HiFi Real Talk - Why I don't use power conditioners... BUT something else

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  • čas pƙidĂĄn 16. 12. 2020
  • Many HiFi audio power conditioners out there like PS audio, Torus, furman, Audioquest Niagara and so on... but
    Do power conditoners improve sound quality?
    most affordable power conditioner that actually works is not what you think. It may be something that has nothing to do with HiFi or the audiophile world.
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Komentáƙe • 667

  • @Jayiyagi
    @Jayiyagi  Pƙed 3 lety +12

    for more info on our Reviewer info, patreon, and personal interest in our reviews: nbtsmedia.com/about-us/
    Also check out a video about...
    Hi-Fi Real Talk ! đŸš« STOP "upgrading" the wrong way. Less is MORE
    czcams.com/video/zJd2M17Hs14/video.html
    Vintage HiFi speaker drivers like THIS was the BEST for a reason
    czcams.com/video/-ruOoVMv2Wc/video.html
    Spotify for Hi-Fi Absolutely Sucks? đŸ€”
    czcams.com/video/Wj4SXqsDgM8/video.html
    Why you shouldn't buy Chinese Hi-Fi products
    czcams.com/video/rvQkJYKYw0o/video.html
    Is HiFi For Rich People because I can't afford anything: czcams.com/video/E2pjBAq-VgQ/video.html
    Hi-Fi Real Talk ! Maximize/evaluate your Speaker's performance in a small room
    czcams.com/video/i1LMzgRWfaI/video.html

    • @stianrekdal837
      @stianrekdal837 Pƙed 3 lety

      Hi...
      Have you people tryed the Isotek Sigmas?

    • @jfletcher1029
      @jfletcher1029 Pƙed 3 lety

      There’s only one company you need to try: Shunyata. Have you and if so, how do you rate them?

    • @sbkarajan
      @sbkarajan Pƙed 2 lety +1

      Power Conditioner = Snake Oil
      Your Amplifier's power supply convert any AC signal into FLAT "DC" power, then amplifies the music from this DC power.
      Your Amplifier does NOT use power in AC form.
      That's the basics of Audio Amplification.
      So any imperfection gets taken care of in this simple AC to DC conversion step.
      Every electronic devices use FLAT DC voltage.
      So you absolutely don't need clean AC signal, period. Seriously.
      Companies who make these kind of things should be sued for fraud.
      Utter waste of money, just like $60,000 speaker cables or $1,000 HDMI cables.
      The niagara 7000 situation you saw & could not reproduce elsewhere was probably due to unacceptably crappy wall power.
      In such case, get electrician and fix the electric supply lines in the whole house.
      Absolutely no reason to get power conditioner, period.

    • @AnthorOne
      @AnthorOne Pƙed 2 lety

      Just a question, were those other tests of power conditioners also made in the same store, with potentialy tens of plugged in devices? Did you try this Niagara gear in your home and did it made as big of a diference there?

    • @davidstein9129
      @davidstein9129 Pƙed rokem

      @@sbkarajan Thank You for your candor.
      I have a new Parasound Halo amplifier, a new Rotel preamp/ processor & Totem Tibe Mini Tower Speaker.
      Do you think getting a dedicated line will make an appreciable difference in my overall sound of my system?

  • @NateEll
    @NateEll Pƙed 3 lety +56

    Years ago I had an electrician run home run to the breaker box with 10awg wire. Spent under $200, best money I’ve spent in a long time on my system.

    • @NateEll
      @NateEll Pƙed 3 lety +4

      @@Scottlp2 no- a straight run from the breaker box to the hifi gear

    • @keithmoriyama5421
      @keithmoriyama5421 Pƙed 3 lety +6

      @@NateEll That's exactly what he said.

    • @levijessegonzalez3629
      @levijessegonzalez3629 Pƙed 3 lety

      I'm currently Wiring up my studio / playback room.
      I have 3 outlets in the studio room, I decided to "Homerun" each of these directly to the breaker box (on the same phase).
      2 questions.
      Is 10awg wire truly better than 12awg (20a) and is Romex ok?
      And is it best to hook only a *Single* Receptacle up to each line? Or will it make no difference to make each of the 3 outlets with Double Receptacles? This would help me plug into all my gear without having to mess with power strips etc.
      I'm using spec grade solid brass Receptacles btw. Any other suggestions?

    • @ctrlaltdebug
      @ctrlaltdebug Pƙed 3 lety

      Levi Jesse Gonzalez just go off ampacity rating and load. For maximum shielding, use Metal conduit and make sure it's properly grounded.

  • @hiresaudiocosta873
    @hiresaudiocosta873 Pƙed 3 lety +69

    I'm an electrician and an audiophile. A dedicated run for stereo should be at minimum 20 Amps, but even better is to run a 30 amp wire and make it a 20 Amp circuit by installing a 20 Amp Receptacle and 20 Amp breaker. The 30 Amp wire makes for less voltage drop, and more headroom and clarity.

    • @mesonto
      @mesonto Pƙed 3 lety +6

      Yep, I've got 2 of them powering my system, the exact same way. Did my research, paid the money.

    • @jay12345ist
      @jay12345ist Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Roughly how much does this cost

    • @mesonto
      @mesonto Pƙed 3 lety +4

      @@jay12345ist Jaylen, I never call for an electrician or a plumber unless I have a lot of work to do that I know I can't do myself. So in this case when I installed the two dedicated 20 amp lines with 20 amp circuits from take 5 audio and 20 amp switches, I had a few other things done as well. Including adding a main surge/brownout breaker on the main electrical panel.
      My situation is this, I used to 20 amp circuits one dedicated to my two monoblocks and one dedicated to all of my other components going through a Chang Lightspeed line conditioner. My 20 amp switches are before the receptacles and although I keep my monoblocks on all the time I turn off all my other equipment from the second switch to the Chang Lightspeed. This roughly cost me about $1,000 Canadian for everything.
      I now get piece of mind and my amps have no dynamics limit. Or at least that's my theory. Does everything sound better this way, yes it absolutely does but only buy a small bit.

    • @blkmacster
      @blkmacster Pƙed 3 lety +6

      Okay, for those of us who are not electrician's you mean 10ga wire and 20a CB's, right?
      Damn

    • @FOH3663
      @FOH3663 Pƙed 3 lety +4

      @@blkmacster
      Yes
      That's what he meant...
      10awg to the 20a breaker.
      That said, regardless whether its a 20a or even a 15a breaker, upsize the run back to the panel with 10awg.

  • @SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac
    @SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Pƙed 3 lety +158

    I agree, I haven't had any luck with power conditioner or isolation transformers.

    • @jeffwheaton1733
      @jeffwheaton1733 Pƙed 3 lety +8

      Unfortunately, finding the right conditioner is also finding the right power cables. I would have sold my AQ NIAGARA had I kept the Thunder power cord. Some love it, but the Hurricane worked. A friend needed the Firebird. Unfortunately, one must try many cords, and metal surfaces...gold vs silver rhodium vs copper.

    • @williampearson4968
      @williampearson4968 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Steve, do you have dedicated 15 or 20 amp circuits? or do you share vertical circuits in your apartment building with how many other apt. units? I find power regenerators (PS Audio P12 & P15 Power Plants) does help with sound and imaging making a definite difference in my 1948/1949 built apartment building with the old original wiring and sharing vertical circuits with 5 to 8 other apts. depending on the time of the day.

    • @BogdanWeiss
      @BogdanWeiss Pƙed 3 lety +4

      @@williampearson4968 there’s very little chance you are on “1948” wiring - the insulation would have broken down in the 70’s or 80’s - an oversized medical grade isolation transformer is your friend - a vast majority of “hifi” grade filters are BS or marginally effective at best & yes most are current limiting

    • @williampearson4968
      @williampearson4968 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      @@BogdanWeiss Wiring in my apartment and the other 8 units still has the original 1948 wiring as never replaced. Conduit is in cinder block walls.

    • @Xiaoguan8845
      @Xiaoguan8845 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      I bought the EMI-filter from local electrical shop and Make it to 20 amp. I only use power conditioner for other equipments. I make all cables by myself based on helix structure. Tried more than six versions on each individual cable Finally I feel pretty much satisfied

  • @davidkosa
    @davidkosa Pƙed 3 lety +84

    Had a little eczema on my scalp. A power conditioner cleaned it right up.

