Equi~Tech vs Torus

Mike Lavigne · Jun 12, 2015

Bruce B said:
I"ve been totally satisfied with my Equi=tech wall cabinet. It's been in service about 8yr. now. There is a slight hum from the cabinet, but it's off in another room, well away from listening areas. I've got JPS Labs in-wall cable on dedicated runs into the rooms, splitting left and right side into Oyaide R1 and Furutech receptacles.
The electrical is dead quiet. I have a couple of 'dirty' lines in my room for lights, etc, and you can certainly tell when you use one of those.

+++1.

my Equi=tech 10WQ Wall Cabinet is now 4 years old and i'm similarly fully satisfied. I use 10 gauge Romex in-wall instead of the JPS that Bruce uses. all 10 of my outlets are the Furutech GTX-D (r) that replaced the Oyaide R-1's I had previously.

I have 9 'dirty' outlets around my room which allows for an easy A/B anytime and it's not close.

PeterA · Jun 12, 2015

Mike Lavigne said:
+++1.

my Equi=tech 10WQ Wall Cabinet is now 4 years old and i'm similarly fully satisfied. I use 10 gauge Romex in-wall instead of the JPS that Bruce uses. all 10 of my outlets are the Furutech GTX-D (r) that replaced the Oyaide R-1's I had previously.

I have 9 'dirty' outlets around my room which allows for an easy A/B anytime and it's not close.

Mike, Have you considered bypassing the outlets all together and simply running the direct circuit from the Equi=tech cabinet through the outlet opening (cutout in the wall or baseboard trim) and terminating it with a Furutech IEC and plugging directly into the component? This means you are essentially making your own power cords plugged directly from the component into the panel, no extra connections.

Note the red JPS In-Wall AC cable (blurry center cable in photo) coming through the floor, terminated in a Furutech IEC and plugged directly into the amp:

Ron Resnick · Jun 13, 2015

Bruce, Mike,

Thank you very much for your speedy reports. When I researched this topic several years ago the Equi-Tech was the way I intended to go. Thank you for helping me revisit it.

Ron Resnick · Jun 13, 2015

From a theoretical point of view is there any difference between (a) using a wall-mount, 100 amp capacity, 10WQ-type unit and distributing the balanced power to dedicated outlets via five separate, 20 amp electrical runs, and (b) using five separate, standalone, 20 amp capacity Furman or Balanced Power Technologies balanced power units, located in the listening room, and treating each such unit as a dedicated power line and outlet?

Nyal Mellor · Jun 18, 2015

RonR said:
From a theoretical point of view is there any difference between (a) using a wall-mount, 100 amp capacity, 10WQ-type unit and distributing the balanced power to dedicated outlets via five separate, 20 amp electrical runs, and (b) using five separate, standalone, 20 amp capacity Furman or Balanced Power Technologies balanced power units, located in the listening room, and treating each such unit as a dedicated power line and outlet?

Very much so. You'll have a cleaner single ground reference point with option (a) rather than option (b). The better wall mount units have separate secondary transformer windings and each is essentially independent from the other.

Ron Resnick · Jun 19, 2015

Dear Nyal,

Thank you very much for this definitive answer. I appreciate it!

Subject to the suggestion of the manufacturer I will use either a wall mounted unit or a self-contained floor unit but either way I will make sure every component in the system is powered from the balanced power unit.

JonFo · Jun 19, 2015

RonR, a little late, my data point after 10 years with my Equi=Tech 5Kva transformer is that it was worth every penny.

Since you also have MartinLogans, I can confirm that they run just fine on balanced power. When I built my room, I had outlets put in each corner that had a home run back to my equipment room that terminates in an EIC socket that I then feed from the Balanced power system. I then plug the ML's into those wall outlets.

Frank750 · Jun 19, 2015

I had the WM90BALAVRTVSS installed about a year ago. Overkill for sure but a great unit. Before that I had the 75A rack mounted unit. The wall mount is the way to go if at all possible. The convenience of connecting your entire system to the Torus via the outlets in the room is worth the price of admission alone.

Ron Resnick · Jun 19, 2015

Dear Jonathan,

Thank you very much for that report!

Ron Resnick · Jun 19, 2015

Dear Frank,

Thank you for reporting your experience with the Torus. Ross at Torus is in the process of figuring out if he thinks I am better off mounting the wall-mount unit on a wall of the listening room or placing the stand-alone, rack mount unit on the floor. The wall-mount seems more elegant but another big box on the floor would not bother me if that is what Ross would prefer.

