Power conditioners anyone ever tried using computer server UPS?

TooCool4

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Feb 7, 2013
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Power conditioners anyone ever tried using computer server UPS instead of the over priced audiophile ones?

I have tried dedicated audio power conditioners and heard what they can do, but the price in the UK for good ones are £2000+ I would rather put that money into my system.

Anyway I decided to get a very sophisticated double conversion UPS meaning the AC is converted to DC then regenerated back to pure sine wave AC, I got a Emerson Liebert GXT4 3000VA / 2700W UPS. The first thing I had to do was change the internal case fans to very quiet ones, the ones that came in the unit sounds like and aircraft is about to take off. With the new quiet fans, the sound is down to a whisper and I need to turn everything off in the listening room and be near the UPS to hear it.
In the UK we use 240V and I have noticed my power in the flat fluctuates between 225V – 239V, I set the UPS to give out a steady 240V no matter what the input voltage is doing.

I connected the UPS to the system, I was expecting the noise floor to be lower. I was not prepared for what was about to happen once everything was up and running.

Wow the first thing I noticed was depth of the image, then the clarity and separations of instruments and vocals. The next thing, which really threw me, was the bottom end just dropped wow the bass was so deep and tight and faster and I felt it. The bass was not bloated or woolly like you would get on a beats headphones. Wow I would never have thought a good power conditioner could do all that.

The last time I heard this level of improvement in my system was when I tried the latest version of my pre-amp and that was £2800 more than my current Pre-amp.

All of this have been achieved at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated audiophile power conditioner and this being a UPS, it will also run my system should there be a power cut. It should run my system for at least 1.5 hours before the battery dies.

I know one thing this UPS is here to stay.

Watch this to know how the Emerson Liebert GXT4 works, it’s just amazing a superb upgrade to my system. I am running Spectral Audio pre / power.

If you are thinking of an audiophile power conditioner, give a UPS a try first just make sure you get one that put's out pure sine wave and does re-generation and not line interactive.
 

Speedskater

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Sep 30, 2010
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An audio power amp places different demands on the AC power system than a PC computer. A PC UPS is not optimized for these sudden demands.
 

TooCool4

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Put it this way, no adverse effects on my system so far in fact its all-positive effects. I am loving the difference:D
 

microstrip

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An audio power amp places different demands on the AC power system than a PC computer. A PC UPS is not optimized for these sudden demands.

I would be tempted to say so - but I can not find a technical justification for it. As long as the UPS is oversized - and it is the case of the Emerson Liebert GXT4 3000VA / 2700W UPS, and low distortion - also the case, I cannot see any reason why it should not be an improvement for those having poor mains. Some modern UPS's have really good specifications.

Surely we would have to consider the audio system particular requirements.
 

TooCool4

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I just think when something has Hi-Fi tag on it, the price is hiked up just because they can.
You can go and get something in a Hi-Fi shop and it cost you X amount, then go and get the same thing in a pro audio shop and it cost X amount less. They know the pro’s will not put up with that but us audiophiles are stupid and we will pay for it no questions asked as long as they say it's specially made for Hi-Fi.
 

Diapason

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Mar 26, 2014
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Power Inspired (http://www.powerinspired.com/) offer AC regenerators based on their UPS machines. I think they realised there was a market in the hifi world for this kind of thing so they took the batteries out and just put the pure sine wave generation part in a box. I have an AG1500 and it works well (on sources at least, my amps required too much juice), and I found it provided a noticeable opening up of the sound when added and a corresponding "flattening" when removed. Of course, I bought it because the price was right and I didn't get to compare it with proper audiophile products, but I'm convinced there's merit to the approach.
 

Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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I don't see why not. PurePower used to sell industry UPS in a nice 'audiophile' cases and charge $2-$4k for them. They worked in many systems.

The UPS needs to have really good specs though (the cheap ones do not even generate sinus AC wave).
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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I just think when something has Hi-Fi tag on it, the price is hiked up just because they can.
You can go and get something in a Hi-Fi shop and it cost you X amount, then go and get the same thing in a pro audio shop and it cost X amount less. They know the pro’s will not put up with that but us audiophiles are stupid and we will pay for it no questions asked as long as they say it's specially made for Hi-Fi.

Although it can happen, it is not the common rule. The UPS you got seems to represent excellent value for money, but nothing I could find suggests it performs on par or better than an audiophile power conditioner costing fives times more.

Power is a critical point in many systems, beyond our classical measurements. Specific issues such as RF noise and grounding can be critical, and are not considered in computer systems. And yes, you only discover when you compare them side by side with an open mind.

I will refer one case - Sumiko cartridges come with a nice flat round brush, very efficient that I used with great success - although I was some what afraid to use it first time, as it looked too stiff for the precious cantilever and stylus. A good friend saw it and decided to get one. The "Audiophile" Sumiko product spare costed almost ten times as a the similar generic non-hifi miniature brush, he decided for the cheaper one. The cheap brush managed to destroy his stylus the second time he used it ...
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
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I don't see why not. PurePower used to sell industry UPS in a nice 'audiophile' cases and charge $2-$4k for them. They worked in many systems. (...)

The problems arrived when they developed faults. People soon discovered that had got heavy door stops ...
 

TooCool4

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2013
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