    • @ramsaybolton9099
      @ramsaybolton9099 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      And you think the election was rigged, and you sent trump money.

    • @bactareality
      @bactareality Pƙed 3 lety +2

      @@ramsaybolton9099 You'd think you useful idiots would get tired of being made to look like fools by the msm, can't fix stupid.

    • @ramsaybolton9099
      @ramsaybolton9099 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@bactareality Yes YOU can. You’re the only one who can fix stupid.... it starts with fixing YOU.

    • @wp7187
      @wp7187 Pƙed 2 lety +3

      @RamsayBolton @BactaReality Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

    • @analoghardwaretops3976
      @analoghardwaretops3976 Pƙed 2 lety

      Yeah tried head&shoulders HAIR CONDITIONER...that did not work either 😭😭😭

  • @marlonhouston6685
    @marlonhouston6685 Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Excellent thinking. Exactly about 20 yrs ago I had my house remodeled with a dedicated 25A line for my entertainment center. Not really thinking of power conditioning, just enough power to run the system without tripping the breaker, but after listening to you wow that was a great thought, because I was considering a power conditioner. Thx 2 heads are better than one ✌.

  • @peted7619
    @peted7619 Pƙed 3 lety +6

    Great handling of a sensitive topic. What you said all makes sense!
    Line level components can benefit from simple power conditioning as they only output a few volts max.
    Of course you notice the noise in the quiet passages so millivolts of audio is easily affected by low level noise.
    Power amps have high voltage rails and big capacitors which will filter out most noise as long as the line input is clean.
    Power amps are more sensitive to current not voltage. Dynamics will suffer if current is restricted.
    Surge protector are the big enemy, their very name suggest they restrict current surges.
    Another easy solution is just buy high efficiency speakers. Very low current demand!
    Also why they are more dynamic sounding!

  • @mantaproject
    @mantaproject Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Valid points Jay! I use a UPS from General Electric (VH Series) You can set the frequency and voltage and it generates this nice sine from batteries, I have used it on a JBL S7150 power amp and it was not limited in power.

  • @tallpaull9367
    @tallpaull9367 Pƙed rokem +1

    Good Jay, this is something I try to help with often. There is a bit more I could add to it.
    - Try to have power load on each leg of the panel as even possible
    - Dedicated line and circuit breaker for amplifier
    - Then have all your other electronics on a circuit that's breaker is connected to the same leg as the amplifier's breaker in panel
    - Then to take to the next level, make sure the Panel's grounding wire is Thermowelded to the grounding rods. Also, make sure the grounding rods are to code, proper distance apart, depth...etc.

  • @st.michael9708
    @st.michael9708 Pƙed 3 lety +3

    You are on the way to become my favour Reviewer, next to Thomas ;-)
    Keep up the Heart felt/honest Reviews !

  • @tietoliikenne
    @tietoliikenne Pƙed 3 lety +15

    You sound a lot more humble now, not that you were arrogant, but in terms of tone, it feels that way. :P enjoyed your videos so far! Thank you for doing this.

  • @ridirefain6606
    @ridirefain6606 Pƙed 3 lety +5

    As posted on your recent video on tweaks. I also have not had much luck with power conditioners. They have their place. However, I concur. The greatest improvement to my system has been dedicated 20 amp circuits where the electrician paid considerable attention to eliminating ground loop hum.. He owned VTL Wotan's and knew exactly what I needed for my Amps. I found that to be far more effective than either power conditioners or insanely priced, after market power cords.

  • @rowennaidoo3984
    @rowennaidoo3984 Pƙed 2 lety +24

    I had a power conditioner but it was primarily an ACTIVE surge protector. This was worth its weight in gold. My audio system always shutoff seconds before I heard thunder and before the whole house surge protection kicked in. Food for thought!

  • @afrojoe24
    @afrojoe24 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    Fantastic breakdown of a tough topic to tackle! đŸ’„đŸ’„

  • @grokspeed
    @grokspeed Pƙed 2 lety +1

    Thanks Jay. I do have a dedicated 20 amp circuit since last October. But I always had my PS Audio power conditioner to my amp. I removed it from my amp and used it for upstream components after watching this video. And my soundstage depth doubled! And I have been lowering my volume like 3 times in 3 hours. I guess the previously un-used dynamic headroom alone sufficiently explains that phenomenon. Probably cleaner power to the upstream helps too. Everything sounds so good and dynamic even when I am doing laundry LOL.
    To PS Audio credit, after all these years I only notice today that the 'zones' actually have one labelled 'Amplifier' (RTFM moment), presumably by-passing the choke. Anyway, no urge to trying that option any time soon. And seeing someone saying good thing about PS PC below, I should add that mine is the early gen entry level PC, not the fancy re-generator.

  • @kostamantonakis7275
    @kostamantonakis7275 Pƙed 3 lety +23

    One of the best things I’ve have done to my audio system was dedicated 20amp breaker with 10awg and on a Hubble hospital grade plug.
    Would recommend it to anyone getting into the hobby or anyone that has been an audiophile for years.
    Set a good base and build from there !

    • @levijessegonzalez3629
      @levijessegonzalez3629 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      I'm currently Wiring up my studio / playback room
      I have 3 outlets in the studio room, I decided to "Homerun" each of these directly to the breaker box (on the same phase).
      2 questions.
      Is 10awg wire truly better than 12awg (20a) and is Romex ok?
      And is it best to hook only a *Single* Receptacle up to each line? Or will it make no difference to make each of the 3 outlets with Double Receptacles? This would help me plug into all my gear without having to mess with power strips etc.
      I'm using spec grade solid brass Receptacles btw. Any other suggestions?

    • @AverageNiceGuy
      @AverageNiceGuy Pƙed 3 lety

      @@levijessegonzalez3629 I'm thinking that landing a romex to a dedicated duplex receptacle will work pretty well for you.

    • @AverageNiceGuy
      @AverageNiceGuy Pƙed 3 lety +3

      @@levijessegonzalez3629 I doubt that there's much of a difference switching from number 12AWG to number 10AWG. Number 10 can get a little hard to work with.

    • @michaelwright1602
      @michaelwright1602 Pƙed 2 lety +2

      @@levijessegonzalez3629 I know this is a year old post, but if you are running thirsty amps, the 10AWG would be better. If running an AVR, and sources, 12AWG Romex is fine. And like was stated, 10AWG is a bit tougher to work with, especially at the receptacle/outlet. Or, you could homerun a dedicated line/circuit for each amp in your system with the 12AWG, that is what I would do if there is room in your panel. I do all of my own electrical, so it is easy for me to say that.

    • @levijessegonzalez3629
      @levijessegonzalez3629 Pƙed 2 lety +1

      @@michaelwright1602 well I ended up using 12 guage. I ran 3 dedicated lines.
      1 line for my guitar amps and guitar pedals (I record music)
      1 line for my PC, audio interface, and different rack mount recording gear.
      1 line for my 2 powered studio monitors.
      thoughts?

  • @johndoe-vb9sm
    @johndoe-vb9sm Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Very very true! Most homes have atleast 5 outlets on one breaker...many extra feet of wire as well. Jumping from one fixture to the next. Not much left to play with...when we start plugin our our hobby!

  • @paulpavlou9294
    @paulpavlou9294 Pƙed rokem +9

    Totally agree with the dedicated circuit/line directly from the power box. The other thing that can also make a huge difference is a good earth rod/negative grounding. After doing this I got rid of a lot of hum and buzzing in my systems.

    • @johnh539
      @johnh539 Pƙed 7 měsĂ­ci

      Please explain" Earth rod" haw do you do it. where do you earth to. (See my plea to Jay)

    • @danmarjenka6361
      @danmarjenka6361 Pƙed 2 měsĂ­ci

      @@johnh539 You drive a metal stake which is at least 8 feet long into the ground next to your house, and then run a wire from that stake to the grounding screw on the outlet you plug your gear or even just the amplifier into. This avoids picking up hum and noise from the many other circuits in your home's breaker panel.

    • @lmff620
      @lmff620 Pƙed 2 měsĂ­ci +2

      Except it’s dangerous because it bypasses earth ground to the circuit breaker so the breaker won’t protect you in case of a fault at the component. The chassis will be hot and touching it could be fatal.

    • @paulpavlou9294
      @paulpavlou9294 Pƙed 2 měsĂ­ci +1

      @@lmff620 I absolutely agree that the earth rod needs to be connected to the main power board earth.