As Keith predicted accurately Torus has been very helpful and instantly responsive. Ross' level of interest and involvement is confidence-inspiring!

spiritofmusic · Jul 1, 2015

Ron, this is Marc, we spoke earlier. I'm running a Westwick Audio 8kVA bpt. Maybe if you pop over here next wk you can see/hear it in all it's glory (and minor low level hum LOL!).

cuntigh · Feb 3, 2016

I am about to buy a Torus one. Until ow I only had passive conditionners because I want to connect everything without any loss in dynamics. I had the Lessloss first model that was great until I listened to a Bybee Stealth that I traded in when he made the new Crystal technology for the Holographic I have until now.
My current is not that good but rather stable in voltage and sound quality varies from time to time. So I looked something for preserving from that changes and put me independant from that noise. The only way I found is active isolation transfos. I looked at the forums and reviews and selected Equi=Tech and Torus. I am in Europe and Equitech never answered mu emails. Torus instead answered and gave me all the infos I needed.
I privately talked with Frank750 that has a WM90 Torus and he is so happy with it that he sold back the Shunyata Triton he previously wanted to keep connected to the Torus and feels better like that. (Frank please correct me if I'm wrong).
Now that I am very near to make a decision I see that some consider JMF Audio as better in direct comparison with the Torus 90 on another well known forum.
I went on their website and there is not much explanation about the technical elements that leads them to their conditionner.
Does someone has opinion or experience with Torus vs JMF or another

bonzo75 · Feb 3, 2016

JMF is closer to you, so service should be easier. Also try their Power Cord, heard good things about it especially at their price. Want to visit them once. Ask audioblazer, he knows more about their power conditioner.

KeithR · Feb 3, 2016

Torus is a fantastic company to work with - highly recommended.

cuntigh · Feb 16, 2016

Just ordered a RM 30CE this morning. I hesitated a lot with AVR16 CE for voltage regulation but in my home there is not that much variations and Torus said the bigger the transfo the better the filtering and the dynamics... So it's done. Yes if I go to live else where in the future, what will the current quality be ? Who knows ?
I also found on the net I could install an automatic voltage regulation (a professionnal one with lots of current reserve) for less money directly on the breaker if needed. Torus only regulates+ /- 10 Volt and prof regulators are + or - 1 to 2 volts and less expensives.
The big question about voltage regulation is : how important a voltage variation has to be for hearing an audible loss in SQ ? Nobody can answer this question for now.

KeithR · Feb 16, 2016

cuntigh said:
Just ordered a RM 30CE this morning. I hesitated a lot with AVR16 CE for voltage regulation but in my home there is not that much variations and Torus said the bigger the transfo the better the filtering and the dynamics... So it's done. Yes if I go to live else where in the future, what will the current quality be ? Who knows ?
I also found on the net I could install an automatic voltage regulation (a professionnal one with lots of current reserve) for less money directly on the breaker if needed. Torus only regulates+ /- 10 Volt and prof regulators are + or - 1 to 2 volts and less expensives.
The big question about voltage regulation is : how important a voltage variation has to be for hearing an audible loss in SQ ? Nobody can answer this question for now.

Torus regulates +/- 5 volts from 120 standard. I considered the RM15, but didn't hesitate to pay the premium for voltage regulation and amperage displayed on the AVR15. I really like seeing how much juice my system is tasked with.

cuntigh · Feb 16, 2016

Torus regulates + / - 10 Volt on European 230. Still not sure have taken the right decision but for the same power the difference in price is too high for me. For the same price (a bit less in fact) I only could have the AVR16.
In the beginning of my search I wanted an Equi=Tech but they never answered any message from me.

cuntigh · Feb 18, 2016

Hello,
I was asked by Torus via the importer to install a special main receptacle able to drive 30 amps and I didn't realized (though rather logical in fact...) I should have to do that. The appartment is on rent and not sure I want to invest here and how long I will stay. And so do the same (if ever possible) in a new place if I go to live somewhere else...
So I think about sacrifying power fr convenience and change my order from RM 30 to AVR 16.
Any opinion or advice from femmow audiophiles ?

spazmatron · Feb 18, 2016

i would check with your landlord, not all these devices are residential approved.

Geardaddy · Feb 18, 2016

iostinato said:
Hi All,

I'm building a kind of hybrid room as an addition to my house for use as a band rehearsal room (I'm a hobbyist drummer), and for home theater use. The framing and treatments have been designed by Rod Gervais, who primarily has experience in studio design. We're in the framing stage now and I'm trying to learn more about optimizing the electrical supply. I'm planning a dedicated panel for the audio and video equipment and recognize the value of an isolated power supply. The electrician can provide a 50A 240V supply from the street. The system will exclusively power a Seaton Sound surround 7.4 setup (active monitors), projector, and associated switching/source equipment. I'll use a separate conventional supply for lighting, HVAC, wall outlets, etc. Mark Seaton and I figured peaks for movies might draw around 57A, so I'm specifically looking at the 10WQ or a similar capacity all in one (AIO) unit from Torus.

It's very possible I'm oversimplifying, but what I'm debating is the merits of a balanced power system (Equi~Tech) for improved line noise rejection, versus the Torus approach which uses standard voltage arrangement but has possibly superior surge (series mode protection) and filter protection. Austin is not known for frequent thunderstorms, but it only takes one and there's gonna be a lot of $ literally on the line. I've read the threads here with Mike L. and Bruce B.'s experiences with the Equi~Tech WQ wall cabinets, and I'd love to hear opinions on why a particular unit was chosen, recommended grounding methods with these units, any other guidance I should give the electrician. thanks!!

Congrats on the new room. That is going to be a lot of fun. People argue all day about the merits of both approaches, but the isolation from either will be a benefit and I would go with the company that is the most responsive. Installing those badboys is not an insignificant event due to their sheer weight, and you will incur cost on that end. From a purist POV, some argue that isolation transformers are bad for sonics, influence the sound, etc.

Equi~Tech vs Torus

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