Power Conditioners Level 2 upgrading to Level 4

[Colin47]

I currently have a Monster Level 2 power conditioner. The improvement in both sound and picture quality were worth the money. I'm thinking that if level 2 conditioning helped, level 4 would also be worth the money. Is this wishful thinking?

[hidefdvd]

I currently have a Monster Level 2 power conditioner. The improvement in both sound and picture quality were worth the money. I'm thinking that if level 2 conditioning helped, level 4 would also be worth the money. Is this wishful thinking?

Make sure where you buy has a good return policy and pick one up and see what happens.

[Victor]

I currently have a Monster Level 2 power conditioner. The improvement in both sound and picture quality were worth the money. I'm thinking that if level 2 conditioning helped, level 4 would also be worth the money. Is this wishful thinking?

Absolutely! Power conditioning units have dubious utility, because the use of power conditioning presumes that your local power company somehow delivers ‘dirty’ power to you. It is simply not so. Also, a power supply in your hi-fi gear will reject the noise your are so concerned with anyway.
…regards
Victor

[Kevin Haskins]

No really.... most AC line noise is created inside the house. Things like computers, refrig, florescent lights etc....

Power conditioning is a rather vague term also. Most commericial units break down into three catagories.

#1. Simple RFI filters & surge supressors (VOMs). They filter RFI which is a significanltly higher frequency than the AC 120HZ power signal. They work just like a speaker crossover using inductor/capacitor networks to present high impedance to the RFI but low impedance to the 120HZ waveform. These types of devices are in the lowest cost type of filter units on the market. Simple IEC based ones can be installed that cost as little as $20 each but typically range in cost from $20-$300 range depending on the amount of pixie dust used.

#2. Balanced Power Transformers: These cost a little more but provide different features. I'm not going to get in to the nitty gritty but the balanced power transformers split your incoming 120V line signal into a -60V & +60V rail. There is still a 120V difference so it provides just as much total voltage potential but doing this provides additional noise rejection. These cost much more because the transformers needed are large/heavy and use LOTS of copper.

See here for more information: http://www.equitech.com/faq/faq.html

#3. Power reconditioners AC waveform regeneration: These are expensive devices that take the AC waveform and convert it to DC and then back again to AC to get the cleanest possible AC waveform. They are expensive & power hungry because there is a lot of waste in the process. I don't recommend them because of the inefficiency and waste and it's ecological impact. Good balanced power systems are just as good in my opinion. This method is not only the most expensive initially but the devices consume so much energy that they end up being several times more expensive than balanced power units over the long haul.

[Adz]

Kevin
I believe the Equi-tech product line works similarly to the Monster Power conditioners such as the popular HTPS line -- Are there differences?

[Kevin Haskins]

I don't know.... the Equitech shows what is used inside. I've never had one of the Monster units apart so I don't know the details. Furman makes a reasonably priced unit also.... they use custom Plitron transformers. Furman has a great engineering staff in the pro-audio market. If I was going to buy a balanced power unit I'd probably go with the Furman unit simply due to their engineering experience and reputation in that specific market. Monster has the resources to design good products but their marketing department is probably many times larger than the engineering dept. ;-)

Parts Express sells the Furman unit for around $1200 or so.