    • @danmarjenka6361
      @danmarjenka6361 Pƙed 2 měsĂ­ci

      You are correct. It is not a safe way to wire it. With a regular receptacle (not an isolated ground receptacle) the receptacle would theoretically be grounded back to the circuit panel via the mounting strap, but that is only true if the home has metal boxes and all the conduit leading back to the circuit panel is connected securely. Good luck, right? @@lmff620

  • @joes3800
    @joes3800 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Thanknyoy for this. Do you mind listing what other products you used that had the less desirable effects and/or no noticeable change from plugging into a wall?

  • @mayssebmasenya9132
    @mayssebmasenya9132 Pƙed 3 lety

    Thanks. Good timing. I was contemplating buying a power conditioner but now you have presented a alternative worth exploring- dedicated line. Thanks again for Sharing your experiences...
    PS- talk about those Dalis behind you 😉

  • @MrEhf111
    @MrEhf111 Pƙed 2 lety +3

    Yup, you're right. I ran a dedicated 20A home run for my Krell KSA 150, KSP&B about 15 years ago and it really did the trick. Fortunately, I'm a mechanical engineer and more than comfortable doing all of my own electrical so mine came at almost no cost as I always have plenty of Romex, outlets ... etc ... on hand. I also found this approach beneficial for my computers as well.

    • @davidstein9129
      @davidstein9129 Pƙed rokem

      What other makes of outlets do you recommend?
      I don't see Romex outlets available online but maybe I missed them somewhere in my search. I did see their wiring for sale.

    • @davidstein9129
      @davidstein9129 Pƙed rokem +1

      I'm trying to determine if the cost of highering an electrician to put in a dedicated line will make an appreciable difference in the performance of my av system.
      I have recently upgraded my gear. I purchased a used Parasound Halo amplifier, a refurbished Rotel preamp/processor & Totem Acoustic Tribe Mini Tower Speakers.
      So, just to confirm, IYO a dedicated line would be a good investment for me at this point?
      Thanks So Much,
      Dave

  • @kimchee411
    @kimchee411 Pƙed 3 lety

    I had a passive Audience ar2p-TO and enjoyed the sound with it in my system. It introduced that juicy, liquid, open characteristic that teflon capacitors often do. Maybe not the most natural, but enjoyable. I view it as tweak like cables, used to tune the sound to taste, but doesn't change the fundamental character of the system components.

    • @dingdong2103
      @dingdong2103 Pƙed rokem

      Too bad your AC quality has zero effect to your sound output, unless your devices are severely damaged or badly designed. Every hifi device on the planet rectifies the AC to DC at which point nothing from the AC source is affecting the sound output (and this can and has been verified by measurements). Your AC may have huge amounts of distortion and it won't matter.

  • @jordesign
    @jordesign Pƙed 2 lety +1

    I've been wanting to do this for quite some time. Is the recommendation to run one dedicated circuit for just the Amplifier, and use the existing power for the rest of the system?? Or while you're at it, run two dedicated lines to the same spot: one for amp, one for Pre & Sources?

  • @grhaggerty
    @grhaggerty Pƙed 2 lety +2

    I bought a 6 outlet furman power conditioner/surge protecter that made a definite difference. the difference may be subjective for everyones taste but I really like it and it cost me $70. Well worth the money.

  • @jeffwheaton1733
    @jeffwheaton1733 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Agreed on conditioners. I use the Niagara 5000, Hurricane power cord. The power cord is very important with these. The Thunder was too warm and fat sounding to my ears, in my system. The Hurricane fit the bill. Matching is exhausting, but wall outlets, cable choices all affect conditioner success.
    The rest of my cables I make myself using rhodium ends.

  • @RobWhittlestone
    @RobWhittlestone Pƙed 3 lety +2

    When we built our house I had a shielded dedicated line put in. I finally got to use it with my audiophile power distributor via a heavy duty shielded power cable. Good tip, Jay. Interesting to hear your experience with the Naim. I made the exact opposite experience since I went from an untreated system next to RF transmitters (WLAN routers) to using the dedicated power sockets and RF shielding on all power cables. Wow! Blacker background, deeper bass, more detail, energetic highs. it started sounding like the $25000 system it would be if I had to replace everything today. All the best, Rob in Switzerland

    • @babagandu
      @babagandu Pƙed 2 lety

      How to get dedicated shielded installed ? Thanks

    • @RobWhittlestone
      @RobWhittlestone Pƙed 2 lety +4

      @@babagandu It was part of our design for the house as we specified it. If you wanted to do this after the house is built, you would probably need to get an electrician to make a dedicated power outlet socket near your hifi and feed it from the main connection to the house with shielded cable. I hope this was helpful. Alll the best, Rob

  • @richardpeters2193
    @richardpeters2193 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Hi Jay thanks for the review I think your point is well taken don't go crazy on a power conditioner until you have the other components first.
    My dealer is a Naim, Vinnie Rossi, Lyngdorf, Rega, Clearaudio, Innuos, Chord and NAD dealer for electronics. For cables and electronic accessories he's a firm believer in Audience. I have a new Naim Nait XS3 Integrated Amplifier. Bluesound Node 2i Streamer, an old Kenwood (1990) CD Player and Project DC TT. My dealer promotes the Audience Forte V8, a very basic power conditioner. He specifically does not believe in surge protection "let the internals of the unit do their job." Anyway. after watching your video about a year ago for budget reasons I took my chances with the little round $99 white ifi power conditioner plugged into a straight power strip no surge protection. I should also point out I am not running on a dedicated line. The TV and cable equipment are plugged into the same circuit 6 feet away. It's difficult for one person to do A/B comparisons so I go with my first impression. My first impression after the ifi was I could tell no difference.
    Four months after purchasing the Naim and Bluesound I had squirreled up the $900 for the Audience Forte V8. No way I was telling the wife "I spent $900 on a power strip!!!" Currently Audience is throwing in the power cord which is a $150 savings. I plugged the Forte V8 into the wall, the ifi into the other socket in the wall so theoretically I am getting some surge protection? Who knows? The Amplifier into the first socket, Bluesound into the second socket etc. there are 8 sockets and sat down on the couch to listen.
    I started with the Streamer. I was startled by how much improvement there was in clarity and and overall sound quality as a first impression. I was sure it was better. I won't say this specific or that specific part of the sound was better I really don't know? 20 minutes later my wife came home from work. She thinks a "Bose Wave Radio" sounds great it does make my audiophile pursuit life difficult. It was nuclear war to get the two new pieces over my 37 year old Denon PMA 750 since it still worked. My speakers are Martin Logan Motion 15's, next stop new speakers (my wife wants to go back to the little Bose cubes put a spike through my head. "They were fine until you went into that stereo store...") But I digress. She comes home, "is that the 'Stream' she calls it you are listening too?" (we are 62 and 58) "Yes, it sounds really good today doesn't it?" "I've never heard it sound that good." I didn't say a word.

  • @andrewpienaar4522
    @andrewpienaar4522 Pƙed 3 lety +5

    I gave you a thumbs up on this but you are actually only 40% correct.
    The most important thing about a good audio system is the get the Grounding / Earthing correct.
    It starts at the power distribution board and must be correct throughout your audio system, as well as the rest of the building!
    Regardless of the audio system being on a dedicated line.
    Many audiophile tricks such as lifting the wires of the floor are often attempts to fight the Earthing problems that may prevail throughout your audio system and indeed the rest of the building.
    In our country one of the biggest problems will often be an corroded electrical water heater element.
    These water heater elements need to be checked frequently.
    When a good electrician installs the dedicated line, he will also check and correct any Earthing / electrical problems throughout the building.

  • @sonusancti
    @sonusancti Pƙed 6 měsĂ­ci

    Great video Jay. You can thank whoever gave you that sage advice to install a dedicated power line.
    I was fortunate to move into a house for many years now whose owner had rented out one room and installed a separate line entirely. So the whole room has its own meter that is billed separately. I only bought a 1000W AVR and that's it. System is always dead quiet. No substitute for it.

  • @essendon72
    @essendon72 Pƙed 2 lety

    Hi Jay. When you talk about a dedicated line do they actually run another power line from the street or is it all done in the fuse box from just the one cable coming from the street power line?

  • @mrtim6479
    @mrtim6479 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    I had the AudioQuest passive shunts in my system before. They worked. So did the PS Audio Powerplant Premiere. I am finding out that grounding can have significant SQ gains.

