power conditioner

[Kingrex]

There are interesting reads on the Furutech NCF as well as GC-303 emf absorption formula used in their passive devices. People can do their own research.

Professional reviewers laud the Furutech power strips. ASR measured no change. Who to believe???? Is it the emf coating. The ncf. Or simply a well made, all copper duplex with solid clamps that hold a cord well. Probably a bit of it all. Is it a filter? If there is no measurable change??? Or has no one figured out what to measure for.

I do believe in a good power strip when one is needed. A good strip with 6 x NCR Rhodium duplex for $2000 is not unreasonable.

I like the Furutech wall mount plate, mostly because they extend well beyond the crumbly drywall that dupex ears rest against that fails and results in a floppy mount.

 

[DaveC]

So its $10k for the premium power strip I was thinking of. Still a lot for a power strip.
Are there published spec on what is being filtered and what the attenuation levels are?

The PurePower 6 is ridiculous, the chassis is one chunk of billet aluminum, the receptacles are NOT the GTX NCF, they are a dedicated unit. Even the $2k tp609 is massive overkill with a special mounting system for the receptacles that puts pressure on them from the back. If you try out footers on an AC power strip or distributor, you'll hear significant differences so the chassis and mounting are not trivial.

There are no specs because the NCF and GC303 materials work just by being in proximity to AC power lines so the results aren't as easy to calculate or characterize, otoh regular LCR based EMI/RFI filters can be calculated and simulated... I don't own AC power quality test equipment to share my own experiments, but I've sold dozens of people NCF gear and the feedback is the same across the board. 3 of my customers have shared their measurements and there are significant improvements in power quality, to the point it's not just an improvement but an ~80% attenuation in noise. The best bang for the buck is installing one GTX receptacle in your wall and plugging your distributor into it, everything else has an effect but there are diminishing effects.

I have no idea what ASR is testing but they are very biased and I wouldn't trust them to do fair testing. Despite credentials, we've seen Amir be less than honest when he was here at WBF. There's a thread on testing NCF here too, which showed a significant effect.

At the low end you're looking at <$2k for a distributor, $250 for a wall receptacle, and about $60 each for the least expensive rhodium plated copper plugs. IECs are around $100. The high end NCF plugs are pricey at $380 and $10k for the best distributor is expensive but you can see and hear what you're getting for the money. Relative to high end gear these days it's downright cheap, lol.

 

[Amir]

The interior shots show a lot of chokes, so I imagine the cap is used as part of a filter. Being a passive unit, I would not call it a 'conditioner' since I have a pretty strict definition of that term (that most of 'high end audio' seems to not use). The 90A thing is mysterious to me: how would you measure that and what exactly does it mean? I was not able to tell from their website.

Are you sure those capacitors are uesd for low pass filters?

I asked this question because I have no idea how they inject 90A current!!

Do you think it is just marketing hype ?

 

[Amir]

As far as I can tell from a search, the living voice battery supply goes back all the way to 2004! Battery technology has come a long way since then.

I would not want to use lead acid batteries for audio.

Tube technology is older than solidstate amplification so I am not sure lead acid battery is better or Lifepo4.

Audio is not simple and I found most of my theories/ideas were wrong. The only way is testing and listening to both Lifepo4 and Lead acid.

 

[Amir]

As well as harmonic noise, max current delivery. I would love to get a spectrograph and look at the fundimental as well as harmonics from the inverter. They seem to be about $2500 for a basic one.

Measurements also include listening. Taking it to other locations and comparing to other power supplies at other homes. I have 2 reviewers, and 3 other serious audiophile local, with quality systems to listen at. Problem is, most people would rather spend $50,000 for a Stromtank. If they have the $15,000 to get one built up, they have the big money.

And for the most part, if you have a big system, I still really like using utility power properly. Maybe a few point source filters. Or a large wall mount. Amir is an anomaly with the issues he is having. But come on. Hes in Iran. Who knows whats gping on with electrical infrastructure there. My perception is, the biggest danger to audiophiles is the current climate of electrify everything. The electrical grids are straining and Brown outs are all to often. A Brown out or drop in voltage to say 90 volts or less is the real danger for a stereo.

Yes I am in Iran and also in big complex (more than 200 apartments) but I also listened to my friends’ playback in their home.

I think this subject is complex and finding the perfect solution is not easy.

Romy asked his friend to design a perfect sinewave ac regenerator and compared that ac generator to purepower 3000, the test result was funny, purepower’s sound was better but measurements of purepower was less ideal.

Higher THD or lower THD of ac regenerators has no relation to better sound.

Finally the audio is a complex subject and I believe a good designer like Friedrich should put time and effort to design a good AC power regenerator

 

[Amir]

Batteries are both audible and have non-zero impedance, so they need filters and caps to sound ok just like a regular PS. No free lunch.

In most homes the passive Furutech NCF distributors are the best solution. I've compared Equitech vs my modded SurgeX at audio shows and the Equitech is not a noise filter, which is why they and Torus offer noise filters and (non-MOV) surge suppressors to go with their trafos. If you have really noisy AC power you need a decent EMI/RFI filter.

Dave, Furutech ac solution is far from a proper way to perfect sound.

 

[DasguteOhr]

The interior shots show a lot of chokes, so I imagine the cap is used as part of a filter. Being a passive unit, I would not call it a 'conditioner' since I have a pretty strict definition of that term (that most of 'high end audio' seems to not use). The 90A thing is mysterious to me: how would you measure that and what exactly does it mean? I was not able to tell from their website.

I could imagine an C filter to compensate for the inductive reactive load of the connected devices and this capacitor is designed for max peak current of 90 amps.

P.S
Or a part of dc blocker