Power conditioners? Waste of $ in USA?

[mattburk]

I was looking at getting a power conditioner, untill I read in a hi fi magazine, that they were a waste of money for those in the USA. I live in Renton WA, we have good power here. Would a Power conditioner be a waste of money? If not how does the rotel RLC-900 stack up to the competition?

[efarstad]

Hey There! I grew up in Renton...but now live south of you in Puyallup!

I have a Mon$ter Power HTS-5000 and like it's many features...I use the delay turn on for my amps, and like the 12 bank of outlets dedicated for each source (digital, analogue, etc). Does it make a difference? I honestly have not done a before and after...but I am more concerned with protecting the gear from surges, etc.

Though I'm a huge Rotel fan...I'd go with some of the other offerings from Panamax, Mon$ter, etc....before the Rotel but that's just me.

Where in Renton are you? I grew up in Newport Hills (Newport Woods to be exact) and would have gone to Hazen Highschool had I not moved.

Hope you find what you need!

E





The Norwegian A/V Nut!
E-Cinema

[Lex]

Hey guys. As much as I like Monster, (cough), I have to stop here and mention that there are some distinct differences in power distribution centers/surge protectors, and true power conditioners like PS Audio. The former may give you a meter reading when there's a current spike, but it may do little to effectively fix the problem. PS Audio, won't accept 8 plugs usually, more like 4, because it has real conditioning power, or stated alternately, real power conditioning!

PS Audio has one of the best reputations, I think but there are other true power conditioners...
Lex




Cable Guy DVD Collection

[mattburk]

Cool, fellow washintonian. I am in the Benson Hill area, kinda by Valley Medical, just west of fairwood. How do you like Puyallup? You use the delay to turn on your amps? Isnt it ok to leave amps on 24/7?

[mattburk]

Yes, I am sure it is the best at 1,695 its more than I paid for my processor. I would like to stay under $300. Any clue on a good one in that price range that will give me at least 4 outlets, and are they that necessary, if you have good power? I have a surge protector already.

[Digital Bob]

Hi Matt,

It's probably just my hang up, but I always hated the words 'power conditioner'. I find it just too vague for my tastes. Instead, I tend to break these kinds of products down into two broad categories... products that have some filtration and products that stablize and smooth voltage.

In the reasonable price range stuff (i think you mentioned under $400) you are really looking at the first kind of "conditioner". I don't know of any products in this price range that will truly stabilized voltage, however some fair noise filtration can be found. I would look for products that not only filter from external line noise, but also offer filtration between the individual components (or at least, banks of components) that will be plugged into it. There are several companies that offer good products that do this.

If your budget does expand a bit, then you can start to consider products that offer real voltage stabilization. This is typically done with a large variable transformer that responds to voltage fluctuations by trading current for steady output voltage. These products do work, but are typically in the $1500 plus range.


Finally, my experience has taught me to be wary of lower priced (hundreds vs $1500+) products with volt meters on them that claim to smooth voltage. Even if they offer some form of voltage clamping, it does little for your performance. (Read as dubious claims). That being said, the noise filtering aspect these lower priced products offer can be beneficial.

I hope this helps and good listening,




dB