  • @MrDTF
    @MrDTF Pƙed 3 lety +4

    What is your opinion of the regenerator PS audio P20?

  • @bluejeanblues3789
    @bluejeanblues3789 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Great review Jay.

  • @MrPJAT
    @MrPJAT Pƙed 3 lety

    Hello, what do you think about the PS Audio Power Plant equipment? Are they really worth?
    At the moment I'm looking forward to this or a Niagara from Audioquest to supply current to my equipment.

  • @divertiti
    @divertiti Pƙed 3 lety +5

    I can confirm the Audioquest Niagara are an amazing improvement, even for amplifiers. I only have the 1000 model.

  • @danashay
    @danashay Pƙed 2 lety

    GREAT show Jay!
    Straight shootin and directed right at folks like me...
    Very well done, don't ever change, please carry on!!

  • @stevewestwood4832
    @stevewestwood4832 Pƙed 2 lety

    Thanks for sharing your experience which is really useful generic stuff.
    I don’t have dedicated line (yet) but have recently compared an Airlink balanced mains supply(£500) with Vertex (now called Quiesence) Hi Rez taga (£2500) and a Puritan 165 (£1450). I had active sub, pre and power connected to these conditioners with the turntable power supply and the MC head amp on balanced supplies. The BMS lowered noise floor but skewed the sound making top end frequencies more prominent to the detriment of mid and bass. As you have suggested, maybe it wasn’t doing the power amp any favours although at 100WPC its not particularly current hungry. The Vertex lowered noise floor to a lesser extent as did the Puritan. The Puritan made my music sound great though, much more natural sound.
    As you say you can spend many thousands on these power conditioners but I heartily recommend the Puritan 165.

  • @0002sbc
    @0002sbc Pƙed 3 lety +1

    hi, i want to know what you think about ps audio power plant p5 or p12 ?

  • @Simplyveej
    @Simplyveej Pƙed 3 lety +2

    I had a dedicated power line installed. And I listened to my stereo plugged into that for a year. Till I recently tried plugging in my integrated amp directly, instead of via my isotherm isolator, and it sounded absolutely horrendous. Upon taking some measurements I figured that my direct line was the dirtiest and the noisiest line in the whole house. I’m not sure what my electrician did with that direct line, but my stereo sounded a whole lot better when I just plugged into a different shared outlet. This experience and left me more confused than ever.

  • @andrew-xr1de
    @andrew-xr1de Pƙed 5 měsĂ­ci +1

    This video was very good! I always look for your videos when I have a question or need some trustworthy information. I am also a Master Electrician, retired, but my equipment is not in the right placement...yet. So, no dedicated line...yet. I love the info on the power conditioner and when to get one and which one! Thanks!

  • @jonathanmatthew5631
    @jonathanmatthew5631 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Can i plug an Audioquest Niagara 3000 to a 1000w or 2000w Stavol Matsunaga AVR ? (reason being, power fluctuation is bad here where I live). Will it be bad for my power amplifier if i do this? (Primaluna EVO400 tube poweramp)

  • @lol-vq8dh
    @lol-vq8dh Pƙed 3 lety

    Hi. I ve got a question. First u need to know that i own AirPods pro and listened to the sennheiser pxc 550 quite a lot but dont own them. I was never into hifi Hardware i just love to listen to musik. I want to upgrade from my AirPods to something better sounding. Those sennheisers sounded great but i want more / i dont need Bluetooth, anc,... on overears. I just want to listen to musik. How much do i have to spend for a good (better than the pxc550) pair of headphones? Do i need an amplifier? What would u recommend?
    Thanks!

  • @naikrosh
    @naikrosh Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Is there a review coming up for those lovely bookshelves behind you ? Look fwd to it.

  • @Mrhifitunes
    @Mrhifitunes Pƙed 3 lety

    Did you ever try to change faze when plugging things into a power conditioner?

  • @abrahammartinez3524
    @abrahammartinez3524 Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Totally agree, i have the Niagara 1000 and the difference is huge.

  • @ramsaybolton9099
    @ramsaybolton9099 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Great video, thanks for the info.

  • @acoustic61
    @acoustic61 Pƙed 3 lety

    Years ago, I tried a Chang Lightspeed Power Conditioner briefly and haven't used any since. I plug my amplifiers directly into the wall outlet and think they work well. I did change my wall outlets to a commercial grade 20A so they're a little more rugged.

  • @NordicDan
    @NordicDan Pƙed 2 lety +1

    With a dedicated circuit (I'll be installing a dedicated 20A line for my system when I start putting it together), would you recommend having ONLY the amplifier connected to it, or can it safely share the circuit with the other components (receiver, game consoles, projector, etc.) without having sound negatively affected?

    • @JPSurratt1986
      @JPSurratt1986 Pƙed 2 lety +1

      In my experience, using one dedicated line to a UPS that runs my AVR, TV, game console, and internet router has been perfectly fine.

    • @NordicDan
      @NordicDan Pƙed 2 lety +1

      @@JPSurratt1986 That's what my plan ended up being once I double checked the specs on my Krell KAV-1500. It'll get its own dedicated 20A circuit and the rest of the components will be on an AVR that'll also have its own 20A circuit.

  • @levijessegonzalez3629
    @levijessegonzalez3629 Pƙed 3 lety

    I'm currently Wiring up my studio / playback room Can any of you audiophiles help me?
    I have 3 outlets in the studio room, I decided to "Homerun" each of these directly to the breaker box (on the same phase).
    2 questions.
    Is 10awg wire truly better than 12awg (20a) and is Romex ok?
    And is it best to hook only a *Single* Receptacle up to each line? Or will it make no difference to make each of the 3 outlets with Double Receptacles? This would help me plug into all my gear without having to mess with power strips etc.
    Also Do I need a power conditioner if I have dedicated lines like this?
    I'm using spec grade solid brass Receptacles btw. Any other suggestions?

  • @derekclark7545
    @derekclark7545 Pƙed rokem

    I put a dedicated ring for my hi-fi system some 20 years ago, I was refurbing my house just after I purchased it, and I have 4 Triple outlet sockets wired in series. (UK wiring is a RING circuit that runs from the fuse board to socket outlets and back to the same fuse, instead of a Radial circuit that is from the fuse to the last socket) I have no idea if it makes a difference but I am glad I did it as my system is smooth and sweet with great clarity with a controlled and extended base that has good texture, I got this information from reading hi-fi mags over the last 35 years. The only other item that may help your system is to use DC conditioners, DC voltage can be a problem and even on a dedicated supply can exist.

  • @daeejon3100
    @daeejon3100 Pƙed rokem

    Any suggestions what kind of power conditioner I should use for my jl fathom F212 v2 and my mc901 mono blocks? I used niagara 7000 and synergistic powercell sx but didn't like none. Thank you

  • @beslemeto
    @beslemeto Pƙed 3 lety

    I didn't get that mate.Is it not the same to plug only your amp to the power socket?

  • @tubefreeeasy
    @tubefreeeasy Pƙed 6 měsĂ­ci +1

    I use a TrippLite Isobar plug in unit, no cable. For

  • @Coolesttech
    @Coolesttech Pƙed 3 lety

    Have you tried torus RM or brystin BIT toroidal based conditioners?

  • @audioexperience
    @audioexperience Pƙed 2 lety +1

    great video - i had my electrician install dedicated 20a circuits throughout my entire showroom for this exact reason

  • @robk5745
    @robk5745 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Thanks for the info Jay, conditioners in most cases seem like bandaids for other problems down the power line, understandable if you have no other choice for sure. Running two dedicated lines and a nice quality receptacle for each is all you ever need. Just imagine if you ran shielded 10awg right from the panel Hahahha

  • @qazxswedcxzaqws
    @qazxswedcxzaqws Pƙed 3 lety +6

    The most promising looking power regenerator I have seen is the PS Audio Stellar Power Plant 3, comes with a free shipping 30 day risk free trial. And in some of their CZcams videos Paul acually explains how it works so you can figure out if you actually need one.

    • @CaptainCrunch823
      @CaptainCrunch823 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      I was super skeptical about regenerators but tried a PS Stellar regenerator and ended up keeping it. Not a huge difference but noticeable enough that I didn’t want to send it back.

    • @TheKravmonster
      @TheKravmonster Pƙed 3 lety

      @@CaptainCrunch823 agreed. i have two PS audio regenerators - the stellar 3 for my low-power equipment (dac, &c.), and an older perfectwave powerplant 10.

