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How many of you use power regenerators?


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Hi,

My gear second hand is worth quite a lot of money but I find I can only get into it from 11pm onwards where sound staging and dynamics improve by a significant amount. This is telling me that my main power is dirty. To me this is quite a fundamental issue as it's destabilizes the flow of current.

Ps audio ppp is quite a common one but can you please share on what you guys use?

If you don't use anything, I reckon it's like buying a Ferrari and mixing water and petrol as fuel. You can have the best system in the world but if your current and frequency is jumping all over the place, so will your music.

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Hi Lyn

If you are restricted to listening only after 11pm would be quite frustrating. ... How do you cope???!!

I don't have a regenerator but use a cheap conditioner (Isol-8). Have never bothered to unplug and go back to without since it arrived. Even with this, when the washing machine is on high spin, it usually makes it unlistenable. I use to be able to pick 9/10 when the washing machine is on but for some strange reason it is no longer so evident after installing the audiophilleo 2.

Others have also mentioned installing a dedicated line from the mains.

Lets see what other responses you get as i am quite interested in this topic. (beware as it is one that divides the forum) B)

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Yeah...agreed that it is quite a divisive topic but like there are many who do not believe in equipment burn in...but let's not go there for now. I have heard a lot og good things abt the ps300. I have had poor results with power filters as I tried one from cav made by Gary cawsey. When I put my amp through it, it sounded like someone had castrated my amp's nuts as it lost all dynamics. I am hoping that regeneration would be the next best solution.

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I also have a dedicated line from my main power box but audible differences are really negligible. Golden hour is definitely 11pm onwards or in the morning so can't be psychological. Totally correlated with household power usage. I have always experienced this phenomenon. Apparently, Aussie power in terms of stability is one of the worst in the world. I suppose it depends on where you live relative to power station.

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If you're drawing a lot of power with say a class A power amp, then yes a filter may "castrate" the sound.

Other than PS Audio, there is also PurePower which is also a regenerator and is reputed to be good. At some stage in the future, I'll be trying either or both these products. See if you can organise a return if not happy with a dealer.

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Yeah...agreed that it is quite a divisive topic but like there are many who do not believe in equipment burn in...but let's not go there for now. I have heard a lot og good things abt the ps300. I have had poor results with power filters as I tried one from cav made by Gary cawsey. When I put my amp through it, it sounded like someone had castrated my amp's nuts as it lost all dynamics. I am hoping that regeneration would be the next best solution.

Yes I was advised to take my power amps off the conditioner but (embarrassingly) have not yet gotten around to do this as haven't got enough points!

Also read that the pure power unit is quite noisy (didn't follow through and can't remember if it was faulty or just that particular model).

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aussie power is actually better than many countries -unless you live in remote areas. It also depends on your equipment, if your equipment is has big power supplies / large power reserves (capacitors) and current delivery then you might not need anything. However, it is something you should decide over say a week in your own situation. A lot of people like PurePower 2000i or PS Audio P5 or P10 for items that are "'affordable''. Costs are ~3K-6K for those units.

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This thread has got my thinking about my own setup. People mention the "golden moment" i've always thought that my stereo sounded better the later i switched it on. If i switch it on during the day, i can sit and listen but for some reason it just doesn't draw me in. Turn it on late, say around 11-12 at night, even past that, and it definately sounds a whole lot better.

I always thought it was because everything surrounding me was just quieter, less cars going past, no fans on ect, which just allowed me to hear more. But admittedly i have wondered because i've also sat there during the day and said to myself "it's just as quiet now as it is at night". Then i just put it down to a time of day sort of thing, and maybe i'm more relaxed or something..... After reading this though i'm starting to think otherwise...

Edited by Bus_Boy
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I've used a PurePower, no noise, but no improvement in sound, but then I hadn't noticed a change in sound during the day in the first place.

Where I noticed the difference using a conditioner is a perceived lowering of the noise floor

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You will probably find that post 11pm, you don't have to turn up the music very loud to get into it. Where during the day time, you can turn the music up and whilst there is more "loudness", there is also less music. Dynamics, transients, soundstaging…everything just comes together after 11pm. Personally, the subjective difference to me is worth a lot of money because I cannot buy another equipment to replicate that effect. It really boils down to how clean your power is. Perhaps if your equipment has large capacitors to store power then it may be less of an issue but the general consensus seem to suggest that the only logical scenario is that households go to sleep and use less power hence the grid has the capacity to provide more stable voltage to your equipment without heaters, fridges, plasma tvs cutting in and out.

