoiding that calamity.
 
Semanon said:
It’s a Monster Power HTS 2000. It bills itself as a AC line conditioner.

Like all things, the devil is in the details. How well is it made? What was it intended to do? Does your line power have sufficient noise that it outstrips the internal power supply’s ability to filter?

I use my Furman as a surge protector and power cable distribution center. I have clean power, so I hear no difference is SQ. In another setting with noisy power I used an isolation transformer which improved things. I’ve also had devices blown up by lightning strikes, so my main use is avoiding that calamity.
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I like Furman products. I have their PST-8 outlet on all my TVs.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PST8--furman-pst-8-power-station
 
It’s definitely well made. It was full of dust and had undersized and blown capacitors which makes the display just flash and is a known problem of these. I wish I took a picture when it was apart it’s definitely well built for what it’s worth.
 
Mostly snake oil IMO, if you aren't living in a third world country the power should be just fine without one.

That being said, I do run a few around the house (2 x Powervar 12, 1 x Powervar 6), but they were free; I wouldn't actually pay money for one of these beasts. The 12 has to weigh about 50 pounds lol, used to run with an echocardiogram machine.

IMG_1444.jpg
 
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I use a furman ref20i. 20amps, 87lbs and it makes a difference in the 120 leg it's plugged into by lowering emi. I had a monster 3500 "conditioner" and it actually increased emi distortion.
Like most things in life you get what you pay for. I would not expect a thrift store monster power strip to make an audible difference or offer any meaningful surge protection.
 
I live in an apartment building and don't have the benefit of dedicated 20a circuits to my audio system. Hence the line to my wpo's is likely shared with my oven, fridge, washer/dryer etc. So I invested in a Gigawatt PC-3 SE Evo power conditioner which has 6 outlets, incl: dedicated branches for high current, digital and analogue. It also has robust surge protection and an accurate volt meter which is handy (see pic attached). In terms of improvements, I hear a blacker background, improved dynamics, more holographic imaging, better bass and a cleaner midrange. Basically more refined and real.

If you're looking for a good value conditioning power strip which will give you an upgrade in sound, I'd recommend checking out Puritan Audio Labs. If you need 12 wpo's, you could pick up 2 x Puritan PS106-DC power strips for about $2kUS, or a PSM1512 Studio Master conditioner for circa $3.5kUS. Re: the latter, you can also buy optional freestanding mounting which allows the conditioner to be installed vertically if space behind your racks is an issue (see example below with the 6-ganger PSM156 model). Hope that helps.

1711042323560.jpeg
 

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In my opinion, it's Snake oil! What I use on all my audio, video and PCs are APC back-ups. It's more important to maintain voltage and protect against sudden power surges which can fry your audio gear that the back-ups do, especially if you get dirty electricity from your local utility company!

 
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