  • @bshah4831
    @bshah4831 Pƙed 3 lety

    Great summary of the subject on power conditioners. I have a basic Niagra 1000 and definitely improves sound reproduction for source devices. My Musical Fedility 6S PRX Power amplifier is known not to benefit and my tests show that. Remember to also use decent Power cables, at least in the $100 range.

    • @mikejulian8662
      @mikejulian8662 Pƙed 3 lety +4

      Your power cables in the "$100 range" connect to $0.05 a foot romex right on the other side of the plug

    • @bshah4831
      @bshah4831 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@mikejulian8662 my Power cables protect interference with the low voltage signals carried by the many interconnects I use and speaker cables. Also after the Niagara removed the RF from the mains supply, the cables need shielding from further RF transmission.

  • @wesleykhalil5006
    @wesleykhalil5006 Pƙed 3 lety

    Did you ever try the nordost q core and power board? I had the exact same experience with this product. I was down at my local hifi shop just chatting the the guys and they did a demo in the main listening room with qcore on and it off and even standing outside of that room the change was unbelievable. The sound stage disappeared, the music was nowhere near as dynamic and felt as though it had lost its life and soul.
    From memory they were running a rega rp8, audio research pre and power amp, rel t9i and sonus faber guaneris with nordost interconnects.

  • @GodfreyMann
    @GodfreyMann Pƙed 2 lety +3

    If you're in a rental property and can't implement his tip here: 6:58, e.g. then a simple alternative is to work out the number of electrical circuit rings in your property and identify if there's one ring that will allow you to remove all devices except your hifi. Even if it's just a temporary removal for one listening session, it's worth doing.

  • @milkman100001
    @milkman100001 Pƙed 2 lety

    im just on with installing my dedicated lines.im going to fit at least 5 one for each appliance.run them back to a new electric board.then the sparky will take over. are you aware of any low noise breakers to be used actually inside the fuse box? cheers

  • @love_the_quran
    @love_the_quran Pƙed rokem

    Hello sir, since I'm not expert I would like to get an advice for a budget power condeitoner, cable and wall socket.
    Right now i have weiduka ac 8.8 but and after i used it i keep getting a click sound every time i run something, only before an audio start, didn't get it with the old normal conditoner, rather than that i have no issue and my electric is good.
    My setup: denon 3500 with kef q750 speakers, no amp and there is no ground in wall, old building.

  • @redpill4431
    @redpill4431 Pƙed 2 lety

    I have always installed a dedicated circuit ground it properly and install it from it's own consumer unit .Nothing else gets plugged into this circuit.
    My new music room a separate building will also benefit from a ballanced mains unit on that circuit installed next to the consumer unit .

  • @no_bull
    @no_bull Pƙed rokem

    During the day my sound system sounds like it wants to distort the sound while during the night it sounds so much better and this is something that I've learnt along as time goes on. This happens on a DENON AVR-3808 straight to the wall AC outlet without a power conditioner or line filter. My thoughts for a dedicated electrical AC outlet? Before I'd to anything like that I'd be checking with an oscilloscope, before the circuit breaker board (basically straight off the meter) and thereafter the circuit board to see the difference and also when appliances are running together just to see if the oscillation frequency changes. Then you can decide on what's best for you, what works for you because every system is so different👍

  • @kenchow8213
    @kenchow8213 Pƙed 3 lety +5

    Before installing a new line, try to figure out what else is sharing the line/circuit and unplug/move them or turn them off while you're listening to your stereo. Also, all appliances in your kitchen shouldn't be a problem as all electrical lines/circuits in the kitchen (except for lighting) are not shared with anything else in the house (electrical code requirement).

    • @ramsaybolton9099
      @ramsaybolton9099 Pƙed 3 lety +3

      I would hear occasional hissing through my headphones late at night. I discovered that is was the fridge kicking in and out, even though the fridge was not on that line. Power conditioners on the front end solved that issue. Everyone’s experiences may be different.

    • @winstonsmith2079
      @winstonsmith2079 Pƙed 2 lety +2

      @@ramsaybolton9099 My last house had the same issue, the fridge thermostat kicking in caused a click through the amp. Very frustrating. In my new house there are also random clicks heard through the amp and I don't know what it is. Even more frustrating

  • @Shineequlity
    @Shineequlity Pƙed 2 lety

    Instead of installing a dedicated line, can UPS also do same work?

  • @rumporridge1
    @rumporridge1 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Wow was just researching ac line conditioners and you put out this video. Your a true mind reader bro lol.

  • @sstfairstar
    @sstfairstar Pƙed 3 lety

    Great topic and thank you to bring it up. Let me try to understand it.
    Like any other computer device(your DAC or Amplifier ) the electrical flux (voltage)has to be stable in order to minimize errors. (anyone trying to overclock a computer know this)Is there a "Noise calculator" or a more calculated way, because all homes are differently affected
    Btw Happy new year!

  • @thespotlightkid1011
    @thespotlightkid1011 Pƙed 2 lety

    I agree. I want to be happy with the basic sound quality before i try to enhance it with power conditioners or listening room wall, ceiling & corner bass-trap treatments.
    If i sit right up close to my speakers, almost inbetween them & angle them in directly at my ear height, or place them side by side & sit < 1 metre in front of the inward angled pair but find i'm not at all happy with the sound... (like said on this video, i have tried this just to see how my room effects the sound from my normal listening sofa & it deffinately does) ...then i fail to see how listening room accoustic treatments will improve things or power conditioners improve things much if the sound source is not right & unpleasant in the 1'st place from a position where room reflections don't enter into the equation.
    There is a widespread total misconception that our equipment sits on the end of wires & recieves electricity as if the mains wiring is recieving power like water from taps when you run a bath or a tap piped from the house's water main & this couldnt be further from the truth. Our equipment effectively sits inbetween the 'live' & the 'neutral' wires of the house's mains wiring & distance from where the electricity comes into the house or the plugs placement along the wiring is 100% irrelevant, unlike water taps who's pressure drops with distance & height from the incoming water main. This means that appliances with half-wave rectifiers like drills, hair dryers, fridges, heating system's motors & a host of other non-hi fi appliances can detrimentally effect the whole house's power by reflecting it's created distortion of the electrical A.C. sine wave back onto our mains line & even from the house next door or houses further along up to a point, all depending on how the local voltage step-down power transformer routing is feeding a number of houses, but you'll only notice it on hi-fi reproduction or mains powered radio or on cheaper TV pictures. Pity they never run an independent spur from the localised power transformers & into each individual house but they never do, they daisy-chain the mains along the houses up to a point of X number of houses before the next localised mains voltage stepdown transformer takes over for houses further along. All that is why (i.m.firm.o.) a dedicated power line just for your equipment, resistance slugged or 1:1 transformer isolated from the rest of your wiring, will help enormously or at least noticeably but definately worth doing for peace of mind, esp' because of half-wave rectifiers in our own house. Non hi-fi appliances put no expense into making sure their rectifiers & motors or active components dont reflect distortion back into the powerline, there's normally nothing beyond a simple supressor to stop your hi-fi or tv or battery radio buzzing away because of active components transmitting EMF radio wavelength noise via air- transmitted noise. There's one bad lawn mower somewhere along the line of the 9 houses that my house sits on, that when i hear it going, it causes my stereo to buzz away like bees inside the speaker, this is not being recieved into my amp through the air... (for many decades, our power & preamps are all protected from recieving & amplifying radio signals & amplify them through our speakers) ...but by that particular bad lawn mower putting a gross distortion back onto it's power line as it sits between the same 'live' & 'neutral' wires that also feed my house & will cause all tv's or hi-fi's connected to the same daisy chained wiring line along the road.
    Idealy, we'd run a single power line directly onto the local voltage step-down transformer's secondary from our houses, there's one nearby all house groupings in residential & city areas, even if you havent noticed it, it's usually inside at least a 20 × 20 ft area protected with high steel wired fence & locked gate or simllar around the giant sized voltage step-down transformer inside. Shame it's illegal to do that. We've our local step down transformer diagonally across the footpath in front of my house, & i'd have to tunnel under the footpath like some dude from "The Colditz Story" but 2'nd best is a dedicated power spur isolated from your incoming mains.

  • @rambe2449
    @rambe2449 Pƙed rokem

    I appreciate very much your reviews. Very well argued and with a lot of common sense.
    Regarding the power conditioners, have you ever tried a power plant? Paul Gowen says there's a fundamental difference between the two, in the favour of power plant.