I have ordered a used PS Audio PPP from the UK so I will provide some feedback once I have used it. Apparently the PS Audio P5 & P10 is suppose to be substantially better but price wise its pretty substantial too. If anyone is interested in a possible group buy please let me know as we can probably arrange for a personal demo to test its efficacy before proceeding.

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Guest Bodhisattva

Well the best power regenerator is Accuphase, but be prepared to pay $$. I'm considering a pre-amp which has a regenerator power supply :)

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I don't think its necessary to spend big bucks or buy power equipment from HiFi places. I have achieved outstanding results by using high quality balanced power transformers. The difference is significant. It is a more palatable alternative than complete power regeneration IMO. These work by completely cancelling out all extraneous signals and passing only the pure 240V AC power. If you look closely, many overpriced power conditioners are simply balanced transformers in fancy packaging. I bought a few 3KVA units from the UK from this site.

http://www.airlinktransformers.com/transformer/bp3120-bp3120-balanced-power-supply.asp

The Australian transformer companies I spoke to seem to have joined the HIFI rip-off brigade. If anyone is handy with electronics, buying a high quality torodial balanced transformer and fitting it to a casing with wiring etc could save a few bucks as well.

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I really think there is merit in investigating a solution outside of hifi retailers. It's 10pm now and music sounded edgy through my system. I reckon the power supply in mt waverley I'd really dirty. At 11pm onwards it will take on a smoother more three dimensional sound stage. I reckon it's worth paying good money to be able to replicate that effect anytime of the day because in my case it makes a difference in listening vs not.

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I really think there is merit in investigating a solution outside of hifi retailers. It's 10pm now and music sounded edgy through my system. I reckon the power supply in mt waverley I'd really dirty. At 11pm onwards it will take on a smoother more three dimensional sound stage. I reckon it's worth paying good money to be able to replicate that effect anytime of the day because in my case it makes a difference in listening vs not.

I would be happy to participate in any adventures on this front if you are looking into any groupy thing. :)

But told myself no more gear (well not 3-6k anyway) for the rest of the year.

Will PM you later - still trying to sort out some work stuff. Cheers.

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I bought a few of these units. I am using a couple and gave a couple away to audiophiles who won't be without them now. Good quality balanced transformers are the best way to completely eliminate all extraneous noise from AC power. Filters won't do anything of real value. The balanced transformer makes a major impact on the sound quality. Everything sounds more alive, with more detail without any edginess and a greatly lowered noise floor.

The rip off merchants will have you pay $5,000 for a HI-FI balanced transformer with a lot less capacity than the ones i bought for a fraction of the price. Check this out:

http://www.proaudio.com.au/shoppingcart/products/Furman-P%252d2300-IT-E-Symmetrically-Balanced-Power-Conditioner--.html

I had Airlink send them by sea to save on shipping costs . It may be worthwhile seeking other sources. However, the Airlink ones WORK!

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...I have ordered a used PS Audio PPP from the UK so I will provide some feedback once I have used it. Apparently the PS Audio P5 & P10 is suppose to be substantially better but price wise its pretty substantial too. If anyone is interested in a possible group buy please let me know as we can probably arrange for a personal demo to test its efficacy before proceeding.

The PPP is problematic here in Australia, I don't even think the local distributor is handling them any more. I think those UK units have UK sockets on the back so just be aware of that. The P5 is a much better regenerator, I can vouch for that as I own one, and I've owned two PPP's. The P10 is another step up in performance over P5. I wouldn't go back to the PPP, but the PPP is much better than nothing at all.

BTW I have an unused Middle Atlantic PPP faceplate for rack mounting if anybody needs one.

Edited by brodricj
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Guest The Fresh Prince
The PPP is problematic here in Australia, I don't even think the local distributor is handling them any more. I think those UK units have UK sockets on the back so just be aware of that. The P5 is a much better regenerator, I can vouch for that as I own one, and I've owned two PPP's. The P10 is another step up in performance over P5. I wouldn't go back to the PPP, but the PPP is much better than nothing at all.

BTW I have an unused Middle Atlantic PPP faceplate for rack mounting if anybody needs one.

Agreed, I know several people (myself included) who have had PPP failures. Haven't tried the P5 or P10. A bit wary after my PPP experiences.

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