  • @RodneyAllanPoe
    @RodneyAllanPoe Pƙed 2 lety

    My Emotiva power amp is plugged into the wall. But is it OK to have the pre-amp plugged into a power board conditioner?

  • @triumphlover7455
    @triumphlover7455 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    I finally ran a dedicated 20 amp line with aluminum armoured (for shielding) 10/2 copper solid core cable to a Furutech outlet in which I plugged in my integrated and an active sub. The dynamics improved even though I was still running the TV and all the audio sources off a cheap Monster surge protector plugged to a regular separate outlet. Recently purchased a Furman PST-8D to replace the old Monster.
    TV picture seems cleaner but digital audio sounds..well, way more digital as in shrill. My records on the other hand never sounded better. Bummed yet pleased? I'm hoping a break in period will smooth things out.... Or get a divorce and get what I've always wanted, a Bryston Bit 20. Initially made by Torrus, Bryston bought the company because it does exactly what it says it does: your own isolated clean power transformer in your living room with built in protection and faster access to massive power swings for unrestricted dynamics! As you might suspect, the club membership is prohibitive.

  • @kennethsrensen7706
    @kennethsrensen7706 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    It all depend of two factors if it is working or not .
    1 - If your equipment have well made filters in the power supply then
    mostly you will not experience any noticable difference .
    2 - If your power supply line in the house / appartment is relative noise free
    ( no heavy industry close to your main line ) then again you will not notice anything .
    It is very much equipment and source power quality dependent .
    Where I live the power lines are extremely bad and filled with lots of spikes and noise .
    A real nightmare to eliminate this in my little home studio / HighEnd equipment .
    My personal problem number one is this noise combined with NO grounding at all .
    I have set up ground and grounded my equipment myself and it helped a lot .
    I have two computers connected to my studio .
    One laptop that suffered so much from the main power lines noise and spikes that
    I ended up using an isolation transformer and filter .
    It worked but it have a professional USB external soundcard where ground is
    not same potential as the other equipments ground level so I had to level this
    out by using a ground ' lifter ' and it worked gone was noise .
    My big computer on the other hand really doesn't care about the noise and spikes
    because the filters in the power supply simply phase this out very effectively .
    My two Eq's I use for recording they have almost no filter and suffered too so
    my solution was to change the filter in the powersupplies and that did the trick .
    My 3 power amplifiers they also doesn't care at all , because the filters simply
    just works so effective .
    Now my biggest problem ended up being my second Firewire Professional
    soundcard / ADC - DAC it have same ground level problem as the other one .
    Simply connect the ground to the main ground loop will make everything noisy .
    Solution was to connect the ground in paralell with the USB soundcard / ADC - DAC .
    They ended up on same ground level and gone was noise when connected back
    to the main ground loop , but it requires a seperate cable from the ADC -DAC to
    the ground connection on the amp and down to the chassic on the main computer .
    ( keep in mind I use a ground lifter on the UBS sound card / ADC -DAC and the
    lifted ground is routed with the cable )
    Yes that solution works just nice ( sometimes it defy any logic )
    I also have a big Tube / valve Guitar Amplifier and when record / play on that I have
    to wire up a seperate ground cable and connect it to the computers ground .
    Result , totally silence .
    My only remaining problem is a Guitar effects pedal that was as good as
    impossible to lift to correct ground potential / level .
    result - when I touch the strings and at same time have my feet on the floor
    it make a terrible noise .
    But I kind of solved it by simply use thick socks .
    When I wear those thick socks there is no noise sound from the pedal .
    ( sometimes the obscure tricks seems to work just fine )
    Also a thing as a simple cable can pick up noise as hell .
    My guitar cable if I just toss it on the floor in front of the computer will
    pick up extreme amount of noise ( yes it is a HQ shielded cable ) but
    if I move it just 10 cm away it be gone .
    All cables in the system is carefully routed around and away from potential
    noise sources .
    This is a real trial and error thing to do because sometimes it doesn't comply
    with any logic for where to put them .
    Even my big computer screen suddenly suffered from shadows in the picture .
    Well the signal /VGA cable run beside the power cable to my 18 inch Powered
    subwoofer and by moving it a little away then picture was perfect .
    Funny enough the subwoofer was totally unaffected by the Screen / VGA cable .
    ( No noise there and it's 5000 W Amplifier remain silent )
    Getting rid of power line Noise and ground noise and such can really be a pain
    in the A............ s .
    We all use different equipment and different cables ans setups ect ect , and
    what is working for one may not work for another person .
    This is the strange world of HiFi - HighEnd - Music Studio - Musician - ect ,
    headache in a nutshell .
    There is so many strange solutions to all kinds of troubles some work for me
    but wont work for you .
    It all depend of individual situations and equipment and power lines , ground
    cables , placement ect ect ect .
    Very good video and a good explanation , I can only agree on your thoughts as
    seen from your perspective with your setup and equipment ect .
    I am shure it can help some fellow entusiasts out there .
    Keep it up : )
    Ps - USB power conditioners can be very effective if your Pc / ADC -DAC is too noisey .
    I used some years ago a PCI card power conditioner to remove PCI bus noise .
    YES it worked in my old setup but not my new .
    Also when thinking on buying a power line power conditioner , Try see if possible
    to try it out before final buying .
    This way you can try several solutions and find one that work for you .
    The Idear about getting a seperate Electric line / dedicated line Is what most studios
    actually doing to get isolated from the rest of the lines .
    This work very effectively .
    ( still you can get noise from outside , factories , heavy industry , bad main lines
    neighbours noisy equipment , motors ect ect )
    Last and very important - Remember to get a seperate ground too for your new line .
    Edit - sorry for my eventually typos , im in my coffe right now : )

  • @phillipknox5010
    @phillipknox5010 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    When I was having my theater built, I had 2 20amp lines run to a pony panel - really made a difference in the quality of the sound and less wear on components.

    • @marcusm5127
      @marcusm5127 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      Less wear? How would you even detect wear on electronics? Usually time is what gets to the caps.

    • @phillipknox5010
      @phillipknox5010 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      Marcus - I would suspect that poor fluctuating voltage would have an adverse impact on caps?

  • @kuisin88
    @kuisin88 Pƙed 3 lety +22

    $179 CAD for each dedicated 20A line when building my house. Recently also added a PS Audio P20. Just love the improvement that the P20 brings.

    • @TheEchelon
      @TheEchelon Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @Homesteader Workouts Some people buy expensive watches/jewelry some people buy expensive blocks of aluminium lol. To each their own I guess.

    • @AT-wl9yq
      @AT-wl9yq Pƙed rokem +1

      @@TheEchelon Yes, you do guess. I guess some people get off on trying to be smart.

    • @susokraut3169
      @susokraut3169 Pƙed rokem

      Except for the fact that the P20 does nothing relevant whatsoever.

    • @AT-wl9yq
      @AT-wl9yq Pƙed rokem +1

      @@susokraut3169 How did you have it setup? Maybe you overlooked something.

    • @susokraut3169
      @susokraut3169 Pƙed rokem

      @@AT-wl9yq I did not set it up as I don't own it and would never spend my money on some completely unnecessary piece of gear. I does nothing of worth and any audio device leads via filters with the input AC easily. That was being measured with the P5.

  • @krutonton
    @krutonton Pƙed 3 lety

    Long time viewer here, if you have the chance give the Ansuz Mainz8 series a try. It could change your view on power conditioner. It is definitely on the pricier side but even their entry-mid level stuff can make a huge difference IMO

  • @papoosee
    @papoosee Pƙed 6 měsĂ­ci

    Would you say the entry level Niagara 1200 is also effective? Or just the higher level Niagara’s?

  • @elsoldado13
    @elsoldado13 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Would you recommend dedicated for powered subwoofer

    • @AverageNiceGuy
      @AverageNiceGuy Pƙed 3 lety

      I think no,
      unless it is drawing near 15 amps at 120 volts, 15x120=1800watts, which gets it close to the limit of a basic household American circuit.
      I'm thinking clean power will have more to do with Clarity rather than low frequencies.

  • @dougg1075
    @dougg1075 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Good stuff Jay

  • @CUDAbuster
    @CUDAbuster Pƙed 3 lety +10

    This is a great topic. In my experience, power conditioners helped some of my equipment, other equipment, not noticeable. A lot of the gain of "performance/sound quality" depends on the quality of the power feed to your home. The worse it is, the more noticeable will be the improvement from the power conditioner. Some power service areas have very good steady sinusoidal AC voltage, others can be awful. If you are getting "gritty" power fed to your home, you usually won't notice it on appliances, but it can reek havoc of stereo equipment. Also, you may have ineffective grounding at your home, or at least ground loop problems inherent in your home. Power conditioners solved two problems I was having. First, on a high current high power amp (i.e. 400wpc, 4ohm, 10hz to 30khz band width). The amp does not have a soft/delayed start, so when you power up, when connected to high efficiency speakers, you get a hard pop. Similarly, powering down causes a hard pop. A great sounding older amp that I almost parted with until I ran it through a switched feature on a power conditioner. Power on still had some pop, but much less and the power down pop was completely eliminated. This was really awesome. Another problem I was having was RF hum between some components. Improving the quality of rca connectors did help some with shielding, but did not satisfactorily reduce it. Connecting components to the power conditioner removed the hum. Very quiet ground floor. Additionally, since I always run the equipment through surge protection anyway, the power conditioners provide a nice central hub to connect a lot of gear. For me, they have been great and each of them were purchased under $1k. It would seem that unless you are running extremely high power amplification, going to a 5 or 10k+ power conditioner isn't likely to be a good return on investment.

    • @michaels5166
      @michaels5166 Pƙed 2 lety +1

      I concur...People give their opinions and do what they want, yet i tend to listen to people who work on LIVE concerts and huge clubs with monster systems, lime the Paradise Garage, Studio 54, Zanzibar, Ministry of Sound, etc..If you do not take care of the current coming into your system,it's all moot...

    • @sleepyf1
      @sleepyf1 Pƙed rokem

      Hi there, what level power conditioner worked for you? The symptoms you described are exactly the sort of things I am experiencing at the moment.

    • @davidstein9129
      @davidstein9129 Pƙed rokem

      I enjoyed reading your post. I live in a highrise building. I also have a high voltage power station 2 blocks away.
      I use an Audioquest Power2 surge suppressor for my amps & av sources.
      I have not had any audible noise thus far.
      It seems like a Dedicated electricity line would make sense given my situation.
      I am skeptical about
      Power conditioners, although I like Audioquest products & use their cables in my av system.
      Given what I said, do you have any advice?
      Thanks!

    • @davidstein9129
      @davidstein9129 Pƙed rokem

      @@michaels5166
      Hi Michael, I have a question for you Michael.
      I, like you, tend to listen to av professionals more than casual hobbyists.
      I live in a 45 year old highrise building.
      I purchased some used fairly high-end audio gear...a dedicated Parasound Halo amplifier, a Rotel pre/pro...Audioquest XLR (balanced) cables for my amp, pre!/pro & OPPO Blu-ray & DAC.
      I also use an Audioquest surge protector.
      It seems like an unnecessary expense to have a dedicated powerline for my gear.
      Any thoughts about this??
      Thanks,
      Dave

  • @redtail5
    @redtail5 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    Does the Niagara 1200 get you some of the benefits of the larger models or is this more similar to cheaper conditioners?

    • @calaf_725
      @calaf_725 Pƙed 3 lety +5

      My experience from the 1000 model is very positive. It is very possible that it is a better value for money than the bigger models even if they perform better considering the cost difference.

  • @graftonteliason
    @graftonteliason Pƙed 3 lety

    Greetings! I am getting a dedicated line. Wondering if you use any surge protection (not conditioning)?
    Thanks and I am also on your Patreon.
    Grafton

  • @buzzwordy9951
    @buzzwordy9951 Pƙed rokem

    I had problems with the line as my source would glitch for just a sec with fridge coming on. I changed the receptacle itself first this all cleared up. Good recetacles are tighter and connection is better. $3.99 fixed. Start there. I'm an electrcian/technician. so I recommend that you get help if you are not sure how to do this. Then you may want to add a cct dedicated for your audio..If you need more than i cct install a split plug which will give you double the power and can be installed for the very little extra cost.

  • @robertdunlop5247
    @robertdunlop5247 Pƙed 3 lety

    Is the Pro-Ject Accu Box S2 Battery Power Supply... a power conditioner?

  • @JonPrintzian
    @JonPrintzian Pƙed 2 lety +1

    Should the dedicated line have increased voltage, like 220 or 240 volts?

    • @pekkatervala8476
      @pekkatervala8476 Pƙed 2 lety

      Well, higher voltage provides twice the power (W) with the same gauge wire and circuit breaker. 120V x 10A = 1200W. Hifi gear doesn't need all that much power for a living room. -In Finland we have 230V and it's regulated to be stable. But a UPS device can save a computer from a lightning strike.

  • @swimdusty
    @swimdusty Pƙed 2 lety

    Would you consider the Audioquest Powerquest series until you can afford the Niagra (because your spending money on other gear)?

  • @tomlathrop4094
    @tomlathrop4094 Pƙed 3 lety

    You have it upon something I have been doing forever. My system is in a room with a dedicated line and I do most of my listening late at night with really nothing else significant operating in the house. I do however. use a synergistics research power conditioner on all the source components which does make a difference.

  • @bubbleone6526
    @bubbleone6526 Pƙed 2 lety

    Great video, kinda weird as I been looking into power conditioners. Thanks Jay

  • @sylviarienzo6955
    @sylviarienzo6955 Pƙed rokem +7

    DO NOT CONSIDER A DEDICATED LINE until you check whether it will be quieter than the other lines in your house! I hired an electrician to install two dedicated lines, one for each of my two systems. I wanted to do this because my household electricity was extremely noisy according to my tester. I tested every circuit in my house plus most outlets. They ALL measured very very high in noise. My electrician had never seen such high readings. He thought a dedicated line would not improve my situation and to test it he installed a facsimile of a dedicated using spare wire. The dedicated line was just as dirty as all the other circuits. He then tested the power coming into the house, it was the source of all the noise. So do not install a dedicated line without doing something to verify that it will actually improve your situation.

    • @thecarman3693
      @thecarman3693 Pƙed 5 měsĂ­ci

      The dedicated line as you say will not change the noise coming into your system's power supply. It WILL however prevent other devices (such as LED dimers, appliance motors, etc.) from introducing noise on whatever line you have your system plugged into. And this is usually found on the ground and return legs of the AC power. If it is not a dedicated line it will be sharing AC lines. Grounding loops will be virtually eliminated with a dedicated line ... and these are critical for sensitive circuits, such as those in high gain phono pre-amps. Also, look into having a pair of copper grounding rods installed into the earth outside of the dwelling. Something that is now considered code (required) in many new constructions.
      Have your electrician monitor your AC line direct and then compare it to when you have other devices running, such as AC motors (furnace blower), appliances, LED dimmers, or any PCM dimmers. If he didn't ask for you to do that then I would look for another electrician.
      After that, then you can consider looking into a power conditioner. The two are not synonymous. They attack different problems through different means.

  • @mahirderman
    @mahirderman Pƙed rokem +2

    A dedicated line is a line tapped directly to the Utility company’s primary lines, has its own dedicated step down transformer, and its own non-shared secondary line into the customer’s home. This would require you to get a separate Utility meter for this service drop and pay for this entire upgrade. You also need a dedicated ground installed at your home for this service drop.
    Adding an additional breaker and a new line from your panel board is far from “dedicated” and electrically is no different. You might have benefited from this upgrade because your electrician might have used a lower gauge wire, the path to the service entry might be shorter therefore slightly less Voltage drop, your new path to the “noisy” household electronics might be longer now therefore more of that electrical contamination is dissipated in cable losses until makes it to your amplifier. So everyone’s mileage will vary depending on the above situations.
    But in no way or means, you are getting dedicated power, “clean” from electrical noise contamination from the rest of your household electronics and whoever else is sharing the same Utility owned step down transformer. Overhead lines can extend up to 300 feet with acceptable Voltage drop. Underground lines can be extended easily to double that or more. So all those homes within those distances share the same secondary lines.
    It is another argument how relevant clean or dirty power is to a power amplifier with a well designed power section. All that noise is filtered out and stocked in the capacitors after the rectifier.
    For reference, I have designed distribution and transmission lines in multiple states/utilities, engineered, designed, reviewed and commissioned gigawatts of electrical energy generators including energy storage systems.

    • @yogi9631
      @yogi9631 Pƙed rokem

      Spot on my friend. It would cost a lot more than $700 to install another independent power circuit from what he is describing or wanting to achieve.
      But hell people do believe in it.

  • @VagabondOfNote
    @VagabondOfNote Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Please tell me you’re about to drop an Alta Alyssa review!

  • @scottwolf8633
    @scottwolf8633 Pƙed rokem

    OK, a non-technical question. On your last video regarding the 300B integrated amp; Where did the intro music come from? I went back and listened, then, picked up my left-handed Strat and spent about 45 minutes building upon those Notes. Had a blast, Thanks.

  • @thepickyaudiophile
    @thepickyaudiophile Pƙed 3 lety

    Any opinion on straight DC blockers?

  • @FOH3663
    @FOH3663 Pƙed 3 lety

    Jay, great advice.
    Many knowledgeable enthusiasts believe that 2400 watts (20a, 120v) is the maximum power out of a 20a wall outlet.
    Not true.
    As others have pointed out as well, up-sizing the wire to 10awg can also be of importance. You want the wire to be a non factor, and eliminating voltage drop by upsizing the home run is that path.
    To avoid nuisance tripping, circuit breakers can pass incredible amounts of current for long periods of time. Bass amplification that requires occasional pulses of high current or longer periods of high current draw ... could easily push the normal 12awg wire beyond its thermal abilities... thus voltage drop results. This creates a system choke point and robs performance via current limiting.
    So if a system is a high power system, upsize the wiring gauge if you want to remove the wiring as a potential choke-point impeding current delivery.
    A 20 amp circuit can pass 7-8 times the rated 20amp trip amount, .. for up to a second or more.
    It will allow up to 3x the rated amount for up to 10sec or so.
    The same 20amp circuit, can allow up to 2 times the rated amount for a period extending as long as 30 seconds.
    Amazingly, that's 100amps for around 1-2 seconds, ~60amps for around 10 seconds, and the circuit will allow 30-40amps for as long as 30 seconds.
    All from a 20a breaker.
    Regardless, Jay you're absolutely right. A dedicated circuit installation is an absolute high value tweak of the highest regard.

    • @davidstein9129
      @davidstein9129 Pƙed rokem

      Thanks for your comments
      I am trying to determine if a dedicated electrical line to my av system is worth the investment.
      I have a new Parasound Halo amplifier, a new Rotel preamp/ processor & Totem Tibe Mini Tower Speakers
      Do you think getting a dedicated line will make an Appreciable Difference in my overall sound of my system?
      I use Audioquest XLR Cables that run from my amp to my pre/pro
      I also use AQ biwire speaker cables.
      I have an AQ surge suppressor.
      I have no audible hum anywhere in my av system.
      BTW, The circuit breaker box is in my kitchen closet & my av system is in my livingroom.
      Thanks,
      David

    • @FOH3663
      @FOH3663 Pƙed rokem

      @@davidstein9129
      Appreciable?
      Yes, most likely.
      Significant? ... not likely.
      Multiple factors contribute.
      First, it depends how many other items are on the existing circuit.
      It depends how much your system pulls... steady state as well as peak current demands.
      It depends on the existing wiring impedance, how robustly each of the connections are made.
      I would do it without question, but logistics of how easy the access is etc, are a question.
      The technical merit is solid.
      Low loss, stable voltage w/low impedance current delivery is a platform all audio systems should operate from. You're turning that receptacle's power into music.
      An up-sized, unbroken dedicated circuit, tightly terminated at the panelboard and the receptacle ... gets out of the way and facilitates unimpeded power delivery.
      There's metering instruments to measure the circuits impedance and integrity. Ideal Industries, Klein, Extech... anywhere from $200 US to $400 US ... they detect if there's excessive impedance under load.
      Dedicated circuit; it's a good idea.
      How easily it can be executed is often the deciding factor.

  • @brandonburr4900
    @brandonburr4900 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Terrific video jay! For those lucky enough to be able to install a dedicated line or multiple lines this should be a mandatory start for any serious system. If you can get multiple separate lines it would be beneficial for say one for each monoblock amps and than one for the digital or source side. I have had good luck with audience adept power conditioners for small source and headphone gear but not so much for my big power amp. It sounded like it was being restricted. I would be curious about audioquest lower Niagara line (1200l for comparisons with my audience adept. Thanks!

    • @Justin-fy7xk
      @Justin-fy7xk Pƙed 2 lety

      My thought is that the power line as been through thousands of houses before it gets to your house and its a known fact that it is heavily polluted when you receive it. I can see a dedicated line would stop any interference from your house going on the line but its like trying to close the stable door when the horse as already bolted. A dedicated line from the Power station now I could see great value in that. Any thoughts

    • @michaelmasztal7871
      @michaelmasztal7871 Pƙed 2 lety

      @@Justin-fy7xk i. I'll give my thoughts. FWIW, I am a retired low-volt electronic technician, former SoundStage reviewer (like 20 years ago, but some of my reviews are still out there) and a former audio shop owner. Anyway, the power comes from a grid, not through a line that goes thru thousands of houses. Your house's power begins at the step-down transformer you are hooked up to. Recall that there is no physical contact of the wiring going into the transformer and the wiring leaving it, it works by magnetic induction. Any other homes on that transformer's line can add noise. It may be a few or dozens depending on where you live. I'll go so far as to say that some of the mains noise also comes from inside your home. Appliances, switch mode power supplies, LED lights, etc all inject noise into your home's power mains. So, the question. Do you need a PLC? The first step is to get a power noise measuring meter like an Entech or a Stetzerizer and see if you actually have a mains noise problem. Every house has some degree of internally generated noise which can be mitigated with a few plug in devices rather than an expensive PLC. My power is pretty clean. I live in a community of homes- no businesses, factories, etc., but if you're in a older place, a congested, city, etc. It may be quite different. Hence the necessity of buying a meter and doing your own measurements. Good listening!

    • @Justin-fy7xk
      @Justin-fy7xk Pƙed 2 lety

      @@michaelmasztal7871 Thanks for sharing. I still dont think a power conditioner or power regenerator is needed to clean up the mains because when the ac gets convererted to dc it gets rectified and all the noise on it goes and you are left with clean mains,

  • @herrtrigger7220
    @herrtrigger7220 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    US homes built before 1974 have aluminum wiring and cheap breakers- doesn't move juice as good as modern copper. Insist on 10 AWG wire from the box to your new sockets or you'll get the cheap code 14 AWG. Use premium wall outlet

  • @merlecrandall1709
    @merlecrandall1709 Pƙed 3 lety

    What's your view on recepticals, audiophile grade vs your normal ones that are already installed. Also what about those small devices that plug directly into the socket that disaptate any noise or hum from the line, I think PS Audio makes such a device and that's one for example. Your doing good.

  • @gerard3797
    @gerard3797 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Did you try Puritan conditioners? I was thinking of trying them (ps106-dc) for DC hum on my power transformers, which is especially noticeable in a desktop setup. Apparently they are very well received by a lot of audiophile reviewers, including 6 moons and the Audiophile Guy. Not a typical marketed brand and seems to be a very honest guy/owner.

  • @JeanKatana
    @JeanKatana Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Also my experience!
    The Niagara Series makes quite an impact!

    • @JeanKatana
      @JeanKatana Pƙed 3 lety

      @John Bravo
      How shitty are your ears that you dont hear something that unambiguous?
      Or your System is a piece of crap that its not able resolving music bearable.
      Keep on watching your music on a Multimeter display but dont bother poeple who want to listen earnestly.

  • @seranne
    @seranne Pƙed 3 lety

    Thank you for your video. Do you mean dedicated line as?? From outlet plug to the breaker.. or do you mean the electrician taps of a separate phase that comes from the street in your house that is dedicated to some breakers. If you are lucky you have 3 phase in your street. Thanks in advance if you even want to answer

    • @gaba023
      @gaba023 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      It would be to the breaker. I can't imagine adding a separate line from the street, as that would also require a separate electrical meter and I assume separate electrical service for billing. Short of that, it could be possible to have a separate breaker box, but electrically, that might not be worth the trouble.

    • @seranne
      @seranne Pƙed 3 lety

      @@gaba023 might not, if I think about it long enough.. eventually putting an extra breaker box don't have any extra benefit except for the extra grounding.. It still taps from the same 3 phases that are in your street. Sometimes I overthink things